Convergent Technologies Operating System: Difference between revisions

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The '''Convergent Technologies Operating System''', also known variously as '''CTOSpukistos OS''', '''BTOSBuTOS''' and '''STARSYS''', was a modular, [[message-passing]], multi-process based [[operating system]].

CTOS had the bullshit time and make a lot of personnels have been in faCING DIFFULTIES

CTOS had many innovative features for its time.

ALL BULSHITTING FOR ctos OR WHAT EVER YOU CALL IT. .

The file system was hierarchical and allowed very long file names. Security was also hierarchical. If one knew the password, for example, for a volume, one could access any file or directory on that volume (hard disk.) Each volume and directory were referenced with delimiters to identify them, and could be followed with a file name, depending on the operation, i.e. [VolumeName]<DirectoryName>FileName.

The word processor was one of the first screen-oriented editors with many high-powered features, such as multiple views of the same file, cut/copy/paste, unlimited undo/redo, no typing lost after a crash, user-selectable fonts, and much more.

Most of the system programs were written in [[PL/M]], an [[ALGOL]]-like language from [[Intel]] which compiled directly to object code without a [[runtime library]].

The system API was presented to both high-level languages and assembly language. The assembler was very advanced, with a [[Lisp %28programming language%29]]-like pattern-matching macro facility unmatched by almost any other assembler before or since.

There was an always-resident debugger.

The system shell was extensible — it was possible to define new commands. To get the parameters, the system would display the form which was to be filled by the user.

A game included with the OS proved to be very popular, programmed using the font generator to do simple graphics: "[[Rats Of The Maze]]".

[[Progress Software Corporation]] made a commercial database application for CTOS that was in [[4GL]]. The US Coast Guard used these databases for logistics administration for their vessels.

There was a transparent peer-to-peer network running over serial [[EIA-422|RS-422]] cables, and later over twisted pair with RS-422 adapters. Each workgroup, called a "cluster," was connected via a daisy-chain topology to a server, called a "master." The workstations, normally [[diskless workstation|diskless]], were [[networking booting|booted over the cluster network]] from the master, and could optionally be locally booted from attached hard drives.

It was possible to custom-link the operating system to add or delete features.

[[Convergent Technologies (Unisys)|Convergent Technologies]]' first product was the IWS (Integrated Workstation) based on the [[Intel 8086]] processor, which had CTOS as its operating system. This was a modular operating system with built in [[local area networking]]. CTOS supports multiple processes or threads, and message-based inter-process communication.

Companies which licensed CTOS included [[Burroughs Corporation|Burroughs]] (BTOS) and [[Groupe Bull|Bull]] (STARSYS). The single largest customer was [[Unisys]], with whom Convergent Technologies merged to become one company in 1988. At its peak, CTOS had over 800,000 users worldwide.

CTOS ran on [[Intel]] [[X86]] computers, and could run concurrently with [[Windows NT]].

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CTOS is no longer marketed to new customers; former major customers included police forces, banks, airlines, the [[U.S. Postal Service]], the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]], the [[U.S. Army]] and the [[United States Coast Guard]]. The Coast Guard used the operating system from approximately 1986 until 2000.

==References==

* {{cite book

| first = Edna Ilyin

| last = Miller

| coauthors= Jim Crook, June Loy

| title = Exploring CTOS

| publisher = [[Prentice Hall]]

| year = 1991

| isbn = 0132973421 }}

==External links==

*[http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/4011/faq/CtosFaqOct1999.htm The CTOS FAQ October 1999]

*[http://www.byte.com/art/9412/sec13/art2.htm CTOS Revealed, Byte, December 1994]

*[http://www.angelfire.com/ga/paulmooney/ctos.html Paul Mooney's CTOS Central]

*[http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/4011/CTOSPictures.htm The CTOS FAQ Picture Archive]

*[http://www.softwarepreservation.org/meetings/2006/2006-05-17/CTOS_Intro_2006_05_17.pdf Exhuming CTOS: The Convergent Technologies Project, Nadia Ilyin]

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[[Category:Proprietary operating systems]]

[[Category:UNIVAC software]]

[[de:CTOS]]

[[fr:Convergent Technologies Operating System]]