Monotasking Systems: Difference between revisions
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There are two forms of monotasking systems. The first form is where only one program can be running at once (DexOS is a perfect example), with the second form allowing multiple programs to be running simultaneously but only one program can be in focus at a time as a limitation of the user interface (early Unix systems, or imagine Linux with only one TTY device). |
There are two forms of monotasking systems. The first form is where only one program can be running at once (DexOS is a perfect example), with the second form allowing multiple programs to be running simultaneously but only one program can be in focus at a time as a limitation of the user interface (early Unix systems, or imagine Linux with only one TTY device). |
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The canonical example of a monotasking operating system is MS-DOS, which falls in between the two forms. While not supporting multitasking directly, MS-DOS |
The canonical example of a monotasking operating system is MS-DOS, which falls in between the two forms. While not supporting multitasking directly, MS-DOS allows programs to terminate execution but does not mark the memory they exist in as usable (known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminate_and_Stay_Resident Terminate and Stay Resident]). Programs which TSR can be communicated with after they quit by devices and other programs. |
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While they are easier to design and write, monotasking operating systems are extremely limited. As a result, nearly all new OS designs are for [[Multitasking Systems]]. |
While they are easier to design and write, monotasking operating systems are extremely limited. As a result, nearly all new OS designs are for [[Multitasking Systems]]. |
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