P/OS
INTRODUCTIONP/OS Hard Disk is a multiprogramming, priority-structured, event-driven operating system for hard disk based Professional 300 personal computers. P/OS is a modified version of RSX-11M with a menu driven interface. Two versions of P/OS are available P/OS V2.X and V3.X. The V2.X version is a single user version; no login is required. The V3.X version is a multi-user version whereby different users can have accounts on the desktop and are prompted for a login. Both P/OS version supported a floppy based system (as in the PRO-325) or hard disk based systems such as the PRO-350 and 380 desktops.
Both the Professional 300 and P/OS support the Digital Multi-national Character set. By using eight rather than seven bits to represent a character, the character may be used to define both the ASCII characters and other characters including most Western European Characters. The compose key allows typing of composite characters not represented on the keyboard legend.
The P/OS Hard Disk User Interface is a hierarchy of menus and forms through which the user interacts with the operating system, utilities and applications. A menu may be a list of applications, a list of files or directories, or a list of other menus. Included are File Services, Print Services and Environment Services.
V3.2 Minimum Hardware Requirements
Operating System: P/OS V3.2
Memory Required: 512KB
Hardware Required: PC350 or PC380 with minimum 10 MByte hard disk (RCD50 or RCD51) and KEF11-CA floating
point adapter.
Optional Hardware:
- LA 100-PC Dot Matrix Printer
- LQP02-AA/AB Letter Quality Printer
- LASO-RA/RB Dot Matrix Printer
- VC241-A Extended Bit Map Option
- VR241-A Color Monitor
- MSC11-CK Memory Option
SYSTEM FEATURES
The P/OS hard disk system includes the following applications:
- P/OS Hard Disk User interface
- P/OS Hard Disk Record Management System
- CORE Graphics Library
- PRO/GIDIS Graphics Tools
- DECnet Support - if the optional PRO/DECnet hardware is included in the system, P/OS support
includes:
- Menu-driven services for DECnet remote file copy, display, and delete
- A DECnet password
- A node name and node number in the View Message Status board
- DECtouch Driver
- PROSE Editor - is the editor for the Professional 300 systems and can be used to create and update
printable text. When using PROSE the text is displayed on the screen as it will be printed, including
page breaks and endings. PROSE has the following capabilities:
- Duplicate, move, or delete blocks of text within a document
- Text format controls including left and right margin control and automatic word wrap
- Insertion and deletion of page breaks into a document
- Insertion and deletion of characters in a document
- Search for characters or string of characters
- EDT Editor - is a text editor available on many of DIGITAL's operating systems. Among the most important
EDT features are:
- An on-line help facility
- File protection with journaling
- The capability to work with several files or parts of files at a time
- Multiple commands per line
- Backup and Restore Capabilities - Backup and Restore
- Application and Backup and Restore Utility (BRU)
- Disk Maintenance Utility
- System Installation and Customization Utility
- Digital Command Language (DCL) user interface; can be used in many cases as an alternative to the menu-based user interface. The following commands are directly supported on P/OS: APPEND, EXIT, COPY, PURGE, CREATE, RENAME, DELETE, SET, DIRECTORY, SHOW, EDIT, TYPE, UNLOCK
Optional Applications
- PRO/Application Starter Kit for Hard Disk
- PRO/BASIC
- PRO/COMMUNICATIONS
- PRO/DATATRIEVE
- PRO/Tool Kit
The print utility allows a file or a list of files to be submitted for printing. Other system utilities and/or application programs may be used while the print utility is operating. The Print Screen function prints a copy of the screen display image on an LA50-RA/RB or LA 100- PC printer. The image can be text, graphics, or a combination of both.
- Abandon Printing
- Continue Printing - Starts printing after the printing was suspended
- Pause printing
- Print File(s)
- Restart Printing - Restarts interrupted print job at the beginning of the file that was printing when the job stopped
- Supports LASO, LA100, LVP16, LQP02 and non-DIGITAL printers
- Set Printer Characteristics
- Support of a shared printer connected via the "Mini Exchange" (basically a DEC RS232 switch)
- Virtual Device Meta-File or VDM Support
- DECnet remote files printing
File Functions
- Backup Disk File(s) - Copies a file or group of files on the hard disk directory to diskette
- Change Protection- Prevents file(s) from being accidentally deleted
- Copy File{s) - Duplicates a file or group of files on a different volume and/or directory and/or node
- Delete File(s)
- Display File(s) Locally or on another node
- Clean Up File(s) - Delete all but most recent version of file
- Rename File(s)
- Restore Disk File(s) - Copies a backup diskette onto the disk
- Show Current Directory
- Show Specified Directory - Locally or on another node
- Show List of Directories
Disk Functions
- Copy Diskette
- Create Directory
- Delete Directory
- Initialize Diskette - erases and names a diskette
- Install Application - Places a new application onto the disk and into the menu system
- Remove Application - Deletes an application from the disk
- Show Current Directory
- Show Specified Directory - Locally or on another node
- Show List of Directories
- Specify New Current Directory - Select a different directory in place of the current directory
- Unlock a Locked File - Makes a file available that was locked during an application abort
Hard Disk Record Management System
P/OS Hard Disk Record Management System (RMS) is comprised of a set of run time service routines that enable information to be stored, retrieved, updated, and deleted in a consistent and efficient manner on the disk. RMS, the standard record management facility on PDP-11 (RMS-11) and VAX (VAX-11 RMS) systems, provides a high level of file transportability between Professional 300 systems and DIGITAL's PDP-11 and VAX systems. P/OS Hard Disk RMS supports sequential, relative, and multikey-indexed sequential (ISAM) file organizations. Applications use the run time service routines through extended program syntax statements or subroutine calls. The form of the statement is dependent upon the application language interface.
The functional facilities of the run time service routines are:
- Open - Establishes the file access mode and opens it for processing
- Close - Clears processing and releases the access rights
- Read/Get - Moves a logical record into the user program access space
- Write/Put - Inserts a new record into a file
- Rewrite/Update - Moves contents of an altered record into the file
- Delete - Removes an existing record from a file
- Erase - Deletes a file
- Rename - Renames a file
CORE Graphics Library
The CORE Graphics Library is a package of run time routines for drawing objects on the Professional display.~he Professional Grap~ic Subsystem implements portions of the CORE standard. These run time routines are callable by high level application languages.
Professional Graphics Subsystem capabilities include:
- Erase a specific portion or an entire screen
- Write characters with variable attributes - size, spacing, angle, italic, justification, and user definable fonts
- Draw a line from one point to another, draw an arc or a complete circle, and draw a curve through a set of data points.
- Define windows and viewports
- Display up to eight colors simultaneously from a palette of 256 colors
- Print the contents of the screen on a printer (LASO-RA/RB or LA 100-PC)
DOCUMENTATION
Following is a list of P/OS manuals provided with each license. Documentation in hard copy would have to be ordered (Media Service Charge Code).
- P/OS Server User's Guide
- PROSE User's Guide
- PRO/EDT User's Guide
- Command Language User's Guide
- Hard Disk System User's Guide
- Hard Disk System for Beginners
- Hard Disk System Error Guide
- P/OS Hard Disk System Release Notes
Guides
Sources:
- Adapted from: Wikipedia - DEC Professional (computer).
Compiled on 09-01-2024 14:48:28