Foreword
C O M P U T E ! ’ S Technical Reference Guide, Atari
ST—Volume Three: TOS is the third information-packed ST
book from noted Atari ST author Sheldon Leemon. Inside
you'll find complete information on the Basic Input/Output
System (BIOS), the GEM Disk Operating System (GEMDOS),
extended Basic Input/Output System (XBIOS), and Low-level
(line A) graphics, as well as an exhaustive reference section
explaining each BIOS function, program examples in C and
machine language, and a complete memory map.
You may recall with what fanfare the ST was introduced.
It was widely called the "Jackintosh," a nickname combining
the name of the Macintosh (they have similar user interfaces)
with Jack, for Jack Trammiel, its creator. Despite its promise,
early applications for the machine were simply games and
programs ported over from lesser machines.
Over the years, however, programmers have come to
recognize that the ST is not only lightning fast and highly so
phisticated, but it is also programmable on several tiers of its
operating system.
At the heart of the ST is the same famed Motorola 68000
microprocessor that drives the Macintosh, and the Amiga.
Over the chip is BIOS, XBIOS, and TOS (collectively known
as TOS, or the Trammiel Operating System). Above these are
the AES and the VDI, the high-level interfaces that make up
the GEM interface from Digitial Research. The AES and VDI
were the subjects of the first two books in this series. Most
programmers prefer to program through GEM. It's fast and
friendly. With a minimum of fuss, it provides the maximum
of features, such as reading the mouse position and provid
ing menus and other services.
But faster still, and not lagging far behind in ease of use,
is TOS. You can use it to provide your own creative uses of
graphics, printer functions, and the disk operating system,
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