Commercial Operating System
{{Short description|Product by Digital Equipment Corporation}}
{{Infobox OS
| name = Commercial Operating System (COS)
| logo =
| logo caption =
| logo size =
| logo alt =
| screenshot =
| caption =
| screenshot_size =
| screenshot_alt =
| collapsible =
| version of =
| developer = Digital Equipment Corporation
| family =
| working state =
| source model =
| discontinued =
| RTM date =
| GA date =
| latest release version =
| latest release date =
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date =
| marketing target =
| programmed in =
| language = English
| update model =
| package manager =
| supported platforms = PDP-8, PDP-11, DECmate II
| kernel type =
| userland =
| ui =
| license = Proprietary
| preceded by = MS/8
| succeeded by =
| website =
| support status =
| other articles =
| prog_language =
}}
Commercial Operating System (COS) is a discontinued family of operating systems from Digital Equipment Corporation.{{cite book |title=Linux Dictionary |page=424 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdZWBQAAQBAJ
|author=Binh Nguyen}}, citing {{cite web |title=QUECID |url=http://www.tldp.org/LDP/Linux-Dictionary/html/index.html}}
They supported the use of DIBOL, a programming language combining features of BASIC, FORTRAN and COBOL.{{cite news |newspaper=Computerworld |date=July 30, 1975 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jT2fQqJplN8C&pg=PT29 |title=Time-Sharing Uses Emphasized For DEC Datasystem 350 Series |page=19|quote=Dibol Under COS: The series operates under the Commercial Operating System (COS) 350, which provides timesharing with a high-speed response.}} COS also supported IBM RPG (Report Program Generator).{{cite book
|title=DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION - Nineteen Fifty-Seven To The Present
|url=http://s3data.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/dec.digital_1957_to_the_present_(1978).1957-1978.102630349.pdf
|date=1978 |publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation}}
Implementations
The Commercial Operating System was implemented to run on hardware from the PDP-8{{cite book
|title=PDP 8/e Small Computer Handbook
|date=1973 |publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation|pages= 2-19 thru 2-20}} and PDP-11 families.
=COS-310=
COS-310 was developed for the PDP-8 to provide an operating environment for DIBOL. A COS-310 system was purchased as a package which included a desk, VT52 VDT (Video Display Tube), and a pair of eight inch floppy drives. It could optionally be purchased with one or more 2.5 MB removable media hard drives. COS-310 was one of the operating systems available on the DECmate II.{{efn|the other was WPS-8}}{{efn|There was a product named COS-300, and some DEC manuals are named with both 300 & 310.}}
=COS-350=
COS-350 was developed to support the PDP-11 port of DIBOL, and was the focus for some vendors of turnkey software packages.{{cite news |newspaper=Computerworld |date=July 30, 1975
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jT2fQqJplN8C&pg=PT29 |title=Time-Sharing Uses Emphasized For DEC Datasystem 350 Series |page=19}}
Pre-COS-350, a PDP 11/05 single-user batch-oriented implementation was released; the multi-user PDP 11/10-based COS came about 4 years later. The much more powerful PDP-11/34 "added significant configuration flexibility and expansion capability."{{rp|p.69}}
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Digital Equipment Corporation}}
{{Time-sharing operating systems}}