What is the name of the OS?

[desiv]

The GUI was Intuition, Workbench is the graphical shell, or desktop as it is known as today.

I didn't know anyone who said "Go into Intuition and launch that application."  :-)

Since GUI is a Graphical User Interface, and the Workbench was the "interface", that's what I called it.

Now, when "programming" graphical features, I used the "Intuition" functions to achieve Windows and menus, etc...

But the actual Graphical User Interface we used to interact with the Amiga was Workbench.  And it used the Intuition to achieve that..

I'd say that Workbench is similar to the Windows GUI and Intuition is similar to the Windows API that is used to enable Windows.

IMHO..

desiv

[kolla]

But the actual Graphical User Interface we used to interact with the Amiga was Workbench.

Nope, the GUI you used to interact with the Amiga was Intution. The graphical shell, offered by the OS, was Workbench, and there were others, like Directory Opus, ScalOS etc. And they all use the same GUI, which is Intuition. It is Intuition that gives you multiple screens, windows, menus etc. that constitutes the amiga GUI - NOT Workbench. AmigaOS has a fully functional GUI also without Workbench.

I'd say that Workbench is similar to the Windows GUI and Intuition is similar to the Windows API that is used to enable Windows.

You are equally confused here, I see. :hammer:

[desiv]

You are equally confused here, I see. :hammer:

I don't consider a set of function calls an interface.  You do..

Let's just say we disagree on this point..



desiv

[amigadave]

@ Thomas

just wanted to thank you once again for all the amazing help you've given myself and many other Amigans over the years..was wondering how you know all this classic miggy info and basically how you got involved with the Amiga...would love to hear your story :-)

I was going to write that Thomas knows so much about Amiga history because he is OLD, like me, but if he got his first car in the early 1990's he must be almost 15+ years younger than me, so I had better not call him an old fart.:roflmao:  I guess there are not many members here that are older than I am, but at least I still have my hair and it hasn't turned all gray yet (thanks for the great genes Dad).

Thomas, you are a wealth of information and a great addition and resource to A.org.  Thanks are deserved and I offer mine to you as well.

[amigadave]

Nope, the GUI you used to interact with the Amiga was Intution. The graphical shell, offered by the OS, was Workbench, and there were others, like Directory Opus, ScalOS etc. And they all use the same GUI, which is Intuition. It is Intuition that gives you multiple screens, windows, menus etc. that constitutes the amiga GUI - NOT Workbench. AmigaOS has a fully functional GUI also without Workbench.

Interesting explanation kolla.  After being a member here for longer than I can remember, I still learn something new here almost every day.

[kolla]

I don't consider a set of function calls an interface.  You do..

No, you are confused over terminology, that's all. Yes, a set of functions can also be an interface, that's what the I in API is - application programming interface.

Let's just say we disagree on this point..

There is nothing to disagree on, the GUI is Intuition and the graphical shell provided by the OS is Workbench. That is not something to disagree with, it's just how it is.

[desiv]

:roflmao:
Wow..  Convinced that you are right, aren't you?  :roflmao:

Good to know that, although there is a lot of disagreement on what the terminology means and where the overlap in terms is, you have it all worked out..

I'm glad you were here to save me from having my own ideas of where the breakdown should be...

:p
desiv

p.s.   While you're at it, you might want to FIX the Wikipedia article on Intuition.  The FIRST line says:

The Amiga  computer was launched by Commodore in 1985 with a GUI  called Workbench based on an internal engine  which drives all the input events called Intuition

Hmmm..  Sounds familiar...

[Hell Labs]

hello everyone, I've made a small blutack arse.

[Arkhan]

No, you are confused over terminology, that's all. Yes, a set of functions can also be an interface, that's what the I in API is - application programming interface.

yeah but you called Intuition a GUI didn't you?


It's more like an engine or handler than a gui.   You dont "boot into Intuition" and click around on Intuition windows.

[Amiga_Nut]

Well you have to specifically load Workbench in the S\Startup Sequence to get a GUI environment to play with, but then on a KS 1.x machine you can't boot up to a CLI and you need the Workbench disk to even access a shell window like DOS.

I would say Intuition is to Workbench what DWM is to Vista (desktop window manager) so it can't be Intuition.......so that leaves Workbench as the OS.

I'm going to stick with that reason because Workbench is required to do anything useful other than play games...and on a PC if you make a custom Linux Quake bootable CD then in a similar fashion you can boot your PC to play a game with a blank hard drive and no DOS disks. I know that isn't strictly true but since the 70s PCs were designed to boot a DOS disk or something that does the same job.

Anyway the OS of the Amiga is a bespoke version of TriPos anyway isn't it? So technically the OS is TriPos surely?

[Amiga_Nut]

Hmmmm actually after a little bit more digging...I found a video clip (from Computer Chronicles- Atari ST and Commodore Amiga special) where Rick Geiger who says "what we see here is Workbench, which is the graphical user interface of the Amiga). Also on KS 1.0 and WB 1.0 a CLI window is open labelled AmigaDOS.

So if the General Manager of Commodore Amiga puts it like that then perhaps Kickstart is the OS. If you think about it having a Workbench disk for an Amiga 1000 or 3000 is useless without a kickstart disk....you couldn't even run the most low level game....but at the same time you can't load Workbench either. So maybe Kickstart is the DR/PC/MS-DOS half and Workbench is the Windows/GEM/Top-View side in comparison to PC compatibles. By that definition then kickstart must be the OS.

I don't think Kickstart is the BIOS as per PC computers as on an Amiga 1000 it does plenty of boot up checks (coloured screen on failure to boot etc or hand with KS disk requester image is shown on success) which is what your BIOS does...so clearly Kickstart isn't a BIOS as such. Also it was the same for the original Atari 520ST with TOS (The/Tramiel Operating System) loaded from disk...and GEM sits on top of TOS just like Workbench is loaded after Kickstart.

I think this is a fair assumption as within the KS ROM/Disk is a lot of code execution related stuff,  OK at the lowest level, but enough for a game to run.  Workbench extends it for sure  but essentially on boot up of Kickstart your Amiga is just waiting  to be told what to do (run a game, load a WB GUI environment for serious work etc etc)

[tone007]

I like to just think of it as "The Amiga Experience."

*lights incense*

[Amiga_Nut]

I do agree that you can't really compare it to either the ST (OS and GUI in one set of ROMS/boot strap disk) or PCs because it is different to both and WB disks certainly have some extra features useful for a full featured OS but at the same time the KS roms have sufficient code on boot up for drivers and basic code execution not just routines to load data from a disk drive (which is basically  all a PC bios has...you still need IO.SYS MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM on the boot disk otherwise nothing happens..even on game disks).

[tone007]

You don't need IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, or COMMAND.COM, just a boot sector that loads *something.*

[Methuselas]

Hi,

Basically when I was a child I always remember that the name was "Workbench", i.e. - Workbench 2.1, Workbench 3.1, etc. At that age I never heard my brother or cousin refer to the os as AmigaOS 2.1 or AmigaOS 3.1 - it was always Workbench.

This is one thing that always upsets me about AROS, MorphOS and OS4. Not a single one just calls it "Workbench X.X".

Disappointing.

[Fats]

This is one thing that always upsets me about AROS, MorphOS and OS4. Not a single one just calls it "Workbench X.X".

Disappointing.

In a world without trademarks we/AROS probably would have done that.
Staf.