Domain/OS
| Industry | Computer hardware and software |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 |
| Fate | Acquired by Hewlett-Packard |
| Successor | HP-UX |
| Headquarters | United States |
Domain/OS refers to the now-obsolete operating system that powered the Apollo/Domain series of workstations produced by Apollo Computer. Initially introduced in 1981 under the name AEGIS, it was renamed Domain/OS in 1988 following the incorporation of Unix environments. As an early example of a distributed operating system, it received brief support from Hewlett-Packard after HP acquired Apollo, before their focus shifted to HP-UX. Official support concluded on January 1, 2001.
AEGIS
AEGIS was specifically engineered for network-centric computing, in contrast to competitors who retrofitted networking capabilities onto standalone machines. Its file system was seamlessly unified across multiple systems, differing from Unix’s approach of segregating local and remote file systems. Network-based user management was fundamental, necessitating a network card even on individual Apollo units.
Domain/OS merged elements from both System V and early BSD Unix, delivering a base operating system with selectable environments: AEGIS, System V Unix, and BSD Unix to enhance compatibility. The earlier AEGIS SR9 offered an optional Domain/IX Unix compatibility layer but maintained AEGIS commands for system administration and did not fully support Unix permissions. Domain/OS introduced updated administrative commands and a more adaptable permissions framework capable of accommodating all three environments.
The operating system featured an improved iteration of the X Window System combined with HP's Visual User Environment (VUE), which served as a precursor to the CDE, although its performance was frequently less than optimal.
User adoption of Domain/OS SR10 was initially hindered due to increased storage demands, more intricate administration utilities, subpar early performance, and software bugs—though subsequent updates enhanced stability. Importantly, later HP/Apollo workstation models (DN10000, DN2500, 4xx series) mandated SR10 exclusively.
In contrast to many contemporaries primarily developed in C or assembly language, a significant portion of Domain/OS was implemented in Pascal. Supported compilers included C, C++, Pascal, and Fortran.
Distributed management utilized a remote procedure call mechanism known as NCS RPC. Although discontinued alongside Domain/OS, HP contributed NCS RPC technology to the Open Software Foundation, which influenced their DCE initiative and subsequent standards such as CORBA. One original NCS developer later joined Microsoft, creating MSRPC—a compatible implementation integral to Windows systems today—evidenced by protocol identifiers like ncacn_http.
User interface
AEGIS provided a high-resolution graphical display paired with a mouse-driven GUI called DM (Display Manager), closely integrated with the operating system’s window manager, wmgr. DM offered built-in utilities including a text editor and a transcript virtual terminal and allowed extension through user-created applications. A distinctive capability was "universal editing," enabling consistent editing commands across all native windows, including read-only transcript histories that extended indefinitely from process initiation. Each transcript window was linked to a small input window sharing the same editing syntax.
The AEGIS command-line interface bore similarities to Unix, supporting typical features like pipes, redirection, and scripting capabilities. Commands were designed for greater user accessibility compared to their Unix counterparts, with wildcard expansion managed internally by each command. Users could incorporate environment variables within symbolic links, allowing dynamic system configurations—for instance, switching between Unix versions by modifying the SYSTYPE variable to redirect symbolic links accordingly.
History
Domain/OS integrates fundamental ideas derived from Multics, such as the implementation of a single-level store and support for dynamic linking.
| Version | Release date |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | March 1981 |
| 1.1 | April 1981 |
| 2.0 | July 1981 |
| 2.1 | August 1981 |
| 2.2 | September 1981 |
| 3.0 | November 1981 |
| 3.1 | January 1982 |
| 4.0 | April 1982 |
| 6.0 | May 1983 |
| 7.0 | October 1983 |
| 8.0 | April 1984 |
| 8.1 | February 1985 |
| 9.2 | February 1986 |
| 9.2.3 | April 1986 |
| 9.2.5 | May 1986 |
| 9.5 | January 1987 |
| 9.7 | November 1987 |
| 10.1 | December 1988 |
| 10.2 | November 1989 |
| 10.3 | August 1990 |
| 10.4 | March 1992 |
See also
Further reading
- DOMAIN System User's Guide, Apollo Computer Inc., second edition, 1987