Last Updated on: 8th November 2023, 06:00 pm
Web site: (not active)
Origin: USA
Category: Workstation
Desktop environment: CLI
Architecture: Motorola 6800/6809
Based on: Independent
Wikipedia: FLEX_(operating_system)
Media: Install Floppy
The last version | Released: 2.0 | October 3, 1985
FLEX – the disk operating system first distributed by Compusense as an alternative to the official OS9-system from Dragon Data. Later Eurohard adopted the FLEX-system as the official DOS for the Dragon, when they made the Dragon a new home in Spain.
The FLEX Operating System was an early OS developed for systems based on the Motorola 6800 and 6809 microprocessors. It had support for up to four 5 1/4″ or 8″ floppy drives and ran in only 8K of RAM.
FLEX first appeared in 1977 and was written by an American company called Technical Systems Consultants Incorporated.
It has been run on a variety of 6800 and 6809 based machines in all sorts of environments and for all sorts of different purposes. The FLEX used for this review is a custom version written for the Dragon by the London based firm Compusense and they have added a few features to make life a little more comfortable. These include a modified 51 by 24 screen display using PMODE 4 graphics which is a marvellous improvement over the standard 32 by 16 Dragon display.
FLEX has the virtue, for ordinary mortals, of being easy to use and understand. That is a result of design, not accident There are few things about FLEX that you cannot understand in a session or two of using the software. For example if you want to copy all the files from disk drive 1 to disk drive 2 you type COPY 1,2. Nice and easy, no Ph.D. required. Try that with your current disk operating system and you will begin to understand why we prefer FLEX.
FLEX gives you more free space for use, 48k to be exact. FLEX allows the use of single or double sided, single or double density disks of whatever number of tracks. ln other words any kind of 5″ disk or disk unit. We don’t want to cramp your style and if you buy software from another source for FLEX you will be able to read the disk. Try that with your current disk operating system.
We will be issuing a FLEX utility disk which will allow you to run DRAGON BASlC with FLEX. So you don’t have to start again with a new BASIC. lf you want PASCAL, COBOL, FORTRAN, FORTH or “C’ they are available from several sources. An editor and assembler are part of the standard FLEX package.
