Inside Taligent Technology - Taligent Object Services

Taligent Object Services

The Taligent Object Services (TalOS) technologies are being built around a new Mach-3.0-based microkernel, used by IBM as part of the Workplace technologies, that's designed to exploit the latest 32-bit microprocessors and to support object-oriented system architectures. As explained at the beginning of this chapter, Taligent's strategy with regard to this low-level system technology has evolved since the early days of the Pink project at Apple. Instead of creating a single system from the microkernel up, Taligent has created the first comprehensive application system and has focused its first product offerings on versions of the CommonPoint application system and CommonPoint Developer Series tools that run on existing host operating systems.

Nonetheless, TalOS technologies can eventually provide an extensible and portable operating system for customers seeking the best performance and smallest footprint in a focused CommonPoint solution. TalOS technologies also bring the benefits of the Taligent programming model to operating system and hardware developers, such as developers of drivers for hardware devices.

TalOS technologies use object-oriented techniques to implement basic host services for the CommonPoint system such as device driver support and low-level network protocols. Runtime and microkernel services, also designed for optimal support of objects, supplement the microkernel in managing system resources.

Hardware dependencies are primarily confined to the microkernel, runtime services, and a few object service I/O frameworks. This confinement allows TalOS technologies to extend the benefits of frameworks to a broad range of desktop and transportable hardware platforms, including those based on the Intel, PowerPC , and PA-RISC microprocessors used by Taligent's investors.

Taligent plans to make TalOS technologies available to its investors and other licensees. For example, IBM has announced that it plans to use TalOS technologies in its new versions of OS/2 and AIX" for PowerPC computers.

For more information about TalOS technologies, see Chapter 15, "OS Services."

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