[HECnet] two dumb RSX questions

[John Wilson]

From: "Jerome H. Fine" <jhfinedp3k at compsys.to>

In respect of RSTS/E, is this possible as well or does RSTS/E
have the same requirement as TSX-Plus?

RSTS doesn't have loadable drivers, so it all has to be genned into the
system (and user-written drivers aren't officially supported).   On the plus
side, RSTS autosizes the system on every boot (including floating CSRs, and
all vectors except card readers are autodetected so they don't need to follow
the rules at all -- user-written drivers would have to be hooked up to this
too), and passes CSR/vector/model information to the drivers that it enables.

So while RSTS requires the drivers to be linked to the system, it's not a
totally rigid mass that works only on the exact config it was built for.
You can run a monitor on totally different hardware and as long as it has
drivers for enough of the existing peripherals to work, you're all set.
Also, you can have multiple monitors (built different ways) on the same
pack and tell the pre-boot thingy (INIT.SYS) which one to boot.

John Wilson
D Bit