KermMartian wrote:
Actually, I feel like a GUI is harder to code than a kernel. A kernel needs to do several specific things, like keep track of tasks and deal with them intelligently. A GUI, on the other hand, has to both interact with the OS in terms of storing the GUI data, rendering it, and interacting with the keyboard and other input devices, plus accepting sane input from the user and rejecting nonsense. It also, depending on the type of GUI, needs to work with third-party programs, accept and use callbacks into those programs, and have a way to accept and provide data from/to those third-party programs. Case in point: the 10-16KB monstrosity (I'm not sure exactly) that is the DCS GUI system.
Ahh, I can see what your POV is. I usually think it's just event handling (keys, combination of keys), and then drawing. Data storage would be in the background. However, I didn't really consider the OTHER factor - the fact that you would have to painfully code verification (reject certain keys, etc.) I probably knew this, but didn't really think it was significant... at least on the PC. 
Anyway, interesting insight for designing/writing a kernel/GUI on the Z80! 
I think the hardest part of the DCS GUI stuff is just making sure everything is going to work together happily and not overwrite each others' safe RAM areas (because I had to make sure that the GUI uses as small a RAM footprint as possible so programs still have enough safeRAM to work with). That's caught me up many many times.
So Sircmpwn, do you have any documentation for developing for KOS (like rom calls, etc.)
souvik1997 wrote:
So Sircmpwn, do you have any documentation for developing for KOS (like rom calls, etc.)
He mentioned something about the format of them, but not the specifics of which ones are available so far, and which ones will need to be created. Don't forget that as the OS creators, his team will need to write all the ROM calls. 
I hope the rom calls come soon. It would be hard to develop applications without them.
souvik1997 wrote:
I hope the rom calls come soon. It would be hard to develop applications without them.
To be honest, I doubt that will be possible within fewer than months from now, considering how much work an OS goes, even for skilled and experienced programmers, and even with many programmers working on the project.
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