Warp OS - Features

Features

WarpOS had similar features to PowerUP, but with some major differences. Most pertinently, it used the PowerOpen ABI, in contrast to PowerUP which used the newer and better supported SysV, which ensured both kernels could not be directly compatible.

From version 14, the WarpOS kernel used a slightly different multitasking scheduler than AmigaOS (or PowerUP), based on that in Unix systems with "nice" values as well as priorities for its own tasks and processes. This was meant to ensure that all tasks got CPU time, and weren't "starved" of CPU time by compute-intensive tasks (as was the case with the original AmigaOS scheduler). However, this was ineffective as it was still limited by the native AmigaOS scheduler and it did create extra difficulties synchronising with the 68k side (particularly for sound). In version 15 WarpOS introduced a concept called atomic tasks. Atomic tasks are non-interruptible, and scheduling does not take place unless the task explicitly allows to do so.

WarpOS also had an inbuilt debugger which could be sent to dump information on any crashed tasks to either console window on screen or to serial, depending on environment variables.

One of the most lauded features of WarpOS was that it continued the "hunk" format of original Amiga executables which implemented the Amiga Hunk format of executables. This format was called EHF (Extended Hunk format), and implemented the hunk type named HUNK_PPC_CODE. This allowed AmigaOS to transparently handle WarpOS executables without having to patch the OS to recognise them, which PowerUP did have to do to run its ELF fileformat. While elegant in theory, the EHF format's downfall was its lack of widespread compiler support (especially GCC), and the ELF file format was adopted by AmigaOS 4 and MorphOS.

Unlike PowerUP, WarpOS could also produce mixed (fat) binaries with both 68k and PPC code, which could run on both Amiga PPC boards and ordinary Amiga systems. This practice was very rare due to the programming complexity of doing so, but the picture datatype in AmigaOS 3.9 (a shared library that loaded, processed and dithered pictures through the AmigaOS datatypes system) was a notable example of its use. PPC equipped systems would notice an immediate large speed-up, while 68k systems and emulators would still be compatible without having crashing or installing another binary.

WarpOS had two housekeeping tasks named Defiant and Babylon5, thought to be named after the USS Defiant from Star Trek DS9 and Babylon 5, its developers being science fiction fans. These would often be reported by new users who did not know what they were appearing in tasks lists.