FlexOS

FlexOS is a discontinued modular real-time multiuser multitasking operating system (RTOS) designed for computer-integrated manufacturing, laboratory, retail and financial markets.

Developed by Digital Research's Flexible Automation Business Unit in Monterey, California, in 1985.

FlexOS supported a concept of dynamically loadable and unloadable subdrivers, and it came with driver prototypes for floppies, hard disks, printers, serial interfaces, RAM disks, mice and console drivers.

During boot, the FLEX286.SYS kernel would load the resource managers and device drivers specified in the CONFIG.SYS binary file (not to be mixed up with the similarly named CONFIG.SYS configuration file under DOS), and its shell (COMMAND.286) would execute a CONFIG.BAT startup batch job instead of the common AUTOEXEC.BAT.

[14][15] The system optionally supported a multitasking GEM VDI for graphical applications.

[8] FlexOS 386 provided a windowing feature, and offered PC DOS 3.2 and GEM compatibility.

Among the major FlexOS customers in 1990/1991 were FANUC, IBM, ICL, Nixdorf, Siemens, TEC, Thorn EMI Software and Micrologic.

FlexOS was used as the primary test platform for the new Novell Embedded Systems Technology (NEST).

[22] The deal comprised a direct payment of half this sum as well as shares representing 2% of the company.

[34] Further, it removed limits on the number of applications running concurrently due to its more efficient use of KOSPOOL.