Magic Cap - (an acronym for Magic C ommunicating A pplications P latform ) is an object-oriented operating system for PDA developed by General Magic . The development of this platform was headed by Tony Fadell . Darin Adler was her architect. [one]
| Magic cap | |
|---|---|
| Developer | |
| License | Proprietary |
| condition | Historical |
Magic Cap included a “ room metaphor, ” according to which the user moved from room to room to perform different tasks (for example, a home office for word processing ). The interface was reminiscent of Microsoft Bob , although the Magic Cap lacked an office assistant .
Several electronics companies have entered the market with devices based on the Magic Cap OS, the most notable of which were Sony Magic Link , released in 1994, and Motorola Envoy , also released in 1994. None of these devices was commercially successful.
Content
Mobile Agents
The Magic Cap operating system included a new “ mobile agent ” technology based on the Telescript language. According to the developers, agents had to transfer tasks; they moved to some place outside the device, did their work, and then returned to the device with the results. When the first devices based on the Magic Cap operating system were released, PersonaLink service supplied by AT & T was the only medium for moving agents. The agents had only a small access to the functionality of the device, since each agent had to be authorized and his work area was limited to software modules installed on PersonaLink servers. The payload carried by these agents was also limited by slow modems transmitting data at 2400 bps. [2]
The authorization / authentication system of mobile agents in Telescript created a strong connection between the device and the destination. As a result, the deployment of agent-based technology was rather difficult, and it never reached maturity before the PersonaLink service was closed. [3]
Telescript programming language
Programs for the Magic Cap operating system could be developed both in the C language and in the new Telescript programming language. [four]
Telescript is an object-oriented programming language and a runtime library designed to create portable graphical interfaces, applications, software agents, remote scripts, and other types of distributed computing systems . The execution environment for Telescript is the Magic Cap operating system. It provides programs with a graphical interface , I / O subsystem, network, and other services.
As a procedural object-oriented programming language, Telescript supports standard control structures, as well as simple data types such as integers, floating-point numbers, and strings. As a procedural object-oriented programming language, Telescript supports the usual algorithmic structures, as well as data types such as floating-point and fixed-point numbers and strings. Telescript supports single inheritance and a form of multiple inheritance that uses impurities , as in some dialects of the Lisp language . All classes of objects are inherited directly or indirectly from the class Object; Method arguments can also be subject to some type restriction. The language also supports simple exception handling through try / catch statements. Telescript also includes the notions of authority and ownership to provide software constraints for software agents. Classes in Telescript can belong to class families, which are a type of ordinary class factory .
Telescript programs are compiled either into native target platform code or into portable bytecode for the Telescript virtual machine. [5] At the end of 1997, development tools for Telescript were limited to the Macintosh platform, although the engine was more portable ( Windows , some Unix-like operating systems ).
At the moment, Magic Cap is the only implementation of the Telescript language, and the compiler and development environment were supplied by Metrowerks .
Magic Cap for Windows
General Magic has released a version of the Magic Cap operating system as an application for Windows. [6]
Notes
- ↑ Darin Adler . Boost C ++ Libraries.
- ↑ Magic Link Users Guide (primary manual) . Sony eSupport.
- ↑ AT & T severs PersonaLink for PDAs , CNET News (July 11, 1996).
- ↑ Bill and Andy's Excellent Adventure II .
- ↑ Telescript Language Reference .
- ↑ Magic Cap for Windows is a convenient personal information manager, but with limited capabilities .
Links
- Magic Cap - Pen Computing Magazine
- "Making Magic" - a description of the Magic Cap operating system for novice developers, made by Richard Clark , Scott Knaster and General Magic staff
- Magic Cap Resources (inaccessible link) - a collective blog with documentation on Magic Cap, a collection of programs, as well as a gallery of photo devices based on the Magic Cap.
- Smiling postman magic cap
- The amazing story of Magic Cap
- Bill and Andy's Excellent Adventure II
- Dmitry Moroz. "Magical" technology. The history of General Magic .
- Magic Developer 3.0 - Development Kit for Magic CAP