Chapter 1: Introduction

The GNO kernel is the heart of the GNO Multitasking Environment (GNO/ME). The GNO kernel provides a layer of communication between the shell (and shell-based programs) and the operating system, GS/OS. The kernel handles such things as multitasking, background processes, foreground processes and many other features that were not previously available on the Apple IIGS. It is these features which make GNO/ME very powerful.

This reference manual is highly technical in nature and is provided to help programmers develop utilities for the GNO Multitasking Environment. The beginner has no need to read this manual and is certainly not expected to understand its contents. However, Chapter 5 Process Management and Chapter 6 Interprocess Communication provide a good background discussion for anyone who is interested in the internal workings of the kernel.