Perihelion Software
Encyclopedia
Perihelion Software was a United Kingdom
company founded in 1986 by Dr. Tim King along with a number of colleagues who had all worked together at MetaComCo
on AmigaOS
and written compilers for both the Amiga
and the Atari ST
.
Perihelion Software produced an operating system for the INMOS Transputer
called HeliOS
. This was a system that looked like Unix but which could pass messages to processes running on either the same processor or another one. This was used in the Atari Transputer Workstation
, among other places.
Later HeliOS
was ported to other processors including the ARM architecture
.
Perihelion Software also produced an in-memory database system called Polyhedra
; the group responsible for this product was set up as a subsidiary (Perihelion Technology Limited) which did a management buyout
in 1994. (PTL later changed its name to Polyhedra plc in 1995, and then was acquired by a Swedish
company called ENEA
in 2001.)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
company founded in 1986 by Dr. Tim King along with a number of colleagues who had all worked together at MetaComCo
MetaComCo
MetaComCo was a computer systems software company started in 1981 and based in Bristol, England by Peter Mackeonis and Derek Budge.MetaComCo's first product was an MBASIC compatible interpreter for IBM PC's, which was licensed by Peter Mackeonis to Digital Research in 1982, and issued as the...
on AmigaOS
AmigaOS
AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
and written compilers for both the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
.
Perihelion Software produced an operating system for the INMOS Transputer
INMOS transputer
The transputer was a pioneering microprocessor architecture of the 1980s, featuring integrated memory and serial communication links, intended for parallel computing. It was designed and produced by Inmos, a British semiconductor company based in Bristol....
called HeliOS
HeliOS
HeliOS was a Unix-like operating system for parallel computers developed and sold by Perihelion Software. It was most commonly used on various Transputer systems, but also supported other architectures. The system provided a micro-kernel that implemented a distributed name space and messaging...
. This was a system that looked like Unix but which could pass messages to processes running on either the same processor or another one. This was used in the Atari Transputer Workstation
Atari Transputer Workstation
The Atari Transputer Workstation was a workstation class computer released by Atari Corporation in the late 1980s. Based on the INMOS transputer, the machine was considerably more powerful than anything available on the market at the time...
, among other places.
Later HeliOS
HeliOS
HeliOS was a Unix-like operating system for parallel computers developed and sold by Perihelion Software. It was most commonly used on various Transputer systems, but also supported other architectures. The system provided a micro-kernel that implemented a distributed name space and messaging...
was ported to other processors including the ARM architecture
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
.
Perihelion Software also produced an in-memory database system called Polyhedra
Polyhedra DBMS
Polyhedra is a family of relational database management systems offered by ENEA AB, a Swedish company. The original version of Polyhedra was an in-memory database management system which could be used in high availability configurations; in 2006 Polyhedra FlashLite was introduced to allow...
; the group responsible for this product was set up as a subsidiary (Perihelion Technology Limited) which did a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
in 1994. (PTL later changed its name to Polyhedra plc in 1995, and then was acquired by a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
company called ENEA
ENEA AB
ENEA is global information technology company with its headquarters in Kista, Sweden that provides real-time operating systems and consulting services...
in 2001.)