On 10 Mar 2006 at 15:02, Darcy James Argue wrote: > But, on a non-Intel Mac, yes -- if the > app ran in OS 9, it will run in Classic. > > Of course, this ends with the Intel Macs. But DOS support won't last > forever, either.
Actually, I think it's highly unlikely that Windows will ever stop supporting DOS apps. They would have to discard code that is already developed and running in order to do that. The only thing that would break DOS would be if the underlying hardware changed so that it had to be emulated, and, of course, we already know that this is perfectly possible already. I have yet to encounter any DOS app (other than low-level utilities) that cannot be made to run under the current versions of Windows. A client of mine is running a dBase II executable compiled in 1983 on his WinXP machine. The only tweaking we had to do was to direct the printer out put to a printer connected by parallel port (it couldn't print to a USB printer). This worked out well, as the client didn't like his new USB printer anyway, and preferred his ancient LaserJet II all along. I don't see any indication that Microsoft will ever abandon DOS support. I think it would require a platform switch (like the Mac switch to PowerPC and then to Intel) to cause problems sufficient to lead to that. And in that case, it would affect an awful lot of non- DOS programs, as well. DOS is simple enough to get a free ride. DOS compatibility is already a solved problem for Microsoft (it's running in a virtual machine of its own inside Windows, so if Windows change, you just change the interface between the VM and Windows; actually more properly, between the DOS subsystems and the VM), so I just don't see why they'd abandon it, except when they eventually abandon Windows entirely. Of course, if the system unreliability that we see in certain Sci-Fi shows such as Star Trek Voyager is any indication, it looks like Windows might be around for hundreds of years. That would at least explain why the Star Trek episodes so often have computer failures and security breaches -- because Windows is still running in there somewhere. ;) -- David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
