>> BTW, is FreeDOS-32 dead or what? > > IMHO, it was dead right from the start, as those folks that started > it didn't have a clue on what they would get them self into. > You can simply not create a 32bit OS that is still compatible with > DOS, you will end up writing a complete new (and different OS)...
That depends on whether you'd consider MSW 3.x or 4.x respectively to constitute a "complete new and different OS" on top of MS-DOS =P Well, at least as far as I understood it, FreeDOS-32 did aim for something similar - specifically, running the new (FreeDOS-32) kernel in protected mode, and ultimately allowing to run virtual(ised) machines for (V)86M DOS compatibility similar to regular tasks in that system (as well as DPMI or native applications, or potentially others). About compatibility however, naturally emulating and/or virtualising a system might not provide sufficient compatibility, depending on the quality of the implementation and the amount of performance available. This is already evident with all the *EMM386s, which do run the original system software in V86 mode (though to my knowledge still entirely single-tasked), and sometimes cause incompatibilities. > The DOS file system is FAT(16/32). DOS is based upon this, even long > file names on FAT32 are a crutch shoe horned into it to still be > partially compatible. DOS, however, allows external file system drivers to (relatively speaking) easily integrate into the kernel as redirectors. (As mentioned, a consistent LFN extension has not yet been defined for the redirector interface.) The roots of this go back to MS-DOS 3.x and the redirector interface has been used (provided) ever since by various networking clients as well as *CDEX programs, as well as more 'exotic' file system drivers. So while you are certainly right in saying that DOS's (native) file systems are the classic FAT FS family, there is also limited support for extensions. (Not to mention that even before such support was available, Netware clients apparently just intercepted applications' calls to the high-level DOS API without any special help - certainly more complicated to implement, of course. Same as what redirectors currently have to do to support LFNs.) Regards, Chris ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list Freedos-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
