Over the last couple years, DOSBox and DOSBoxPure in RetroPie and RetroArch have become quite popular.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LRy8brZ7DVc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-mD2DnMVoLE Consider standardizing on that. RPis will have access via RetroPie. There’s a version of DOSBox in the various Android stores as well. Windows support, Mac OS support. For “real hardware” PCs including modern UEFI, there’s RetroArch’s Lakka Linux distribution. Even a lot of support for less common SBCs. https://www.lakka.tv/ On Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 2:56 PM Steve Nickolas <usots...@buric.co> wrote: > On Mon, 23 Jan 2023, E. Auer wrote: > > <Excerpted> > > > Depending on how thin the glue and VM layer will be, you will be able > > to run fewer or more DOS apps with it. You can run some DOS apps in > > CTTY serial consoles if they only use int 21 for user I/O. There are > > support modes for simple DOS apps in some boot managers which only > > implement a few most popular bits of the DOS API to run apps directly > > from the boot manager without an actual DOS. So why not use for example > > real mode DOS apps without sound, with whatever is left in terms of > > hardware text mode or maybe VGA as an already entertaining intermediate > > milestone and keep more VGA, VESA, PC speaker, mouse, protected mode > > apps etc. pp. for later? The "easy" solution will still be running a > > DOS-friendly VM inside Linux or other host OS. But not the exciting > > solution regarding technological challenge and "abstraction thinness". > > > > People have written hypervisors to hide malware. Porting an open BIOS > > and some VM ingredients into a CSM and an open source "VMware ESXi" > > competitor which runs DOS better than the commercial product does? > > In other words, a Xen for DOS? To stay in the Xen terminology, would > > one want a paravirtualized DOS for that? Or would one put some light > > weight "BIOS setup" type menu into dom0 and run DOS only as client? > > This is kind-of what I was trying to hint at - a lightweight operating > system that just manages the hardware and (if necessary) provides > emulation for 16-bit apps. I feel like even a stripped-down Linux kernel > is extreme overkill since multitasking/multiuser isn't even useful for > that purpose. > > But in this day and age where the solution to everything is "throw a > 'Duino at it" or "throw a RasPi at it", I think too many people have lost > the concept of simple, lightweight, minimalist software. And that's why > you have all the kids trying to turn FreeDOS into Linux, and Linux into > Windows. > > The idea is this: provide a "volume manager"; a way to use the installed > hardware to emulate VGA/SVGA, SB16, and the basic equipment used on DOS > machines; and hooks to MS-DOS/FreeDOS to support stuff you're likely to > have on a modern machine that wouldn't be supported. And since it's quite > possible that in the future 8086 and 80286 mode will finally get the axe, > it might be necessary to move them to actual emulation (maintaining, if > possible, virtualization for 32-bit software). > > I'm also kind-of thinking MacOS 7.x, that had the 68030 emulator to run > parts of the OS on PowerPC systems... > > -uso. > > > _______________________________________________ > Freedos-devel mailing list > Freedos-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel >
_______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list Freedos-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
