howard schwartz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [...] > Ordinarily, windows runs a second copy of command.com to run a dos > program or give you a does window. Is there some way to run a dos > program or create a dos command line, using only the original > copy of command.com in memory, thus saving some memory?
I can't speak authoritatively, but unless command.com was written to be re-entrant (I'll let the programmers get into the details), no. Basically, re-entrant code allows the same code (i.e. driver) to be called multiple times while keeping variables separate. > I guess I am asking for win 9x, why must one temporarily > switch from the windows to a dos shell by running a dos shell within the > windows shell? Conceptually, perhaps the answer is that one would need > to `temporarily' unload all the windows stuff in memory, or swap it to > disk, in order to go back a step to the original command.com that was > loaded first. Again, I haven't seen the source code (yet :) but I think it's "just the way it is", unless MS specifically MEANT for it to be re-entrant. I have NOT tested this to verify however (since I'm at work with no access to Win9x). I also haven't programmed for a VERY long time, so times may have changed. I guess you'd have to monitor memory before and after loading and see how it adds up. - Bob
