Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/09/15/19:33:21
On Mon, 15 Sep 1997, Michael F Brenner wrote:
> There are three reasons for desiring a 32-bit DOS: (1) Windows 95 and Windows
> NT do not run all existing DOS programs, such as my KnowledgeMan runtime
> system, my Alsys Ada compiler, my Oracle 5.0 for DOS developers edition,
> programs which use extensive amounts of extended memory, programs which
> write to the robot controller ports, and programs which light up dots
> directly on the screen;
That's not a reason to downgrade your OS (inreference to NT... From Win95
to DOS is an upgrade in my opinion). That is a reason to upgrade your
other software.
> (3) DOS does not have perfect multi-programming-ness, and needs help
There's where you're messed up. There is no such thing as a perfect
operating system or perfect this or perfect that. All this garbage about
a 32-bit DOS and pros and cons about it and other OS's..... people
(including myself) are spinning their wheels for nothing. A 32-bit DOS
will not solve the world's problems in computing. If you want 32-bit
console apps, there are other 32-bit OS's out there to do it (*nix), and
if you want a 32-bit graphics application, there are pure 32-bit, fast
OS's that can handle that (my preference is WinNT--OS/2 just doesn't have
the support nor appeal to me, and Win95 is not pure 32-bit).
Even if you had a 32-bit DOS, you're just gonna find problems with that,
too. There's not a piece of software on this planet that is good enough
for anyone. There's always something wrong with it. I hope neither DJ
nor anyone else DOES write a 32-bit DOS, as I'm certain it will not be
accepted in the market. There will be no support. MS is pushing to put
Windows NT on home desktop computers. This means that before long, people
can be self-suffient on pure NT/95 native, 32-bit code and DOS will be by
the wayside. It is my belief that 95 will also hit the ground and be
forgotten. Backwards compatibility with DOS will eventually be
nonexistent. In the longer future, hardware may do the same.... Who
knows, Intel may be able to one day push into the homes of people a
processor without the problems posed by the current Intel architecture.
Or better yet, Intel will fall to its knees and be absorbed by Digital and
we will all have cheap alphas on our desks. I don't know. But it won't
be long before the software market has forgotten DOS. The average user
will one day not even have heard of DOS without reading a book on computer
history.
<soapbox mode off>
- Raw text -