Date:	Tue, 27 May 1997 17:24:39 -0400 (EDT)
From:	Pierre Phaneuf <pp AT dilu DOT ml DOT org>
Reply-To:	pierre AT tycho DOT com
To:	OpenDOS Mailing List <opendos AT delorie DOT com>
Subject:	Re: BIG suggestion for Opendos Features
In-Reply-To:	<Pine.LNX.3.95.970527092111.13320U-100000@capslock.com>
Message-ID:	<Pine.LNX.3.95.970527170936.11773J-100000@dilu.ml.org>
MIME-Version:	1.0

On Tue, 27 May 1997, Mike A. Harris wrote:

> > I don't think much will happen to OpenDOS/16, apart maybe VFAT and a few
> > improvements. OpenDOS/32 though will get a slew of improvement (ext2 is a
> > memory hog compared to FAT!) and will have its own protected mode API.
> > Program that calls the kernel through the current 16-bit real mode API
> > will get an emulation (like complex permissions systems parsed to a simple
> > "doesn't exist" (for file for which the user has no permissions),
> > "read-only" and "read/write", depending on the users rights. A bit like
> > OS/2 native calls and it's INT 21h services...
> 
> Well, ext2 *may* be such a memory hog, but that doesn't mean that
> it shouldn't be supported.  Rather it means that people who's
> systems can't afford to dish out the resources that ext2 requires
> - won't be able to use it, and will have to use VFAT or something
> else instead.  That doesn't mean that a 486 user with 16M of RAM
> shouldn't be allowed to use it!  I hope that you're not implying
> that!

Yes, exactly! That's why people who use 486 with 16M of RAM will use
OpenDOS/32 with ext2 and all the cool things! The OpenDOS/16 probably
won't have ext2 much used even if it is made available, since someone with
a machine capable of using ext2 will probably run OpenDOS/32 anyway.

> > OpenDOS/16 will probably get hardcoded FAT and optional VFAT driver (or
> > maybe hardcoded too) and nothing else. OpenDOS/32, should get installable
> > file systems without any problems...
> 
> Well, I think that anything useful that shows up in OD/32 will be
> also available or will be ported to OD/16 if enough people want
> it.

Yes, of course. If enough people want it and it is possible. But I think
ext2 on a 8086 with 640k of RAM would be problematic to say the least!

Pierre Phaneuf

"The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be
regarded as a criminal offense." - Edsger W. Dijkstra.

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