From: ovek AT arcticnet DOT no (Ove Kaaven)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: Any one writing OS in DJGPP?
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 19:10:20 GMT
Organization: Vplan Programvare AS
Lines: 30
Message-ID: <5bumbf$tov$1@troll.powertech.no>
References: <32E14858 DOT 4CF6 AT concentric DOT net> <32E24EA0 DOT 7BEE AT blackmagic DOT tait DOT co DOT nz>
NNTP-Posting-Host: alwayscold.darkness.arcticnet.no
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Bill Currie <billc AT blackmagic DOT tait DOT co DOT nz> wrote:

>I'm working on an os myself (infact I wrote the bootstrap loader 
>mentioned above).  I've got it so it can call the bios from protected 
>mode (v86 mode) and handle hardware interrupts/cpu exceptions.

OS writing is fun, don't you all agree?

>I'm currently trying to figgure out what I want it to do and how it 
>should sit in memory.  Anyone interrested in what I have so far, just 
>mail me.  I will be posting an update soon to Alaric so he can put it on 
>his web page.

Then I've come a little further than you... I call the BIOS in a VM,
naturally multitaskable so disk accesses etc don't delay anything
else, it multitasks (I think), it has page mapping, it has a
"universal" file system driver, where FAT is implemented, it's
completely message-driven (and designed for reliability), it has a
basic console driver, a complete (almost) keyboard driver, a simple
shell, and naturally lots of loose ends, non-implemented features and
a few bugs. I'm currently working on the serial driver, to make myself
able to make a comms program to combine development and "net surfing".

Of course, nobody developing an OS nowadays can count that their
system will become any great hit, there's just too many of them. But
it's fun, makes good experience, and it's a way to channel one's
disgust of the Bill Gates empire. And with all this effort in this
area, maybe one will eventually be able to be Windows' successor.