Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 18:43:32 +0100
From: Hans-Bernhard Broeker <broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de>
Message-Id: <199901261743.SAA07909@acp3bf.physik.rwth-aachen.de>
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: Some Systems Defined
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Organization: RWTH Aachen, III. physikalisches Institut B
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com

In article <3 DOT 0 DOT 1 DOT 16 DOT 19990126113745 DOT 1fe79d02 AT shadow DOT net> you wrote:
[...]
> If not true, please correct.
[...]
> Windows 95 ++ is an independent operating system with added GUI features.
> (Windows 95 ++ is NOT a GUI dependent upon DOS.)

This is not really true. Technically speaking, there's little or no
conceptual difference between DOS with Win3.11 on one hand, and Win95
on the other, at that level. Win9x still depends on DOS (version
7.x). The only *real* difference is that the DOS part of Win9x has
undergone substantial reduction of features and a redesign of some of
its behaviour since the previous release, DOS 6.2x. The major
user-visible fact is that, unless instructed otherwise, DOS 7 will
automatically start Windows after working through autoexec.bat.

Win9x is more of a 'real' operating than Win3.11, that much is true,
but it's not really there, yet. Of the M$ products currently
available, only Windows NT is really an independent OS, in that sense.

The second major difference is that the 'DOS command line' (windowed
or fullscreen) inside the running Windows 95 GUI is not really a
classical DOS box (Virtual machine running an instance of DOS'
command.com) any more. Instead, it now runs Win32 'console mode'
executables as well, and starts up a virtual DOS machine only if you
actually call a DOS program).

--
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.