nanogui: FreeDOS
Subject:
RE: FreeDOS
From:
Greg Haerr ####@####.####
Date:
2 Dec 1999 17:15:19 -0000
Message-Id: <796896539E6CD311B0E70060083DFEFB076E46@NBA-SLAM.CenSoft.COM>
The first
: of which is wether microwindows allows for the loading of external
: microwindows applications (like x-windows and windows applications). I
: suppose this is the case since otherwise there wouldn't be an api. But
: than how is this implemented in ms-c. How do dos programs contact the
: api's and can those programs be multitaked (i guess not with only normal
: ms-c).
Currently, Microwindows doesn't have any tasking or program loading
built-in. I've been tempted, but the Linux answer, used for Nano-X,
is to run separate processes and use a unix socket (similar to a pipe)
to send graphics commands from the application to the server process,
which is Nano-X. In the MSDOS environment, each application
is compiled into the server, for both the Microwindows and Nano-X
API. This at least allows graphics applications to be built.
I have a working relocatable loader that I've been playing with for
a while, which is well suited to the business of loading programs
into address spaces without much operating system underneath
it. One loader, cross-elf, will load 32-bit bit Linux-created ELF .o files
on Linux and MSDOS under a DOS extender.
I have also created a 16-bit relocateable object file loader,
used for object files created with the bcc toolkit, which could
run under ELKS and MSDOS, but it requires some special
OS support to setup the CS register properly.
Either of these could be used for program loading, but they're
certainly not "DOS-Compatible (tm)"
Of course another idea is to implement processes any way
you like, and use named pipes or unix sockets, just like Linux
does now...
Greg
