DOS ain't dead

What does BDS mean in the MS-DOS sources? (Miscellaneous)

posted by ecm  , Düsseldorf, Germany, 10.05.2024, 14:14

The BDS is a data structure in the MS-DOS v4 BIO module:

https://hg.pushbx.org/ecm/msdos4/file/abb3b0dfe997/src/INC/MSBDS.INC#l94

https://hg.pushbx.org/ecm/msdos4/file/abb3b0dfe997/src/BIOS/MSDISK.ASM

https://hg.pushbx.org/ecm/msdos4/file/abb3b0dfe997/src/BIOS/MSINIT.ASM

In the msbds.inc file there is also mention of the "BDSM" which is "BDS structure for mini disk", where mini disk means extended or logical partitions on an MBR-partitioned disk.

The same structure is called Drive Data Table in the Interrupt List and in the FreeDOS kernel. DR-DOS calls it the UDSC (Unit Descriptor), see also this thread. I call it the UPB (Unit Parameter Block).

I haven't found any reference to what BDS stands for yet. My guesses would be "Basic Disk Structure" or "BIO Disk Structure" but there is no instance of these spelled out in the source tree if that's indeed what BDS stands for.

---
l

Complete thread:

• What does BDS mean in the MS-DOS sources? - ecm, 10.05.2024, 14:14 (Miscellaneous)
  • What does BDS mean in the MS-DOS sources? - glennmcc, 10.05.2024, 18:20
    • What does BDS mean in the MS-DOS sources? - Doug, 10.05.2024, 21:30
      • What does BDS mean in the MS-DOS sources? - ecm, 10.05.2024, 22:12
  • What does BDS mean in the MS-DOS sources? - usotsuki, 11.05.2024, 03:32