DOS ain't dead

DOS specifications ("standards") (Developers)

posted by Zyzzle, 19.11.2020, 02:23

> Hi all,
>
> I've long been concerned about the fact that there is a lack of new
> specifications and standards for DOS programming (or even general usage)
> insofar as newer technologies are concerned.
>
> I'm hereby volunteering to at least *begin* trying to address this
> shortage. I am not guaranteeing that I can take this effort to its
> conclusion, though, because although I have plenty of time on my hands, I
> also have ADD.
>
> Some of the things I feel need to be done, or at least started, as soon as
> possible are:
> 1. large physical memory support (ie. above 4 GB)
> 2. standardised 64-bit program support
> 3. MBR amendments to support blocks (sectors) above 4G
> 4. large file support (llseek, etc.)
> 5. Memory mapped file API for INT21.
> 6. SMP (multiprocessing) support
>
> Where it makes sense, existing specifications should be amended, but some
> things may be better to redo from scratch.
>
> Cheers,
> Albert.

They're all good and would be useful. #2 and #6 have been demonstrated by NDN and other attempts.

Most important seem to be 2 and 3, along with perhaps native ExFAT (FAT64) support. Large media support and large file sizes. #1 is being worked on as we speak -- HIMEMSX has shown large memory support is possible. At very minimum get rid of signed filesizes, extend lseek to be at least an unsigned 32-bit integer.

Complete thread:

• DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 18.11.2020, 16:57 (Developers)
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 18.11.2020, 18:48
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - RayeR, 18.11.2020, 20:07
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 19.11.2020, 13:32
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - glennmcc, 18.11.2020, 20:22
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 19.11.2020, 13:44
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - Zyzzle, 19.11.2020, 02:23
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 19.11.2020, 14:02
      • DOS specifications ("standards") - RayeR, 19.11.2020, 19:11
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - Laaca, 19.11.2020, 11:27
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 19.11.2020, 15:03
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - RayeR, 20.11.2020, 02:04
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - tkchia, 19.11.2020, 14:12
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 19.11.2020, 15:11
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - RayeR, 19.11.2020, 19:06
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - ecm, 20.11.2020, 16:08
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 21.11.2020, 16:43
      • DOS specifications ("standards") - tkchia, 21.11.2020, 17:37
        • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 21.11.2020, 18:58
          • DOS specifications ("standards") - tom, 22.11.2020, 14:58
      • DOS specifications ("standards") - marcov, 22.11.2020, 22:35
        • DOS specifications ("standards") - RayeR, 23.11.2020, 05:49
      • DOS specifications ("standards") - 33-bit LBA support - ecm, 23.11.2020, 10:01
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - ecm, 25.12.2020, 21:27
  • Hosting/Sharing - rr, 23.11.2020, 21:19
  • DOS specifications ("standards") - Ro2003, 13.01.2024, 09:06
    • DOS specifications ("standards") - awik, 16.01.2024, 11:28
      • DOS specifications ("standards") - jadoxa, 17.01.2024, 02:15
        • DOS specifications ("standards") - Rugxulo, 17.01.2024, 03:40