Win16 and DOS implementations

[hto]

The installer — setup.exe file in that archive file — is a 16-bit „Windows 3.x” application. It's 10 years old or so. The driver for Windows XP itself is a 32-bit program, of course.

[Z98]

This was one of the concerns some people had, relatively modern apps using obscenely old installers. Probably the one good justification for supporting 16bit stuff in the minds of a few devs. We'll see how silverblade's project goes.

[Black_Fox]

Aha, thanks for the info hto.

[Carlo Bramix]

Hello,

Running a 16-bit application from cmd.exe should invoke DosBox and re-use the existing console window. If the app wants to switch graphics mode then an SDL drawing surface can be used. This change basically means using Windows consoles for text-mode (though I am not sure how this would handle unusual characters and such.)

I just read it but I must say that I do not agree very much with this idea. I have a bad feeling about integrating so deeply Dosbox with CMD and perhaps other tools.
If we really can't avoid it, I would prefer the opposite: while running dosbox, if the user tries to run a 32 bit or 64 bit executable, it will launch it with a CreateProcess(); although I have not checked it, it seems to me that dosbox is using its own, true window so I'm not sure that a console application could acquire it.

Sincerely,

Carlo Bramini.

[silverblade]

DOSBox does indeed use its own window, which uses SDL.

I'm not actually going to be embedding parts of DosBox into ReactOS components, so don't worry. The most I'd be doing for the existing ReactOS code is making it run a specific program if a 16-bit executable is detected. This I think is how Windows does it.

So if you don't have the customised DOSBox installed, you simply won't have 16-bit app support. It'll be a separate component that you can install if you wish.

Any other modifications to ReactOS to aid in this, I'd ensure do not interfere with normal operation.

So, you can ditch 16-bit support if you do not need it

[Haos]

I do like this approach. Be sure to include the DOS4gw extender replacement: http://dos32a.narechk.net/index_en.html its free, opensource, with a permissive license, and is recommended by DOSBox guys as a solution for numerous game problems with original WATCOM Dos4GW extender.

[Blackcrack]

Hy,

Haos, intresting link ..


AG, normal it's a thing to be by the peoples as standart suggeration
( to have an thing to say, this do you have to do!! -> this is normal the other is bad :\ ),
whant you try to evolution so dont try "normal" and dont think on the Standart,
try other way's who be befor not taken others, this is the best way to become
new way's to go, maby better way's or badly one's. Think like a Pirate an
Researcher to have every new possibility's, think ,this is the best way to
have make it better as "normal" learned struktures..
there you become the "hottest" ReactOneS i think

best regards
Blacky

[Haos]

I have no idea what did you just write...

[silverblade]

Uh... Something about pirates and researchers?

Jack Sparrow walks into a library...

[swight]

Think he is basically saying the standard isn't the only way(and should be left behind) and we shouldn't be afraid to try and invent new things(or ways of doing things). He just used a very long way of putting it + the usual grammar/spelling issues. This was also more readable to me than some of his other posts.

[Blackcrack]

Think he is basically saying the standard isn't the only way(and should be left behind) and we shouldn't be afraid to try and invent new things(or ways of doing things). He just used a very long way of putting it + the usual grammar/spelling issues. This was also more readable to me than some of his other posts.

Thy,

Aye Captain Silver

best Regards
Blacky

yo' deckscrubber and landlubber ' [ external image ] Take new way's
for all who see other, take a look : the explanation why art of pirat ... a little history

p.s.: this shold be only a little funny taken, stay of the right way like now but only like outher range with new ideas and enhancements to give the Users the best System to executing Open Source and the buyed Programms on Win32 and 16bit .....
not other ....

[Haos]

Stop offtopic-ing, please?

[fred02]

The most I'd be doing for the existing ReactOS code is making it run a specific program if a 16-bit executable is detected. This I think is how Windows does it.

So if you don't have the customised DOSBox installed, you simply won't have 16-bit app support. It'll be a separate component that you can install if you wish.

Any other modifications to ReactOS to aid in this, I'd ensure do not interfere with normal operation.

So, you can ditch 16-bit support if you do not need it

I like this approach too.
Basically, when people say that windows does this and that, what they do not understand is that windows makes you think that it does this and that, while behind the scenes it launches a completely separate task, like ntvdm, and then conveniently (or more often not) integrates the output.