From:	firewind <firewind AT metroid DOT dyn DOT ml DOT org>
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	Re: DJGPP: DJ's GNU POSIX Platform
Date:	12 Sep 1997 07:33:34 GMT
Organization:	Netcom
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Message-ID:	<5var8e$f0l@sjx-ixn6.ix.netcom.com>
References:	<199709120321 DOT WAA24009 AT fly DOT HiWAAY DOT net>
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To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Kurt Wall <kwall AT utw DOT com> wrote:

> DJ Delorie <dj AT delorie DOT com> opined
> > Maybe it's time for DJGPP to expand into the 32-bit DOS clone area?
> > We could start with Freedos (it's gpl) and rewrite the FAT drivers for
> > true long and case sensitive names, real symlinks, and FAT32.
> > 
> > Imagine a 32-bit DOS that uses up around 3k of conventional memory,
> > leaving ALL high and upper memory available, even with all your
> > drivers installed...

> I would also like to replace "\" with "/", true pre-emptive multitasking,
> mult-processing support,
> installable file systems, security, a smaller kernel with
> dynamically-loadable and unloadable device drivers...  But this starts to
> sound too much like UNIX, and although I like UNIX, prefer the simplicity
> of DOS.

The filesystem was a huge kludge never intended for such wide use. The
switch\path delimiter is an accident of an even more primitive filesystem
(originally, FAT had no subdirectories, so '/' was used for switches without
a thought of future implications) and only exists in one particular command 
shell anyway: the MS-DOS kernel groks both '/' and '\' as path delimiters. 
Although more changes would indeed change the nature and purpose of the OS, I 
think that these two are definetly worth making.

-- 
[- 				 firewind	                            -]
[-   email: firewind AT metroid DOT dyn DOT ml DOT org (home), firewind AT aurdev DOT com (work)  -]
[- 	    "You're just jealous because the voices talk to -me-."          -]

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