Mail Archives: djgpp/1999/03/27/14:59:52
I got few suggestions...they mainly have to with projects already
started though not completed.
Suggestion 1 - Help continue/complete development of FreeDOS. I
watch both the DJGPP and FreeDOS lists (and the ELKS for those of
you who have heard of it) and I have to agree with DJ about DJGPP's
progression. It mainly now seems that the DJGPP pkg has become
quite stable and it is basically just waiting for changes to the
tool chain which makes it more like its GNU/Linux cousins. EGCS
and CygWin32/MinGW32 projects are doing well also and Cygnus is
doing a great job with it, especially since DJ has done a great
job with docs. His docs answered a alot questions I had. But,
DJGPP doesnt have that it's GNU/Linux cousins have is a GPL OS.
The FreeDOS group has made leaps and bounds in the last 6 months.
They corrected 512MB bug of FAT16, 90% of common utils are
functional and I'd say about 75%-85% compatibility w/v3.3 has
been established. But, they're still lacking. The ability to
distribute the development environment with the OS is what has
made GNU/Linux systems such a success. Imagine if that were
possible with DJGPP. I know...most people think DOS is dead
but I dont...maybe I'm crazy. Heck, even DJ doesnt use DOS or
DOSEmu on his SG to build DJGPP.
That brings me to my second suggestion.
Suggestion 2 - What FreeDOS is sorely lacking is a complete ANSI,
16-Bit C compiler. I know, 16-Bit is way out of style but its
necessary when doing systems programming on a x86. CWSDPMI itself
must be compiled with BC because of this. But, DJ already started
such a project. Though not complete, it is a start.
and my last suggestion is...
Suggestion 3 - Convince Michael Polak of xChaos to release Arachne
under GPL. Everyone know that the only reason windows is popular
is because it was the first remotely popular software made
"internet-ready". If could convince Mr Polak to do this...it might
make some commercial SW/HW companies actually look again at DOS.
This is what has happened to GNU/Linux, the CygWin project,
X-Windows, and countless other GNU projects. Bringing the internet
to DOS increases user base. Increased user base brings commercial
interest. Commercial interest sparks commercial assistance (as
long as they develop under GPL). Hey maybe one day we could a
copy of Apache running on a 386, 32MB RAM, 200MB HD system (that
would amaze many people). You might say why...Caldera already
has OpenDOS/DR-DOS/Not-so-Open-Source-DOS. But, its still a
commercial product. Imagine having your choice of GNU/DOS &
GNU/Linux, each that comes with the OS specific gcc and
X-Windows that runs Arachne? What a dream huh?!?
I agree...X-Windows needs doing. But, what makes GNU/Linux so
popular is that they are customizable and extendable. Sure,
even today most users use X-Windows, but most I've seen still
run xterm frequently. CLI will never die...and GUI wont either.
Somethings are just easier in a GUI.
All in all, I'm grateful for what DJ and all the others have done.
I dont think I'd be nearly as interested in computers if it werent
for them. This might be just a little ambitious...but hey...DJ
asked for us to think big.
Louis Santillan
PS - Sorry for the long message.
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