I was gonna GitHub it, but this
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/ga535hsby0zkleh/Exelyx%20kernel.7z?dl=0> will
work just as well for something that's not under active development. Let
me know if you have questions!
On 2/19/2016 5:14 PM, Maarten Vermeulen wrote:
“Anyway, my shell project (as of my last firing it up a couple years
ago) basically launches, (..)I still have the Watcom source around if
you want to check it out or use it as a starting base.”
Give me!!! :p
Seriously though… you know what to do ;)
Working on:
Bird OS 2017 1.0.0a (western screech-owl)
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
"why? Because Freedos, that's why!"
Some Nice projects:
- Freedos
- Night DOS Kernel
*Van: *Mercury Thirteen <mailto:[email protected]>
*Verzonden: *vrijdag 19 februari 2016 05:51
*Aan: *Technical discussion and questions for FreeDOS developers.
<mailto:[email protected]>
*Onderwerp: *Re: [Freedos-devel] An idea???
This was my intent for many years. Eventually I shelved the project
because it a shell simply can't do all I wanted it to; I needed to go
more low-level for that. At its heart, DOS (MS-, IBM-, Free- or
otherwise) is a single tasking OS. What this means is that you /can/
make a shell program to replace the command interpreter but when you
launch a program, everything else stops until that program exits. This
kinda breaks the functionality which one may think putting a shell
atop DOS would achieve. If you're basically making a file manager,
then that's quite doable and you'd basically end up with a Windows 3.x
clone. Well, I shouldn't say /clone/ per se, because I hope you'd give
it a much better interface than that of that eyesore.
In theory you could develop small apps (and even run them multitasked)
for a shell. Basically you'd include in your shell a rudimentary
virtual machine which would execute bytecode a'la Java. What this
bytecode would be is completely up to you. Do you make a custom
bytecode which is powerful and compact yet not understood by any
existing development tools out there? Do you make the bytecode
basically a direct ripoff of the x86 instruction set, enabling you to
run small programs compiled by anything from NASM to QuickBASIC? Do
you say screw it and just make a whole new kernel which will handle
all this fanciness at a hardware level as it was meant to be? These
are all issues you'd have to address if you took this route. Granted,
the virtual machine approach would require /lots/ of patience and time
to implement, but it can be done. Don't ask me how I know lol
Anyway, my shell project (as of my last firing it up a couple years
ago) basically launches, does some environment probing, sets up some
structures and then sits in a loop where you can access a menu and
test out the various features and such. There's code for handling VESA
mode switching, drawing in and manipulating off-screen memory buffers
known as pixmaps, text string manipulation, mouse polling, direct LBA
disk access and even the tiny beginnings of PCI bus probing. I still
have the Watcom source around if you want to check it out or use it as
a starting base.
So far as your question, a 16-bit shell can load whatever graphics
formats it's been programmed to handle. The biggest hang-up to doing
so is the screen mode situation under DOS. There's a good chance
you're going to want graphics which don't look blocky and colors depth
beyond 256. If that's true, then your code needs to use VESA. Doing so
gives you access to smooth animation, millions of colors and high
resolutions (up to 1600 x 1200, I believe), all of which you normally
can't have under plain DOS. I have 16-bit code (some written from
scratch, some retooled from public domain works) to load and save
images in jpg, bmp, pcx, gif (and a few other) formats. Although it's
not all been ported to Watcom as of yet, it may come in handy for you
as well. Images can be quite large and working with them can therefore
involve large amounts of data, so I would definitely recommend using
speedy 32-bit Watcom code (and the access-to-gobs-of-memory associated
with it) for this kind of work.
Others have given many nice examples of DOS GUI software but I didn't
see Qube
<http://www.osnews.com/story/75/Enter_the_Qube_a_New_Graphics_Environment_for_CLI_OSes>
mentioned. I'm not sure if it was ever released or whatever, but I
think it certainly is a nice looking addition to the list. Make your
shell sport an interface like that, and you just may have something.
:) Also, our own Chelson works on DOSCore (formerly OZone, I believe),
so he may be a valuable resource to you as well. Small world, eh?
Personally, while I may not use a GUI much for my DOS needs, I still
think it would be nice to see FreeDOS get this addition because...
well, you know why. ;)
On 2/17/2016 3:19 PM, Maarten Vermeulen wrote:
Hi all,
It’s not really about FreeDOS… but it has something to do with it. :)
I thought that maybe if you all like the idea, I could make a GUI
shell. It would be exclusive of course. Though, It will be
especially for FreeDOS. And maybe also MS-DOS and Night DOS. It’s
a sort of a vote. Would you like the idea of a new GUI shell?
Something new, newer then the old original (still nice) Windows
shells (Windows 1.0; 1.10; 2.0 etc.). I liked the idea, but if no
one likes the idea it’s a bit of a pointless thing. Also this will
be a second project, where I can work on when my other project
(BirdOS) is paused for a bit. Then I can wipe my mind for a bit.. :)
Some things though:
-Can a 16-bit OS load bitmap images?
-Can, if the idea is voted as a yes, I ‘borrow the FreeDOS logo
for [1].
[1] a ‘made for FreeDOS 1.2’ and ‘compatible with FreeDOS ‘1.1’
emblem/image. This will (maybe) be done with several OS’s.. It
will be especially for FreeDOS.
Get the discussion going! :)
-Maarten
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*This has been a Mercury Thirteen transmission.*
/"Why? Because *FreeDOS*, that's why."/
Things I endorse:
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ATI
eBid.net - A great eBay replacement which doesn't habitually screw
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FreeDOS
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I promote these things because awesomeness and excellence deserve
recognition, not for personal gain of any kind.
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--
*This has been a Mercury Thirteen transmission.*
/"Why? Because *FreeDOS*, that's why."/
Things I endorse:
AMD
ATI
eBid.net - A great eBay replacement which doesn't habitually screw over
its sellers! :)
FreeDOS
Samsung
Subaru - The most capable AWD ever!
Trump / Cruz 2016 - Make America great again!
I promote these things because awesomeness and excellence deserve
recognition, not for personal gain of any kind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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APM + Mobile APM + RUM: Monitor 3 App instances at just $35/Month
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Troubleshoot faster and improve end-user experience. Signup Now!
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