bnsokol@orchid.waterloo.edu (Brad Sokol) (02/17/88)
Does any one on the net have any hands-on experience with the production
version of OS/2? I would be interested in hearing opinions and experiences
on using OS/2 as well as developing applications for it. Some issues of
interest are:
-problems upgrading from DOS
-OS/2 commands
-DOS compatability box - what will run and what won't?
-speed relative to DOS
-multi-tasking - how effective is it?
-application development tools - are all those wonderful DOS
compilers useless for OS/2?
-operating system services - upwardly compatible from DOS INT 21H?
- what new functions have been added?
I realise that the usefullness of a 80286 based operating system is a
topic worthy of discussion, but I am interested in hearing exactly what
Microsoft and IBM have given us since it will likely be around in some form
for quite a while.
Thanks in advance
--
Brad Sokol, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
UUCP: {allegra,clyde,utzoo,decvax}!watmath!orchid!bnsokol
BITNET: bnsokol@orchid.waterloo{.edu,.csnet,.cdn}
Paradise is exactly like where you are right now only much, much better. - LAmurillo@sigi.Colorado.EDU (Rodrigo Murillo) (02/18/88)
In article <12306@orchid.waterloo.edu> bnsokol@orchid.waterloo.edu (Brad Sokol) writes: > >Does any one on the net have any hands-on experience with the production >version of OS/2? I would be interested in hearing opinions and experiences >on using OS/2 as well as developing applications for it. Some issues of >interest are: > > -problems upgrading from DOS In terms of installation, there are no problems. The process is menu driven and auto-setups some basic defaults. I have OS/2 installed on my PC-AT in such a manner that I can boot DOS 3.3 from a floppy. This would be suggested if you don't want to fully commit to OS/2 right away. > -DOS compatability box - what will run and what won't? Most 'well behaved' programs will run fine. There seems to be a fair bit of speed degredation (at least screen wise) The word is that it runs DOS programs about 20% slower that DOS-based 8mhz AT. What will not work in the 'box' is background execution. In other words a program running in the box will come to a screeching halt when you switch to an OS/2 screen group. This is not a problem with things like dBase, but will kill communications programs. > -application development tools - are all those wonderful DOS > compilers useless for OS/2? yes, I guess so. All DOS programs are unable to run under OS/2. (They run in the box, but not from the OS/2 prompt). You can try of course, because file and directory structures are the same, but OS/2 somehow detects DOS .com and .exe files and says something like: "Program to big to fit memory." Developers and porters might be interested to know that you can code for a 'Family Application' that will run under both OS/2 and DOS. > -operating system services - upwardly compatible from DOS INT 21H? > - what new functions have been added? From what I understand, programs no longer call for DOS services via the interrupt system, but rather by shared libraries, that are linked in. This is similar to the C library structure in that you include libraries in your code. C is also the development language of choice for OS/2 applications. As far a functions go, all the support for mutli-tasking, interprocess communication, threads and the like are supported by the system libraries. >I realise that the usefullness of a 80286 based operating system is a >topic worthy of discussion, but I am interested in hearing exactly what >Microsoft and IBM have given us since it will likely be around in some form >for quite a while. My guess is that OS/2 is here to stay. And thats less of a guess when you consider all the vendors that are either porting code or developing new applications specifically for OS/2. And yes,yes, everybody is waiting for the Presentation Manager to really get going, but the Standard Edition 1.0 *is* the operating system. Everything else is just extentions and enhancements. Fun in the new world! -- ----------- Rodrigo Murillo, UC - Boulder (303)761-0410 ----------- murillo@boulder.Colorado.EDU -or- ..{hao|nbires}!boulder!murillo (Machines have less problems. I'd like to be a machine. -- Andy Worhol)