tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu (Tom Haapanen) (05/02/91)
Does the current OS/2 2.0 beta version include the BCL (Binary Compatability Layer) for running Windows binaries directly, or do Windows apps have to be run inside a DOS box (and thus in real mode)? Or is there any official word from IBM on whether the first 2.0 commercial release will have this, or whether it'll be in something like 2.1? For me, this may be the deciding factor for getting OS/2 onto my home machine; I can't afford to upgrade to OS/2 versions of my software... [ \tom haapanen --- university of waterloo --- tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu ] [ "i don't even know what street canada is on" -- al capone ]
d88-pfo@dront.nada.kth.se (Peter Forsberg) (05/02/91)
In article <1991May1.222608.8493@watserv1.waterloo.edu> tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu (Tom Haapanen) writes:
Does the current OS/2 2.0 beta version include the BCL (Binary Compatability
Layer) for running Windows binaries directly, or do Windows apps have to be
run inside a DOS box (and thus in real mode)? Or is there any official word
from IBM on whether the first 2.0 commercial release will have this, or
whether it'll be in something like 2.1?
The BCL is not in the current beta, but will be in the release version, and in
later betas.
For me, this may be the deciding factor for getting OS/2 onto my home machine;
I can't afford to upgrade to OS/2 versions of my software...
[ \tom haapanen --- university of waterloo --- tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu ]
[ "i don't even know what street canada is on" -- al capone ]
--
-- Peter A Forsberg
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
IBM Sweden.
E-mail: d88-pfo@nada.kth.se
#include <standard.disclaimer>towfiq@FTP.COM (Mark Towfiq) (05/02/91)
In article <1991May1.222608.8493@watserv1.waterloo.edu> tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu (Tom Haapanen) writes: Tom> Does the current OS/2 2.0 beta version include the BCL (Binary Tom> Compatability Layer) for running Windows binaries directly, or do Tom> Windows apps have to be run inside a DOS box (and thus in real Tom> mode)? Or is there any official word from IBM on whether the Tom> first 2.0 commercial release will have this, or whether it'll be Tom> in something like 2.1? >>>>> On 2 May 91 11:05:51 GMT, d88-pfo@dront.nada.kth.se (Peter Forsberg) said: Peter> The BCL is not in the current beta, but will be in the release Peter> version, and in later betas. Just as an interesting exercise, I tried to figure out the Binary Compatability Layer on our copy of the beta 2.0 here at FTP. I took a usual Windows executable (I think it was CLOCK.EXE, either the release or the one in the windev samples directory), and tried to run it from a full screen session. Itstead of getting an error message, I got the usual PM "snap" from full-screen to PM, and then back to full screen, with the message "The system cannot find the file .". I began to wonder, ran EXEHDR on the executable, and found out it was looking for THREE DLLs! The three were called kernel, gdi, and user. I found executables by this name in the \windows\system directory on my DOS machine, so I copied them over and looked at those with exehdr, and they were exporting the very functions which the clock program was trying to import. So then I tried renaming the gdi, user, and kernel executables to DLLs, but of course that didn't work. Nevertheless, the point I wanted to make is that it seems as though they are just going to furnish DLLs in OS/2 which map the native windows stuff to PM -- pretty snazzy huh? -- Mark Towfiq, FTP Software, Inc. towfiq@FTP.COM Work No.: +1 617 246 0900 Home No.: +1 617 488 2818 "The Earth is but One Country, and Mankind its Citizens" -- Baha'u'llah
d9mikael@dtek.chalmers.se (Mikael Wahlgren) (05/02/91)
In article <1991May1.222608.8493@watserv1.waterloo.edu> tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu (Tom Haapanen) writes: >Does the current OS/2 2.0 beta version include the BCL (Binary Compatability >Layer) for running Windows binaries directly, or do Windows apps have to be >run inside a DOS box (and thus in real mode)? Or is there any official word >from IBM on whether the first 2.0 commercial release will have this, or >whether it'll be in something like 2.1? The OS/2 2.0 beta previous available at the Atlanta IBM BBS was the .123 release that Microsoft released earlier. IBM demonstrated some different OS/2 2.0 versions some weeks ago, which each of them contained some important features, like the BCL (but wasn't called BCL), ability to boot different DOS versions in the DOS-boxes, new graphics look. They didn't have an OS/2 2.0 version that had ALL of these features, but rather three versions that each of them had ONE of these. This is because IBM have different developement teams that each of them are responsible for different features, and that should be merged into one single version before release. None of these versions have been available outside IBM. My conclusion is that the first release of OS/2 2.0 from IBM, WILL include BCL, DOS boot capability, new graphics look and so on. Mikael Wahlgren d9mikael@dtek.chalmers.se
d9mikael@dtek.chalmers.se (Mikael Wahlgren) (05/05/91)
>Just as an interesting exercise, I tried to figure out the Binary >Compatability Layer on our copy of the beta 2.0 here at FTP. I took a >usual Windows executable (I think it was CLOCK.EXE, either the release >or the one in the windev samples directory), and tried to run it from >a full screen session. Itstead of getting an error message, I got the >usual PM "snap" from full-screen to PM, and then back to full screen, >with the message "The system cannot find the file .". I began to I think that OS/2 2.0 detect that you try to run a DOS-application, even if you try to start it from the OS/2 session, and switch to a DOS-session instead. Probably this is true with Windows programs too. Mikael Wahlgren d9mikael@dtek.chalmers.se