OT: OS/2, Linux and Windows (was Re: TZ)

[Trevor Smith]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2000 20:56:42 +0000 (GMT), Simon Bowring wrote:

>OS/2 is nicely placed in in the middle, it's friendly (still has 
>the best GUI I've ever seen, despite it's warts), and allows you
>build tools etc (with rexx and the WPS) without having to buy a 
>program or be a computer expert.

Agreed, emphatically!

>>It is a more reliable OS than OS/2
>OS/2 can be quite unreliable on dodgy/cheap hardware, but it does
>run reliably on good kit.  

And again, agreed. I'm not one of those who claims OS/2 is rock solid
since I often use "questionable" code and OS/2 does barf on me once
in a while. But in my limited tests with Linux, it's proved no
different. And I haven't installed *nearly* anything on Linux...
Obviously ymmv on the OS stability debate. Shrug.

>>Linux is a full 32 bit OS (soon to be 64 bit), etc.
>And the consequence of this is...?  Don't be fooled into
>thinking a 32 bit program is faster than a 16-bit one.  For
>small prgrams and certain drivers, the reverse is usually true, 
>the "bitness" affects the amount of memory you can address and 
>the "chunk" size you access it in.  

Regardless, there is an open source development underway to remove
the 16-bit vestiges from much of OS/2's command line gear. I think
you have to be on the "beta" list to get the code, I'm not sure...
Here's the intro from the readme:

   The 32-bit CMD replacement for OS/2, CMD32, is a native OS/2
   command interpreter. It is designed to be highly compatible with
   the 16-bit CMD.EXE supplied with OS/2 by IBM, providing the same
   range of commands and the ability to execute the same command
   scripts.

   CMD32 is a 32-bit program designed to always use the native
   paradigms of 32-bit OS/2 whereever possible, and to operate in a
   way that takes best advantage of the way that 32-bit OS/2 works
   and 32-bit OS/2 features. It contains no 16-bit code whatsoever,
   and uses no 16-bit OS/2 subsystems.

This stuff is already more or less daily-use level code IMO, though
it's still officially in beta and you might not be able to find it on
FTP sites. If you want to investigate, you'll have to email the
author and ask to be put on the beta list (he says yes to everyone I
believe).

Jonathan de Boyne Pollard <J.deBoynePollard@tesco.net>

I HIGHLY recommend everyone look into this 32-bit CMD replacement.
It's top notch software by a top notch programmer who is dedicated to
OS/2, continually working on his product(s), extremely knowledgeable
and extremely responsive.

As for the rest of the OS/2 kernel and its 16- or 32-bitness, well,
the future may hold surprises. :-)


-- 
 Trevor Smith          |          trevor@haligonian.com
 PGP public key available at: www.haligonian.com/trevor

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