🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello Visual Basic lovers,
    Since there are so many people ask me about the compatible/performance
problems of Visual Basic's applications running under Chinese Windows. Here
is a summary:

First, [[[ Chinese Windows summary ]]]
There are many Chinese Windows in Taiwan and Chinese Mainland. Here is some
of them. <<<< All Chinese inner code are BIG-5 code >>>>

   1. Microsoft Chinese Windows 3.0
      Price: NT$3,700.                     (NT$25.5 = US$1)
      Disks: 11 disks (5 1/4")
      Features: Fully Chinese Message support.
                One True-Type Chinese font.
                Support DynaLab's Golden Butterfly Card(GB2A) Chinese Font
                  Generator.
      Disadvantages: About 30% slow than Windows 3.0.
                     Need 2 disks calls C-Win WDL to modify the original
                       C-Windows if you want to run Visual Basic or Word 2.0.
                     Only support 3 printer drivers and about 7 display
                       drivers.

   2. Microsoft Chinese Windows 3.1
      Not announced yet, beta testing now. Will be announced on April 1993.
      Features: The same as MS C-Win 3.0
                It says that the display speed will be 6 times faster than
                  MS C-Win 3.0.
      Beta-test-first-look: Although it says about six times faster than MS
                              C-Win 3.0, it seems as slow as C-Win 3.0.

   3. III Chinese Windows Environment 3.x.   About NT$2,700.
      Not announced, will be announced on December 1992.
      Features: Must be installed/run under Windows 3.x.
                Because not modifying the kernal of Windows, the display
                speed is as fast as Windows.
                3 scaleable Chinese font supported.
                Support DynaLab's Golden Butterfly Card/Disks Chinese Font
                Generator. 
      Disadvantages: The chinese fonts seems ugly than other C-WIN system.
                     The older version (3.0/3.0A) has display problem with 
                     Word /Excel. The newest version 3.1 (will be announced on
                     December) is unknown.

   4. Acer Chinese Windows Environment 3.1 
      Disks: 4 disks (5 1/4")
      Price: Sorry, don't know.
      Features: Support one Chinese fonts.
                Support DynaLab's Golden Butterfly Card/Disks Chinese Font
                  Generator.
                Must be installed/run under Windows 3.x.
      Disvantages: Don't know because I haven't installed it yet. After I
                     install it, I'll post the test result again.

   5. Eten Chinese Windows Driver x.x
      All unknow, maybe alpha test now.
      Announce Date: unknow, maybe on 1993.
     
Second, let's consider Visual Basic's compatible/performance problems.
Because all Chinese Windows Environment except MS C-WIN are run under MS
English Windows. Ther work like ATM. So no problem lah!!! But for MS C-WIN
3.0, because it modify the kernel of Windows, it's original display driver
will conflict with Visual Basic and cause UAE. But the MS WDL corrected it. So
no problem too.

Performance problems are depends on Windows system, not your problem, so don't
worry about it too.

Third: DBCS, DBCS! Does C-Win support DBCS?????
    Many foreign people ask about the DBCS( Double-byte Character Set) problems
because Chinese word are combined by 2-byte, i.e., 2 English chars = 1 Chinese
word. They query about that Visual Basic can handle DBCS ??? Sorry, the 
answer is No. DBCS handler is done by Windows system, not your VB program.
But there are *no* Chinese Windows support DBCS now, including Microsoft
Chinese Windows 3.x. But don't worry about it lah! VB program run in this
CHinese system works well too. I never see any problem about the DBCS. And,
the DBCS handler is easy to program, if you meet the problem, just write one.
It's easy, no kidding.

Any questions? Ask me! 
--
===============================================================================
 Yuh-Fuu Wu                                      National Tsing-Hua University
 e-mail: yfwu@uz.nthu.edu.tw                     Dept. of Electric Engineering
                                                 Hsin-Chu City, 300
 Like MS Visual Basic most!                      Taiwan, ROC
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