🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <BvqDBL.Lz8@csn.org> wrb@teal.csn.org (William R. Bishop) writes:
>  I worked on a project for over a year to develop a PC AND DOS emulator 
>under unix.
>...
>  It only emulates an XT (or most of one) and a monochrome display adapter,
>though it was designed to be extended.

Speed and compatibility would be major worries for XT emulations.  You've
also got some nasty competition for any Un*x that runs on Intel iron, since
there are a number of pretty robust packages, such as SimulTask, VP/IX, and
MERGE386, that make use of the v86 mode of the 386 chip to provide fairly
complete and workable 808x virtual machines at very accptable speeds.  With
these available at modest prices, and as integrated solutions, your package
will either have to offer something exceptional, or otherwise draw people
away from commercial offerings.  One such capability could be acceptable
performance and emulation on non-Intel hardware.

The death knell to all of these has been sounded by such companies as Borland,
however.  Recently, Paradox 4.0 was released--and it will NOT run in v86 mode.
It requires DPMI, and at least a 286, to operate; and the underlying v86
emulation mode can't provide this.  I don't know if Intel plans any extended
emulations for it's later chips--it would have to be along the lines of DEC's
three-ring protection scheme (kernel/supervisor/user), I would think, and
that's a significant stretch.

If your software emulator could construct a virtual 286 environment, it would
fill an otherwise unpopulated market niche.  Problems are rampant, however--
this would be a complex model to create and support, and speed would most
emphatically be a critical factor, as would cost.

Good luck,

		Dave Ihnat
		ignatz@homebru.chi.il.us (preferred return address)
		ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us