🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4058@amdahl.UUCP>, kim@amdahl.UUCP writes:
> Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more!
> 
> MS-DOS is a generic product which is sold to OEM's.  It provides all of
> the system functions and calls that are accessed via interrupts above 20h
> (i.e., int 20h, int21h, etc.)  This generic, base system is sometimes
> slightly customized by the OEM (IBM does this to a minor degree, I'm told).
> The basic operation of MS-DOS, and the functions provided via these rupts
> are very well defined and consistent from vendor to vendor.  But that's
> where it stops.
> 
> All of the functions/services that are provided by the BIOS are up to
> the individual vendor to implement, and are implementation specific.  On
> PClones these are things like rupts 10h - 1Fh, which provide services
> for Video I/O, RS232, keyboard, printer, Basic, floppys, etc. (at the
> BIOS level).  Then there are what are usually called H/W rupts (08h - 0Fh)
> on PClones;  these too, are implementation specific.
> 

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you.  Not over anything factual you
said (it all seems to be accurate) except that your use of terminology
is misleading.

MS-DOS is Microsoft's 8088/8086/80188/80186/etc. generic operating system; it
provides the features you specified as being available on interrupts 20h
and up.  PC-DOS is, pure and simple, the version of MS-DOS that includes
the cutomised BIOS interface for the IBM PC.  Most other vendors call
their customized MS-DOS's "MS-DOS" because we'd all get tired of
"COMPAQ-DOS", "Z-DOS", "FUJI-DOS" and so forth -- and we'd never know
which were really MS-DOS and which were cheap vendors' cheap imitations.

Calling the IBM PC BIOS a part of PC-DOS is misleading; if my PC is
running CP/M-86, the BIOS is still there -- and it is used by CP/M-86.
Likewise, CP/M-86 running on a non-IBM PC is still CP/M-86, even though
it may have to be customized for that machine.

Now I'm not going to argue: much software is written to take advantage
of the IBM-PC BIOS directly; this is usable on machines that are
BIOS-compatible and running MS-DOS, but not on machines running MS-DOS
that are not BIOS compatible.

-- 
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John T. Bryan              USENET:  ...!ihnp4!druhi!bryan
AT&T Information Systems   PHONE:   (303) 538-5172
12110 N. Pecos, #8C350     QUOTE:   I didn't mean what you thought I meant
Denver, CO  80234                   you said.
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