/help/help-en/title |
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/help/help-en/freedos.ama |
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0,0 → 1,52 |
%h*** Why would I want to use SvarDOS instead of FreeDOS? *** |
The FreeDOS project is a free, open-source operating system that aims to be |
100%% compatible with MS-DOS. And it is awesome. So why would I want to use |
SvarDOS instead? |
%hLong release cycles |
The FreeDOS project began 29 June 1994. Version 1.0 came around in 2006. |
Version 1.1 has been released in 2012, and the version 1.2 followed in |
December 2016. This translates roughly to a 5-years release cycle. Granted, |
the DOS scene is not as active as it used to be, but still, many things happen |
during a few years. Such version-centric approach also requires users to |
perform full-system upgrades every now and then. |
SvarDOS is very different in this regard: there are no versions at all. |
Whenever a new program is included into or updated within the distribution, it |
becomes immediately available through the SvarDOS reposoitory and may be |
pulled either through the SvarDOS website or SvarDOS' pkgnet tool. Already |
installed systems can be easily kept up-to-date using the distribution's |
package manager. |
%hConstraints of legal nature |
The FreeDOS project mimicks a proprietary operating system, with all its APIs |
and peculiarities. For this reason, the project always had to be extremely |
careful about what can and what cannot be included within the FreeDOS |
distribution. As a result, only "free software" (as in freedom, think GPL, |
BSD, and so on) can make its way into the official distribution. While such |
cautious approach is sane and legally safe, it is far from practical for |
users. Allowing exclusively free software means that a high number of useful |
programs, tools and games are left behind. For example "freeware" tools (as in |
"gratis but no source included") are a no-go. Even open-source programs can be |
rejected, if they do not clearly state that they comply with an OSI-approved |
license. |
SvarDOS, on the other hand, is much more liberal about including packages. |
Basically, anything that is objectively useful, of reasonable quality, |
free/gratis and can be legally distributed in the form of a package, can be |
included in SvarDOS. The only exception is for the "core" system (ie. the |
operating system itself), which must be based exclusively on free/libre |
software. Read more about %lpkgrules.ama:SvarDOS package inclusion rules%t. |
%hFreeDOS included! |
It must be noted, that altough the goals of SvarDOS and FreeDOS may be |
slightly different, SvarDOS wouldn't exist without FreeDOS. Indeed, SvarDOS |
uses the excellent FreeDOS kernel, as well as a few other utilities borrowed |
from the FreeDOS ecosystem. |
Read also: %lhistory.ama:SvarDOS history |
/help/help-en/history.ama |
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0,0 → 1,32 |
%hSvarDOS origins (history from the point of view of its creator) |
Mateusz Viste, the SvarDOS author, says: |
In the years 2005-2015, I used to perform packaging work for the FreeDOS |
project. I wasn't pleased with the packaging tool that FreeDOS used back then |
(FDPKG), so in 2012 I started working on a new package manager, with network |
support, automatic updates, etc - I named it FDNPKG. Later I also devised a |
scripted way of generating an "always up to date" FreeDOS CD that I |
unimaginatively called "all_cd.iso". This CD included FDNPKG and all the |
FreeDOS packages available at the given moment. |
I still wasn't satisfied with how FreeDOS clings to its notion of "releases" |
and that it cannot include some software because of licensing issues, so in |
2016 I decided to create my own distribution, that I called Svarog386 (there |
was also a Svarog86 project that I had created a couple of months earlier, |
dedicated to 8086 machines). Svarog386 naturally relied on the FreeDOS kernel |
and used the FDNPKG package manager. |
Then, in 2021, I started to be tired of having two separate distributions to |
care about. Over time, FDNPKG also became a huge piece of protected mode code, |
and although it was magnificent code, I was no longer happy with it: too many |
features, too complex data processing, too high memory requirements... In a |
word: too much fluff. I longed for something simpler, that would do perhaps |
less, but with more transparency towards the user - and something that would |
work in real mode with not much RAM, so it could be useful even on ancient |
8086 machines. |
The result of these thoughts was SvarDOS: a distribution that replaced both |
Svarog86 and Svarog386, and that came with its own package manager - a much |
simpler (and in my opinion much more elegant) tool than FDNPKG. |
/help/help-en/index.ama |
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2,8 → 2,8 |
%h*** SVARDOS HELP *** |
This help documentation is a work-in-progress thing. For the time being it |
provides only very limited informations. (wanna help building it? get in touch |
with us on the SvarDOS mailing list!) |
provides only very limited content. (wanna help building it? get in touch with |
us on the SvarDOS %lcontact.ama:mailing list%t!) |
=== Chapters ================================================================= |
13,6 → 13,8 |
* %lfreedos.ama:SvarDOS vs FreeDOS: what is the story? |
* %ltodo.ama:The project's "TODO" list |
* %lcontact.ama:How do I get in touch with the SvarDOS community? |
* %lhistory.ama:SvarDOS origins |
* %lmeaning.ama:What does "Svarog" mean? |
============================================================================== |
/help/help-en/todo.ama |
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8,7 → 8,7 |
-> must be 8086-compatible and have modest memory requirements |
-> must be NLS-aware (multi-language) |
* validate that CORE is 100% 8086-compatible |
* validate that CORE is 100%% 8086-compatible |
* build process: the install floppy should be built as much as possible using |
existing packages (ie. remove the custom "files" directory from svn) |