0,0 → 1,41 |
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=== SVARCOM === |
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SvarCOM is the SvarDOS command line interpreter, known usually under the name |
"COMMAND.COM". It is designed and maintained by Mateusz Viste, and distributed |
under the terms of the MIT license. |
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For the time being, it is an incomplete, experimental project. The goal would |
is to eventually make SvarCOM the default SvarDOS shell, replacing FreeCOM. |
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*** Why replacing FreeCOM, the FreeDOS COMMAND.COM? *** |
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FreeCOM is an impressive piece of software, but there are a few things that I |
do not like about it. SvarCOM is my attempt at addressing these things. |
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- FreeCOM is not suitable for low-memory machines. It takes about 55K of |
conventional memory when XMS is unavailable. XMS being a 386+ thing, FreeCOM |
is a poor fit for pre-386 machines. There is the KSSF hack, but it is a |
kludg with many limitations. |
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SvarDOS will not rely on XMS, and will perform swapping that works on any |
machine (similar to what MS-DOS did). |
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- FreeCOM requires custom NLS files. While the vast majority of FreeDOS |
programs use a single "standard" (CATS/Kitten), FreeCOM is using a different |
approach with pre-compiled NLS strings, which makes it necessary to |
distribute as many binary blobs as there are supported languages. It also |
makes the translation process much more difficult. |
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SvarDOS will use Kitten-style translations, like other applications. |
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- FreeCOM is a complex beast: it aims for compatibility with multiple |
compilers and supports many features. This makes the code uneasy to follow |
and changes require careful testing on all supported compilers and all |
possible build variants. |
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SvarDOS is meant to be simple and universal. It is meant to be compiled with |
OpenWatcom and nothing else. It also won't integrate features that can be |
implemented as third-party tools (typically: DOSKEY). |