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| <h1>SvarDOS - an open-source DOS distribution</h1> |
| <p class="copyr">for PCs of the 1980-2000 era</p> |
| <p class="copyr">brought to you by <a href="http://mateusz.viste.fr/" class="mateusz">Mateusz Viste</a></p> |
| <div style="margin: 2em auto; width: 21em; border: 1px #777 solid; background-color: #fff; padding: 0.1em 0.5em; color: #a00; font-size: 1.1em; border-radius: 0.3em;">This project is very much "work-in-progress", not everything works yet! Wanna help? Get in touch through the project's mailing list!</div> |
| <div style="margin: 2em auto; width: 21em; border: 1px #777 solid; background-color: #fff; padding: 0.1em 0.5em; color: #a00; font-size: 1.1em;">This project is very much "work-in-progress", not everything works yet!</div> |
| <p>SvarDOS is an open-source project that is meant to integrate the best out of the currently available DOS tools, drivers and games. DOS development has been abandoned by commercial players a very long time ago, mostly during early nineties. Nowadays, it survives solely through the efforts of hobbyists and retro-enthusiasts, but this is a highly sparse and unorganized ecosystem. SvarDOS aims to collect available DOS software, package it and make it easy to find and install applications using a network-enabled package manager (like apt-get, but for DOS and able to run even on a 8086 PC).</p> |
| <h2>Minimalist and 8086-compatible</h2> |
| <h2>Minimalist and 8086-compatibe</h2> |
| <p>Once installed, SvarDOS is a minimalistic DOS system that offers only the FreeDOS kernel and the most basic tools for system administration. It is up to the user to install additional packages. Care is taken so SvarDOS remains 8086-compatible, at least in its most basic (core) configuration.</p> |
| <p>Once installed, SvarDOS is a minimalistic DOS system that offers only the most basic tools for system administration. It is up to the user to install additional packages. Care is taken so SvarDOS remains 8086-compatible, at least in its most basic (core) configuration.</p> |
| <h2>Open-source</h2> |
| 15,11 → 15,11 |
| <h2>No "versions"</h2> |
| <p>SvarDOS is a "rolling" release, meaning that it doesn't follow the concept of "versions". Once the system is installed, its packages can be kept up-to-date using the SvarDOS online update tools (pkg & pkgnet).</p> |
| <p>SvarDOS is a "rolling" release, meaning that it doesn't follow the concept of "versions". Once the system is installed, its packages can be kept up-to-date using the SvarDOS online update tools (pkgnet & pkginst).</p> |
| <h2>Community and help</h2> |
| <p>Need to get in touch? Wish to submit some packages, translate SvarDOS to your language, or otherwise contribute? Or maybe you'd like some information about SvarDOS? The project has a <a href="https://lists.osdn.me/mailman/listinfo/svardos-users">mailing list</a> just for that. You may also wish to take a look at the <a href="phpamb.php?fname=help/help-en.amb&f=todo.ama">project's "todo list"</a>.</p> |
| <p>Need to get in touch? Wish to submit some packages, translate SvarDOS to your language, or otherwise contribute? Or maybe you'd like some information about SvarDOS? The project has a <a href="https://lists.osdn.me/mailman/listinfo/svardos-users">mailing list</a> just for that.</p> |
| <h2>Downloads</h2> |
| /website/index-repo.php |
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| 1,5 → 1,5 |
| <h1>SvarDOS repository</h1> |
| <p class="copyr">"the world of packages"</p> |
| <p class="copyr">or the world of packages</p> |
| <p>This page lists all packages that are available in the SvarDOS repository. These packages can be downloaded from within SvarDOS using the pkgnet tool, or you can download them from here.</p> |
| /website/index-why.htm |
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| 0,0 → 1,16 |
| <h1>Why would I want to use SvarDOS</h1> |
| <p class="copyr">...instead of simply sticking with FreeDOS?</p> |
| <p>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 one need to use an alternative DOS distribution, like SvarDOS?</p> |
| <h2>Long release cycles</h2> |
| <p>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 is likely to be release somewhere at the end of 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.</p> |
| <p>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, then the ISO release is immediately updated and available through the SvarDOS website. Already installed systems can be easily kept up-to-date using the distribution's (online) package manager.</p> |
| <h2>Constraints of legal nature</h2> |
| <p>The FreeDOS project is mimicking 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 very 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.</p> |
| <p>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 <a href="?p=tech&art=pkgincl">SvarDOS package inclusion rules</a>.</p> |
| /website/index.php |
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| </head> |
| <body> |
| <p style="margin: 0 0 -1em auto; font-size: 0.9em; text-align: right;"><a href="/">Main page</a> I <a href="?p=repo">Repo</a> I <a href="phpamb.php?fname=help/help-en.amb">Help</a><!-- I <a href="?p=nls">NLS</a>--></p> |
| <p style="margin: 0 0 -1em auto; font-size: 0.9em; text-align: right;"><a href="/">Main page</a> I <a href="?p=why">Why SvarDOS</a> I <a href="?p=repo">Repo</a> I <a href="?p=tech">Tech</a> I <a href="?p=nls">NLS</a></p> |
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| } else if ($p == 'tech') { |
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| } else if ($p == 'nls') { |
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| } else if ($p == 'repo') { |
| include 'index-repo.php'; |
| /website/tech/licensing.txt |
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| 0,0 → 1,3 |
| SvarDOS is a distribution made of many different software bricks, hence a single license can hardly be applied to all. However, the basic system (that is the SvarDOS installer, bootable floppy image and all core packages) is carefully assembled from software that is "free" as in "Freedom", ie. that grants the 3 basic FOSS liberties (freedom to use, modify, and redistribute). This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, software released under following licenses: GNU GPLv2, GNU GPLv3, BSD, MIT, EUPL and Public domain. |
| Note that, while the above applies to the core of the SvarDOS distribution, it does not cover all extra packages. Additionnal software packages may or may not be FOSS, they are only guaranteed to be "gratis for non-commercial use". Read more about that in the article "Packages inclusion rules". |
| /website/tech/pkgformat.txt |
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| 0,0 → 1,57 |
| Package files provide an easy way to manage software on SvarDOS. |
| *** Package filenames *** |
| Packages names must follow some basic rules. They shall be max. 8 letters long (but should not be too short either, since a 1 or 2-letters package name might be confusing), and must not be composed of characters other than a-b, 0-9 and '_'. This for backward compatibility with short file names (8+3) and ISO 9660 file systems (used on CDROMs). The package filename is always followed by the .ZIP extension. |
| *** Package files *** |
| SvarDOS uses ZIP files as its package file format. This format has been chosen because ZIP files under DOS have become the de facto way to distribute collections of files. Also, the ZIP file format is well documented, well supported, and in the public domain. |
| Here below is the RECOMENDED command line that can be used to create a package for a program named EXAMPLE using info-zip: |
| ZIP -9 -r -k EXAMPLE.ZIP subdir1 subdir2 ... subdirN |
| If you are using 7za to create your packages, then use this: |
| 7za a -mm=deflate -mx=9 -tzip EXAMPLE.ZIP subdir1 subdir2 ... subdirN |
| *** Package directory structure *** |
| A package archive includes both binary and source code. The installer can choose to not unpack sources at install time. |
| The directory structure of a package depends on the type of packages. For "core" packages, we have this: |
| APPINFO Put the program's LSM file here |
| BIN Binaries, such as exe and com files |
| DOC\%PKGNAME% Package documentation |
| HELP The help files |
| NLS\%PKGNAME% Localizations (NLS language files) of the package |
| SOURCE\%PKGNAME% The complete source code |
| Non-core packages use a slightly different directory organization. For example, if we were to consider a package FOO, we might end up with the following structure: |
| APPINFO\FOO.LSM Package meta file for the FOO program |
| PROGS\FOO\FOO.EXE The program's executable |
| PROGS\FOO\FOO.TXT Some documentation |
| PROGS\FOO\FILE.DAT Data file used by the FOO program |
| LINKS\FOO.BAT A "Link" file, see the "links" section for details |
| SOURCE\FOO\* here would be stored all foo's source files |
| Note the 'PROGS' directory above. This is a category to which the package belong. The package installer might change this directory at install time, depending on the user's preferences. Possible categories are listed below: |
| Category | Description |
| DEVEL | Development tools (mostly compilers) |
| DRIVERS | Drivers |
| GAMES | Games |
| PROGS | User programs, tools... |
| Note: "DOC", "NLS", "BIN" and "HELP" directories are strictly reserved to "core" packages. |
| *** Links *** |
| Many utilities are meant to be used from the command line to work on files. Such tools are often expected to be somewhere in the %PATH%, so one do not need to switch to the directory where the said utility is stored to use it. A good example of such tools are archivers (like zip, unrar...), but there are others, too. For such tools, the package format provides a "linking" provision. A package that wishes to put one or more of its executable in the %PATH%, will have to contain a LINKS directory, and in this directory a batch file for every executable that needs to be linked to %PATH%. The batch file must contain ONLY the path and filename to the target executable (as stored in the zip package). During installation, the package manager will substitute these batch files with proper content. |
| /website/tech/pkgincl.txt |
|---|
| 0,0 → 1,23 |
| SvarDOS is a DOS distribution that comes with plenty of third-party packages. With time, packages get updated and new packages are being added. However, SvarDOS is not a shareware distribution CD, nor it is a "warez" production of any kind. Every software that is distributed within SvarDOS must comply to a few common sense rules, as listed below. |
| *** Objective usefulness *** |
| The distributed software must be useful. There is no point in distributing hundreds of "Hello World" programs for example. The software must be useable as a finished product and provide some features that are proven to be seeked by at least a subset of the user base. Games are considered useful, as long as they fulfill their goal of providing actual distraction. |
| *** Reasonable quality *** |
| The packaged program must exhibit traits of reasonable quality. This means that it should have a deterministic behavior, and be free of undesirable side-effects to the user's computer (not crashing, freezing, resulting in unexpected loss of data, etc). It should also provide clear, non-ambiguous instructions to the user about how the program is meant to be used. |
| *** Free (no cost) *** |
| The program must be free - that is, available at no financial cost. It doesn't have to comply to an OSI-approved license or be open-source (even if that would be preferred), but at the very least it must be free for personal, non-commercial use. |
| *** Distribution allowed *** |
| The program must allow distribution without restrictions, and must not forbid being redistributed in a re-packaged form. |
| ------------------ |
| CORE exception |
| ------------------ |
| Please note that, while the above rules are valid for all third-party packages that may be distributed with SvarDOS, it does not apply to the 'core' packages that contain the operating system itself. SvarDOS being a free (as in "libre") operating system, all "core" packages must comply to a libre-like license - be it GPL, BSD, MIT, public domain, or anything that allows for unrestricted distribution, provides source code and allows to modify it freely. |
| /website/tech/support.txt |
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| 0,0 → 1,3 |
| The recommended way to contact the SvarDOS community is through its mailing list: |
| https://lists.osdn.me/mailman/listinfo/svardos-users |
| /website/tech/vboxfonts.txt |
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| 0,0 → 1,5 |
| At least some versions of the VirtualBox hypervisor exhibit a bug in their VGA emulation. It appears that when a new font is loaded into VGA memory, the VirtualBox emulation actually uses it only after a video adapter INT 10h call. |
| Because of this behaviour, loading a codepage yields apparently no effect, thus localized strings may appear with wrong glyphs.s |
| A simple workaround is to force a VGA reinitialization through "MODE CO80" each time that a new codepage is loaded into memory. |
| /website/tech/whatmeans.txt |
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| 0,0 → 1,12 |
| The "Svar" in SvarDOS refers to "Svarog". SvarDOS is the successor of the Svarog386 distribution. |
| Excerpt from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: |
| Svarog is a Slavic deity (...) identified with Hephaestus, the god of the blacksmith in ancient Greek religion (...), some researchers conclude that Svarog is the Slavic god of celestial fire and of blacksmithing. |
| The only mention of Svarog comes from the Hypatian Codex, a 15th-century compilation of several much older documents from the Ipatiev Monastery in Russia. (...) The complete passage, reconstructed from several manuscripts, translates as follows: |
| "(Then) began his reign Feosta (Hephaestus), whom the Egyptians called Svarog |
| ... during his rule, from the heavens fell the smith’s prongs and weapons |
| were forged for the first time; before that, (people) fought with clubs and |
| stones." |