First post, by BitWrangler
- Rank
- l33t++
Hi Vogons,
I am curious about details of implementation of not completely IBM PC compatible MSDOS compatibles. This class of machine included early clones like some DEC and Apricot models, some handhelds, which were cut down of necessity to simplify and smallify, and some more multipurpose machines from the time it wasn't sure whether there was gonna be a real ISA and kept their options open for CP/M variants and minix etc.
I'm kind of aiming towards the barest essentials of what makes an "MSDOS compatible"... well yeah, it will run DOS.
I have two potential projects in regard to this. Firstly, I have an industrial control board, which has an 8086, but is not anywhere close to IBM PC architecture, and also turned up a large, but not 4:3 or 5:4 LCD character and graphics panel, it's more like half height of a normal screen, not enough lines, but there were machines that coped with limited displays. So kind of thinking about something that is a bit of a homage to early portables, runs MSDOS and I can maybe play text adventures on. Secondly, I'm thinking about a really tiny form factor thing that does x86 emulation on an ARM or other small dev board type uC and might have better screen support to do "dos legal" simple games. i.e. Gorillas.bas should work, wolfenstein probably won't (Or if it does it will be very slideshow)
So was there ever a reference that defined DOS compatibility?
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