Give vDos a try http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdos/

collector wrote:

Give vDos a try http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdos/

Thanks, I just read that it doesn't work well with database apps - the Dos app I want to run was written using Microsoft's Foxpro, which heavily relies on databases - have I hit a dead end, or are there other Dos emulators that might work well for me?

You could acquire a legal license for MS-DOS (or Windows 95, or Windows 98, or Windows Me) and load up a full-fledged virtual machine like Parallels or what have you. That most likely would not support your Serial-USB redirection without serious work though.

DOSBox is specifically for games, no other use case is supported.
Hence this stickied thread right from one of its developers: DOSBox IS NOT SUITED TO RUN YOUR NON-GAMING DOS APPLICATION

Stiletto wrote:

You could acquire a legal license for MS-DOS (or Windows 95, or Windows 98, or Windows Me) and load up a full-fledged virtual machine like Parallels or what have you. That most likely would not support your Serial-USB redirection without serious work though.

DOSBox is specifically for games, no other use case is supported.
Hence this stickied thread right from one of its developers: DOSBox IS NOT SUITED TO RUN YOUR NON-GAMING DOS APPLICATION

Thanks for the info and suggestion on using an older OS - not what I'd hoped, but better to know the reality.

Michaelco wrote:

collector wrote:

Give vDos a try http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdos/

Thanks, I just read that it doesn't work well with database apps - the Dos app I want to run was written using Microsoft's Foxpro, which heavily relies on databases - have I hit a dead end, or are there other Dos emulators that might work well for me?

vDos is designed for database apps. It includes file locking, and works with FoxPro. Unless you want to run a full virtual machine under VMware or VirtualBox, it's the only real choice for database apps.

emendelson wrote:

Michaelco wrote:

collector wrote:

Give vDos a try http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdos/

Thanks, I just read that it doesn't work well with database apps - the Dos app I want to run was written using Microsoft's Foxpro, which heavily relies on databases - have I hit a dead end, or are there other Dos emulators that might work well for me?

vDos is designed for database apps. It includes file locking, and works with FoxPro. Unless you want to run a full virtual machine under VMware or VirtualBox, it's the only real choice for database apps.

I'm a bit confused as the writeup on http://vdos.sourceforge.net - I highlighted the warning in red. Have you had success with running Foxpro apps under vDos? No issues with file corruption?

============== snippet from vdos.sourceforge.net notes =================
vDos derived from the DOSBox project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox/). DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems. If you consider using it for a database application. DON’T, mostly you’ll end up with corrupted data.
===================================================================

Michaelco wrote:

I'm a bit confused as the writeup on http://vdos.sourceforge.net - I highlighted the warning in red. Have you had success with […]
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I'm a bit confused as the writeup on http://vdos.sourceforge.net - I highlighted the warning in red. Have you had success with running Foxpro apps under vDos? No issues with file corruption?

============== snippet from vdos.sourceforge.net notes =================
vDos derived from the DOSBox project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox/). DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems. If you consider using it for a database application. DON’T, mostly you’ll end up with corrupted data.
===================================================================

What the passage in red means is "If you consider using DOSBox for a database application, DON'T." The antecedent of "it" is "DOSBox," not vDos. Here's how those sentences work:

DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems. If you consider using it for a database application. DON’T...

To be honest, I haven't heard of stories of DOSBox producing corrupted data with any particular database application, though it isn't beyond the realm of possibility and it's not a good idea to use DOSBox in that fashion. vDOS is the way to go.

What kind of serial device do you want to communicate with? USB-to-serial adapters generally don't work very well.

Jorpho wrote:

To be honest, I haven't heard of stories of DOSBox producing corrupted data with any particular database application, though it isn't beyond the realm of possibility and it's not a good idea to use DOSBox in that fashion. vDOS is the way to go.

I've never tried a database in either DOSBox or vDos, but there are a number of reports like this one at the vDos forum:

http://sourceforge.net/p/vdos/discussion/gene … =25&page=2#b8dd

The problems seem to occur when multiple users access the same database (but that's only how I remember it).

emendelson wrote:

What the passage in red means is "If you consider using DOSBox for a database application, DON'T." The antecedent of "it" is "DOSBox," not vDos. Here's how those sentences work:

DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems. If you consider using it for a database application. DON’T...

I'll give vDos a try if this was the intended meaning of the sentence - thanks for the clarification.

I must say the structure and context of the paragraph would have the "it" being vDos. At best, the "it" is ambiguous, and for the sake of clarity would recommend the word "it" being replaced with "DosBox" to avoid misunderstanding - e.g., "If you consider using DosBox for a database application, Don't...".

Or, combine the second and third sentences into one sentence - like "Don't use DosBox for database applications, as it was intended for gaming and is available for many operating systems."

At this point, it doesn't matter to me as I have additional info you provided, but a rewording might help someone down the line.

Thanks again.

==================== the beginning (few sentences) of the paragraph in the vDos writeup =============
"vDos derived from the DOSBox project (http://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox/). DOSBox is targeted at gaming and available for many operating systems. If you consider using it for a database application...

==================================================================================

Michaelco wrote:

I must say the structure and context of the paragraph would have the "it" being vDos. At best, the "it" is ambiguous, and for the sake of clarity would recommend the word "it" being replaced with "DosBox" to avoid misunderstanding - e.g., "If you consider using DosBox for a database application, Don't...".

Or, combine the second and third sentences into one sentence - like "Don't use DosBox for database applications, as it was intended for gaming and is available for many operating systems."

I didn't write those sentences and I don't have any way to modify them. Perhaps you could offer this suggestion on the vDos forum so the author of the program can change the description if he wants to?