同样地，FreeDOS 也提供了许多可供选择的软件包。当 Linux/Unix/BSD 的老鸟们看到竟然有许多版本的 vi 和 Emacs 可供选用的时候一定会激动不已。同样还有许多的编程语言像 Bywater Basic（我在一些早期的Linux发行版里面见过以后，就再没接触过了），还有一个汇编程序。
也许最有趣的附加包就是 Seal 了。Seal 是一个类似于 Windows 的 GUI 界面，如果你感兴趣的话。我安装的这个版本只包含了一些应用程序，但它展现了巨大的潜力。
在检查了所有的软件包以后，下一步该干什么就很明显了：载入一些“严谨的”基于 DOS 的软件，看看会发生什么。我的选择（也许是受了绰号“长矛”的影响吧 ）是“命运之矛”（“Spear of Destiny”），Wolfenstein 3D 的资料片。Freedos.org 网站为此还做过一些研究，为的是找出如何释放出刚好够这个游戏运行的内存的方法（有个地方的体系要做一些改变－－与 MS－DOS 相比较），不过我一将内存搞定，游戏就运行得很好了。这台486的老爷机运行得还很欢快呢（上次我说486机子运行得“欢快”是什么时候？），而游戏也一如既往地跑着。
不过，源于真正的开放源码精神，Freedos 并不满足于成为一个现有技术的模仿者。除了像 Seal 这样给人印象深刻的附加包以外，要说更早的，还有正在进行的建立纯32位内核的努力。是的，在弗吉尼亚州，那里有一个 DOS 救世主。也许在某天，FreeDOS 会成为一个不需要无休止地去管理内存的 DOS 系统。在技术的推动下，人们尝试着去改进系统直到没有人再说一个“不”字，这难道不是一件很好的事吗？？
我确实希望 FreeDOS 项目能旺盛地发展下去。开放源码讨论着自由使用，但它同时也意味着自由选择。而 FreeDOS 给了人们另一个选择。如果你不想要 DOS 的话，试试其他的吧。但如果 DOS 是你所构建的特殊设备之关键所在，请尝试一下 FreeDOS 吧，它值得你一试。
A Linux guy looks at FreeDOS
Friday February 15, 2002 - [ 05:03 PM GMT ]
Topic - Other OSes
- By Russell C. Pavlicek -
As someone who writes about Open Source, I spend quite a bit of time considering its future in the enterprise. I don't spend much time reflecting on how Open Source can improve on the technology of yesteryear. But there are people who do just that.
Consider MS-DOS. If you are my age (old enough that it takes too long to calculate how old you really are), you remember MS-DOS. And if you think about it too long and hard, you might begin to get the shakes remembering the machinations required to manage memory, load CDROM drivers, and get the graphics to display correctly.
DOS. It's one of those things that is best left buried in the crevices of time. Or so I thought.
Believe it or not, there are Open Source developers busily building a better DOS. Why? Because DOS is a long standing platform that is still used for some embedded applications. And embedded applications need a reliable, inexpensive base. With MS-DOS no longer an important product for Microsoft and its cost relatively significant to embedded developers, some folks believed there was a need for an Open Source DOS- compatible operating system.
FreeDOS was a project started in 1994 to counteract Microsoft's stated intentions to do away with MS-DOS and move everyone to Windows. It employs no Microsoft code and is designed to be a work-alike equivalent to MS-DOS. FreeDOS does not guarantee that it does everything the same way MS-DOS does, but it attempts to get it all done nonetheless. The specification for FreeDOS is derived from public documentation describing MS-DOS. It is still in beta test, but the system is quite usable. Currently, FreeDOS is at version Ripcord Beta 7, aka "SPEARS."
I resurrected an old 120 MHz 486/DX4 12MB machine in my basement and proceeded to get to work. Because my machine is equipped with a 270 MB disk drive, it has more than enough space to install the entire operating system and its source code (when was the last time a 270 MB disk was more than enough space for anything?). In fact, the total installation took only about 35 MB of disk space.
The installation of FreeDOS was simple enough, once I got my old hardware running. I downloaded the ISO image from Freedos.org's download page, burned the CD, and cut the boot floppy. The FreeDOS CD does include a CD driver, but my 4x IDE CDROM was so old that it wasn't recognized. So I had to use an old vendor-supplied CDROM driver I had lying around. The installation requires that you stay around during the process, because it constantly asks for verification about installing various elements of the system. It is not a large burden, though, because installation only takes a few minutes.
Booting up the system looks different than MS-DOS. First, there's a neat little boot manager that allows you to boot multiple operating systems. This is very useful in a development situation. Next, the boot-up messages are very different. This is not surprising, considering the various drivers identify themselves as they load.
Once the system is booted, you are likely to notice that some things are familiar, while others have changed slightly. The output of the "dir" command looks just like I remember from MS-DOS. The "edit" command looks spookily like the MS-DOS "edit" command. Most of the normal DOS commands look about the same under FreeDOS. Some commands (like "mem") use slightly different switches. Thankfully, the "/?" switch seems to work to get a list of switches for most commands. There is also a decent "help" command that documents a number of commands.
There are several factors indicating that this is a work in progress. The installation notes warn that the floppy access is slow -- and it is. It does work fine, however. The "scandisk" utility only seems to complete the first stage of work. The "format" command only seems to do a quick format, regardless of which switches you specify.
There are a number of optional packages as well. Veterans of the Linux/Unix/BSD crowd will be thrilled to learn that versions of "vi" and "emacs" are available. There are also languages like Bywater Basic (which I hadn't touched since finding it on some of the early Linux distributions) and an assembler.
Perhaps the most interesting add-on is Seal. Seal is a GUI that gives you a Windows-y interface, if you want one. The version I installed only contains a few applications, but it shows a good deal of potential.
After checking out the software, the next step was obvious: load up some serious DOS-based software and see what happens. My choice (perhaps suggested by the code name "SPEARS") was "Spear of Destiny," the relatively unsung sequel to the classic "Wolfenstein 3D". It took some research on the freedos.org Web site to find out how to free up enough low memory to run the game (this is one area where there are some syntax changes compared to MS-DOS), but once I got the memory in shape, the game played just fine. The 486 was quite chipper (when was the last time I called a 486 "chipper?") and the game played true to form.
But, in the true spirit of Open Source, FreeDOS is not content to be an imitation of the existing technology. In addition to impressive additions like Seal, mentioned earlier, there is an effort underway to create a true 32-bit kernel. Yes, Virginia, there is a DOS Santa Claus. FreeDOS32 might someday be a DOS that doesn't require endless gyrations to manage memory. Isn't it great what motivated technical people can try to do when there is no one in the way to say "no?"
So, while I certainly hope that DOS does not experience a resurgence as a general-purpose business desktop, I do hope that the FreeDOS project thrives. Open Source talks about freedom to use, but it also means freedom to choose. FreeDOS gives people another choice. If you don't want DOS, try something else. But if DOS might be the key for that special device you are building, check out FreeDOS. It is definitely worth a look.作者: ╃ér～ 时间: 2009-2-20 14:24
在看完这帖子以后,我没有立即回复,因为我生怕我庸俗不堪的回复会玷污了这网上少有的帖子.但是我还是回复了,因为觉得如果不能在如此精彩的帖子后面留下自己的网名,那我死也不会瞑目的!能够在如此精彩的帖子后面留下自己的网名是多么骄傲的一件事啊!楼主,请原谅我的自私! 作者: 爱的路上谁陪伴 时间: 2009-7-17 14:25
很久没新版了作者: fl3141796 时间: 2010-12-4 14:06
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