README

DOSix: The (never-obsolete) DOS on top of a Unix kernel
=======================================================

DOSix aims to be a complete DOS-like operating system on top of
Unix-like kernels and the X Window System.

In its core is a high-level POSIX-targeted implementation of the IBM
PC BIOS, the DOS kernel and the DOS standard C library that provides
source compatibility for DOS applications, making the task of porting
such software almost trivial.

In DOSix, DOS software is native and able to run on modern hardware
(even on non-x86 architectures), alongside modern POSIX applications,
having none of the well-known memory, storage, multi-tasking and
networking limitations imposed by original DOS.

DOSix user-land programs are FLOSS software genuinely written and
designed to run on classical DOS implementations like FreeDOS and
MS-DOS.

Based on the same architecture and philosophy, and in extension of its
initial scope, DOSix is planned to eventually support OS/2 and Windows
applications as well, mimicking historic development of real operating
system programming APIs, making it an useful educational resource for
those interested in the technical and nostalgic aspects thereof.

Ultimately DOSix is an experiment to explore how meaningful and useful
are FLOSS re-implementations of proprietary operating systems as
high-level libraries and directly ported-over applications running on
top of POSIX-based systems.  How much is preserved?  How are the
usability and feeling affected?  How well can we emulate the original
interface and approximate its semantics?  How coherent and
well-behaved the resulting system is?  How practical is it as a
standalone system?

--
Copyright (C) 2020 Bruno Félix Rezende Ribeiro <oitofelix@gnu.org>

  Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
  are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
  notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered as-is,
  without any warranty.