Re: Learn DOS or Win32 first?
On 19 Dec 2000, at 9:04, SR Williamson wrote:
> Sperry,
> I disagree with Graeme, and I'll tell you why in a minute. First, let me
> explain the difference between Windows programming and dos programming in
> non-programmer terms. I'm sure I will make some technical mistakes, but my
> explanation will be "good enough". If my explanation sounds condescending,
> it's not meant to be, but you said you're a newbie, and I want to make sure my
> explanation gets to the easiest possible level.
>
> DOS programs don't have a graphical interface (GUI), as you know.
<blink> What were those things i was doing on the C64 and the ole 286
before windoze? I had mouse, resizeable moveable windows with menus,
and time-sliced multitasking on the C64 (late 1980's) and the 286 (in the
early 1990's).
>They
> operate in a straight through manner, doing one line at a time right down the
> program. Sometimes the program will jump to a procedure or a function, but it
> will go right back to the main program and continue with the next line.
Windoze does this too, it's just that the line of execution may be
interrupted and prolly will not proceed the same way twice. And the main
program is the task manager in the OS, your program is a child process.
The task manager runs pretty much straight-line, and the events you
program for are open holes for a sort of device driver to plug into. We call
an event driven code snippit a TSR in DOS.
> Windows programming does the same thing - at least under Euphoria if you
> don't use the Windows GUI. If you don't tell the program to use the Windows
> GUI, Euphoria automatically makes the results of the program go to the console
> (a DOS screen in a window like when you click on "MS-DOS prompt" on your
> "Start" button).
Well, assuming you don't dynamically interface to the DOS redirector
code, or write TSRs, or device drivers, any of which can preempt the
straight-line execution of the normal DOS program. If you break up the
program in a way that it *can* be exec'd out of order, then load it as one of
the 3 items i listed above, DOS can call your program in a manner like
windoze,,, especially if you play with virtual machines in XMS. The TSR is
like a DLL in a VM. I prefer to say that one can do nearly anything in DOS,
and you must be painfully precise in winders, or it will barf all over your
shoes at the worst possible time.
On the other paw, MS Windoze pretty much runs the world atm, so if you
write something for it, chances are your audience can run it. That's why i
am using windoze, there are more current applications for it, but, except for
the DDE and socks and inter/intranet code interprocess communication, i
am writing for portability to the DOS machine.
Kat,
rambling again..... i had a late nite, disambiguating prepositional phrases,
in Eu, of course.
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