Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!clarkson!grape.ecs.clarkson.edu!towfiq From: towfiq@FTP.COM (Mark Towfiq) Subject: Re: OS/2 2.0 Beta and Windows binaries Reply-To: towfiq@FTP.COM Organization: FTP Software, Inc., Wakefield, MA Date: 2 May 91 14:31:35 Message-ID: In-Reply-To: d88-pfo@dront.nada.kth.se's message of 2 May 91 11:05:51 GMT References: <1991May1.222608.8493@watserv1.waterloo.edu> Sender: usenet@grape.ecs.clarkson.edu In article <1991May1.222608.8493@watserv1.waterloo.edu> tom@mims-iris.waterloo.edu (Tom Haapanen) writes: Tom> Does the current OS/2 2.0 beta version include the BCL (Binary Tom> Compatability Layer) for running Windows binaries directly, or do Tom> Windows apps have to be run inside a DOS box (and thus in real Tom> mode)? Or is there any official word from IBM on whether the Tom> first 2.0 commercial release will have this, or whether it'll be Tom> in something like 2.1? >>>>> On 2 May 91 11:05:51 GMT, d88-pfo@dront.nada.kth.se (Peter Forsberg) said: Peter> The BCL is not in the current beta, but will be in the release Peter> version, and in later betas. Just as an interesting exercise, I tried to figure out the Binary Compatability Layer on our copy of the beta 2.0 here at FTP. I took a usual Windows executable (I think it was CLOCK.EXE, either the release or the one in the windev samples directory), and tried to run it from a full screen session. Itstead of getting an error message, I got the usual PM "snap" from full-screen to PM, and then back to full screen, with the message "The system cannot find the file .". I began to wonder, ran EXEHDR on the executable, and found out it was looking for THREE DLLs! The three were called kernel, gdi, and user. I found executables by this name in the \windows\system directory on my DOS machine, so I copied them over and looked at those with exehdr, and they were exporting the very functions which the clock program was trying to import. So then I tried renaming the gdi, user, and kernel executables to DLLs, but of course that didn't work. Nevertheless, the point I wanted to make is that it seems as though they are just going to furnish DLLs in OS/2 which map the native windows stuff to PM -- pretty snazzy huh? -- Mark Towfiq, FTP Software, Inc. towfiq@FTP.COM Work No.: +1 617 246 0900 Home No.: +1 617 488 2818 "The Earth is but One Country, and Mankind its Citizens" -- Baha'u'llah