Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!microsoft!alistair
From: alistair@microsoft.UUCP (Alistair BANKS)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: Your .sig
Message-ID: <72547@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 24 May 91 20:56:30 GMT
References: <1991May18.180216.17512@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE>
Reply-To: microsoft!alistair@uunet.uu.net (Alistair BANKS)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 28

>
>Kai Uwe Rommel
>
>/* Kai Uwe Rommel, Munich ----- rommel@lan.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de */
>
>DOS ... is still a real mode only non-reentrant interrupt
>handler, and always will be.                -Russell Williams

This is meant in good humour, but it's true.

I'd been checking up on Russel Williams - we've not been able to find
one who is an employee of Microsoft, nor have I been able to find
one who was.

The fact is, that to better support 32-bit Windows, a DOS device driver
model is being introduced which is both re-entrant and 32-bit protect
mode. (For those who'd ask me, a 32-bit Windows development kit is
to be released later this year, product, next year). 32-bit Windows
apps will be able to follow a 32-bit code path from execution
to hardware with no mode switching.

So, yes, dos was a real-mode, non-rentrant interrupt handler and
file system, but no one in our industry would make 'always' predictions
about the future - its all software, anything could happen. Russel Williams,
whoever he is, will be wrong.

Alistair Banks.
Systems Division, Microsoft.