Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!rutgers!orstcs!prism!abukarb
From: abukarb@prism.cs.orst.edu (Bassam A. Abu-Karroum)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Re: MS windows "true" multi-tasking?
Message-ID: <15962@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU>
Date: 18 Feb 90 04:36:10 GMT
References: <51@dynasys.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU
Reply-To: abukarb@prism.CS.ORST.EDU (Bassam A. Abu-Karroum)
Organization: Oregon State Univ. -- Computer Science
Lines: 25

In article <51@dynasys.UUCP> jessea@dynasys.UUCP (Jesse W. Asher) writes:
>I was wondering if MS Windows gives you a true multi-tasking environment?
>I don't know much about MS Windows and I was wondering if there were any
>advantages/disadvantages to running MS Windows versus running a unix
>environment with virtual terminals.  Thanx in advance.
>
If you mean Windows/286 then the answer is no. Windows/286 uses memory 
swapping/banking to simulate multitasking. What this means is that once
an application is in the background it is suspended until it is brought
back into the foreground as the active application. Besides Windows/286
cannot regain control of the CPU if the application is busy.

However, the case is different with Windows/386. Windows/386 provides you
with true multitasking environment and it is preemptive for DOS applications.
A foreground and a background application can multitask, if you choose to.
Windows/386 offers you a preemptive environment for DOS applications. You
may terminate a DOS application if it takes control of the CPU. Unless the
problem is serious then you need to reboot the machine, but usually you can
terminate that application and continue working without any problems.        
Windows/386 differs from UNIX by that it does not allow time-slicing control 
over multitasking process.

Hope this clear things up.

Bassam