Slashdot Mirror

Hi. I'm still looking for developer warriors to help the OS/2 community to clone the CPI, PM, SOM and WPS API of OS/2 Warp. http://www.edm2.com/index.php/...

Maybe some people do not appreciate it, but I think that having SOM (System Object Model) and WorkplaceShell (built over SOM) gave some functionality that was never exploited properly. So, building a Frankenstein I will put over the GUI, SOM (maybe the open NOM and somFree) and the Desktop elements will be built over it. (like Workplace Shell). Check out this OS/2 reference graphic: http://www.edm2.com/index.php/...

OS/2 at being some modular and object oriented allowed you to fix some bugs on the Workplace Shell (Desktop Interface) (WPS) without access to the source code of it. The trick of OS/2 is that it uses SOM in the middle between the GUI and the Desktop.

Since all the WPS where objects, you just grabbed the clock object (WPClock), and create a child from it, you can incorporate more functionality, or remove the functionality that you didn't like. So on OS/2 you disabled the parent WPClock object and tell that NewWPClock child should be the one that everyone must use.

It is a different way from what this article says, but it does not means this is the first time that someone can extend/fix/improve a program without it's source code.

When I was trying to learn a more system level languages from higher level ones like Smalltalk, I found Makefiles to be archaic. I was delighted when IBM introduced what they called Configuration files on VisualAge C++ (PDF) (see Chapter3. An introduction to configuration files). It was easy to manage and the integration with the IDE was great (one of the first C++ IDEs I really liked). But the configuration files were hated by the people used to the Makefiles, it wasn't well received. As an newbie at that time with C++, I loved them, today I can tolerate Makefiles but they are more archaic now than before.

Posting as "Anonymous Coward" and not citing any sources doesn't lend much credibility to your opinion. In fact, I've never heard this stated before outside of anti-OS/2 FUDsters in the newsgroups. It doesn't reconcile very well with this statement, "Ziff-Davis Labs observed a 90 percent improvement in throughput when adding one processor, and a 300 percent improvement when adding three processors." from http://www.databook.bz/?page_id=223

For those interested in OS/2 SMP: http://www.edm2.com/index.php/OS/2's_Symmetrical_Multiprocessing_Demystified

... there's one key source: http://www.edm2.com/links/index.html. It contains pointers to every other OS/2 development web site and resource on the Internet.
--

For some more information on the "jaggies" (the stuff that makes things look bad, that this technologies aimes at improving in fonts) in OpenGL and OS/2 check out:


http://www.edm2.com/0603/opengl.html

As for getting a copy of OS/2, there are plenty of options. Visit http://www.os2ss.com/Information/NewUser s/.