Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!pyramid!infmx!aland
From: aland@infmx.UUCP (Dr. Scump)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: DesqView-386 and "DOS 16M"
Summary: current versions are VCPI-compliant
Message-ID: <2122@infmx.UUCP>
Date: 16 Aug 89 02:04:28 GMT
References: <1989Aug14.220448.29522@tapa.uucp>
Reply-To: aland@infmx.UUCP (alan denney)
Organization: INFORMIX Professional Services ("Peace thru Normalization")
Lines: 54

In article <1989Aug14.220448.29522@tapa.uucp> larry@tapa.uucp (Larry Pajakowski) writes:
>We currently use DesqView and QEMM heavily.  Our database vendor (ZiM) now
>offers a large DOS version of their development system which uses 
>"DOS 16m" from Relation Systems (??) out of Boston.

That's Rational Systems in Natick, MA.  The product is DOS/16M.
They can be reached at (508) 653-6006.

>Anybody have any idea if DesqView-386 is compatible with this beast?  I
>suspect it is not Phar-Lap compatible since it is refuted to run on 286
>machines.

Phar Lap's 386 DOS Extender is 386-dependent.  

As for your compatibility question: it depends on the DOS/16M version.
Current versions of DOS/16M are VCPI (Virtual Control Program Interface)
compliant, so DOS/16M will work with DESQView 386, 386-to-the-Max, etc.
You should be safe if the version is 3.16 or higher (in fact, most 3.0+
versions are OK except for a few glitches).

Background: DOS/16M is a DOS extender that performs switching to and
from protected mode transparently to the user.  As a result, you can
take advantage of the 16 MB address space of the 286 (and 386 in
286 protected mode).  You can even have multiple DOS/16M programs
running at once, even as TSRs.  On 286s, it's sensitive to BIOS
compatibility; older clones may not run properly in protected mode
without a BIOS replacement.  (Case study: my Zenith 286 gagged using
DOS/16M with the original BIOS ROMS.  I bought update ROMs for ~$20,
replaced them in the machine, and it runs protected mode like a champ!)

Each DOS/16M program will take 30-70K of conventional memory in
addition to whatever extended memory is needed (for DOS buffers,
startup code, etc.)

DOS/16M is a great product.  Informix's DOS products have optional
protected-mode versions of the engine and the database tools which
use DOS/16M.  Ours was the first major database system to use
DOS/16M, I believe (and is still the best :-]).  Lotus is using
DOS/16M for 1-2-3 version 3.0.  I've talked with most of the tech
people there, including a VP, and found them universally bright and
helpful.

>Again thanks to all who help.
>Larry Pajakowski

You're welcome.

--
    Alan S. Denney  @  Informix Software, Inc.    
         {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland                 "I want to live!
   --------------------------------------------       as an honest man,
    Disclaimer:  These opinions are mine alone.       to get all I deserve
    If I am caught or killed, the secretary           and to give all I can."
    will disavow any knowledge of my actions.             - S. Vega