DOS 64 bit alternative

[utkarsh]

I want a 64 bit alternative of DOS.

An operating system with following features:
1. Runs on x86 64-bit machines
2. Allows running 64-bit programs
3. Gives control to user programs without any hardware interrupts set-up
4. Has tools available for building C programs and using stdio.h

Please tell me if you have made such an OS or seen one.

[iansjack]

Linux would seem to fit your requirements nicely.

[tay10r]

Sounds a lot like BareMetal OS. I think there are probably a couple of others too.

Disclaimer - I'm a contributor to BareMetal OS.

[Schol-R-LEA]

There also is - or was, as the project seems to have gone dark - a 64-bit branch of FreeDOS, which would have exactly been a 64-bit recreation of MS-DOS.

There are some here following a similar trajectory, such as ~ (Tilde), though there are even more, such a tay10r (and IanSeyler, the originator of BareMetal, who posts here from time to time), are working on similarly low-abstraction systems that don't specifically emulate MS-DOS.

However, the existence of existing or earlier projects should not, and presumably will not, stop you from going it your own if you choose.

It is common enough that it is even one of the wiki's developer archetypes, the one called Lino Commando. While the purpose of the archetypes is to poke fun at different sorts of devs, as well as point out the pitfalls of different approaches, most of them aren't bad things - they are just approaches we've seen frequently. Most of them were even created by someone they describe (for example, I created Alta Lang, which is a good description of my own approach).

(The exceptions are Duct von Tape and Bossy Boots, which are always anti-patterns to be avoided. I have no reason to think that either of these apply to you - so far - and this warning may help you avoid them if you were inclined towards one of them.)

Anyway, this should give you some idea of what other projects exist in this vein already, so if you are looking for either an existing project to join, or advice on who to proceed with your own, those are some of the ones to talk to.

[Brendan]

Hi,

An operating system with following features:
1. Runs on x86 64-bit machines
2. Allows running 64-bit programs
3. Gives control to user programs without any hardware interrupts set-up
4. Has tools available for building C programs and using stdio.h

This is a description of UEFI firmware. It comes on most (all?) modern PCs and you don't need any OS.


Cheers,

Brendan

[Schol-R-LEA]

Brendan's got a point, actually. Pretty much any PC newer than early 2010 should meet that requirement out of the box.

The OP may wish to refine their requirements statement, however.

[utkarsh]

Thanks for the replies. I think I need to clarify the 4th point. I meant that there should be existing tools to do C programming on the OS. For example, for DOS, we have got Turbo C.

[Schol-R-LEA]

Thanks for the replies. I think I need to clarify the 4th point. I meant that there should be existing tools to do C programming on the OS. For example, for DOS, we have got Turbo C.

I assume that you mean that as an example of a development tool that runs in the OS it targets, rather than one you mean to run in the OS your discussing. The MS-DOS version¹ of Turbo C sure as HFIL² won't run natively in any 64-bit OS, and porting a long-defunct³ commercial package is at best futile⁴ and at worst IP infringement. Besides, while Turbo C was a big step forward 30 years ago, today it is no more relevant than a Polaroid camera or a VHS cassette player.


footnotes
1. For that matter, all of the Windows versions were 16-bit as well, so they wouldn't run on any long mode system without emulation, either.
2. Thank you, 4Kids Entertainment.
3. Outside of certain countries whose university systems refuse to use anything newer in their classrooms no matter how big a disservice it does to their students, and certain professors elsewhere who should have long since retired.
4. Because, seriously, where would you get the original source code? Embarcadero didn't release that when the made the package free to use.

[utkarsh]

Ok. So we can have a port of gcc.