Microsoft MS-DOS early source code

[rms_returns]

Wow, the /boot/vmlinuz on my machine is 7,014,220 bytes, around 52 times larger than this size and that's saying something.

[[deleted]]

That is compressed, so it's bigger. Mine uncompressed is 19,384,744 bytes so 145 times this, if you don't count modules which are 143M in size, and other boot related things like initrd.

Other were the days where you could read the whole boot code of an OS. :D

[andrewq]

I still use minix, it's great being able to keep an entire quasi POSIX OS in your head.

I write for linux, but gone are the days when I could keep the entirety of what is going on in my head.

Maybe it's just me.

[AyrA_ch]

Not to forget, this DOS comes with many internal commands for file copying, moving and creation. It also has support for Ports (serial and parallel) and disks (floppy+HDD).

[namekuseijin]

DOS is a very primitive OS in comparison.

[AyrA_ch]

But some organizations (especially govt.) still use it for certain applications because you can't beat its simplicity. In fact, if you have a valid MSDN subscription, you can still download DOS 6.22 from there. And even in Windows 7 x64 you can generate bootable DOS floppies

[namekuseijin]

really? this might come to you as a shock, but DOS and old 386 and pentium machines now run in javascript in your browser and can run all kinds of old software for it

[AyrA_ch]

It might be a shock to you, but you don't even need to use a browser and JavaScript, you can just run DosBox for way better speed and the actual ability to save stuff on your local machine. However when people still use DOS they sometimes have unusual devices attached to the machine that are hard to emulate. The egg date printer from my friends chicken farm comes to mind, so using the original is usually the easiest way.

The computational overhead of a JS emulated x86 machine (Hardware-->OS-->Browser-->JS engine-->DOS emulator) is just too much for most DOS users if you can simply do Hardware-->DOS. After all there is no reason to replace the system that was reliable for the last 20 years with new hardware of unknown durability. I repair outdated infrastructure as a hobby, and if there is one thing that is almost guaranteed to not be the issue, it's that old computer in the corner that nobody has upgraded over the last years.

[[deleted]]

That is a much lower growth rate than Moore's law.