Emulating DOS/x86 Protected Mode: AIIEE! THE TENTACLES!

From: Alex (spamtrap_at_crayne.org)
Date: 03/29/05 

Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 19:23:28 +0000 (UTC)

I've taken on the (insane) task of writing a DOS emulator capable of
running DPMI programs. This is merely a personal project, so timescale
and complexity doesn't bother me. I'm doing this for fun[0].

So, the first thing I do is research Protected Mode and DPMI. I've
heard people say that Protected Mode is one of the more horrible hacks
ever perpetrated[1]. I never really believed it until now.

I know this project is possible, because DOSBox has managed it quite
nicely.

The question is, would this project be easier if I started off with a
Real Mode emulator and then built Protected Mode support into it, or
should I build in PM right from the start? Considering that this will
be a very large program in C I think probably the latter, but I'd like
to get some other perspectives on this.

[0] No, there is no help for me. It's too late.

[1] The thought occurs that the world would be better off if Intel had
just designed an entirely new architecture instead of working
backwards combatibility into the 286.

Alex Davidson

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'You are in the presence of a System Administrator. KNEEL.' --Unknown