Macintosh programs now run under DOS
Dominik Wujastyk
D.Wujastyk at ucl.ac.uk
Fri Mar 18 17:07:58 UTC 1994
This is a software announcement, but I think it has some relevance
for INDOLOGY readers, since we are concerned about font handling
and document portability.
A small American company called ARDI has for two and a half years sold
a program that allowed Mac programs to run on the NeXt computer. Now they
have ported this program to DOS/Windows. A test version is available free,
and I've tried it out in a DOS window under OS/2. It really seems to work.
It's utterly amazing to have an Intel-based machine on which I normally run
OS/2, with a Macintosh in one session, MS Windows in another, plain DOS in
another and all under OS/2! The Mac emulator, called executor, is really
aimed at running under plain DOS or Windows, and supports various fonts,
etc. It costs $99. Yes. It is still not totally robust, but certainly
workable.
I append a readme giving further details.
The demo is available as the file executor.zip from ftp.cs.unm.edu in
pub/ardi.
Dominik
=======================================================================
WHAT EXECUTOR IS
Executor is a Macintosh (Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple
Computer, Inc.) emulator for the PC. Executor can read and write
Macintosh formatted HD (1.4 Mb) floppies as well as run Macintosh programs.
A 386 or better with 4 Mb RAM, a VGA monitor and a mouse is needed to
run Executor.
HOW TO INSTALL
Make sure the directory "EXECUTOR" is located at the root of of
your hard disk drive. Executor automatically looks for the file
"\EXECUTOR\EXECUVOL", so if you don't have the "EXECUTOR" directory
at the root of your hard drive, Executor will not run.
There is a small handful of environment variables that can change
things like this requirement; they are documented in the Executor/DOS
manual that you get when you purchase Executor/DOS.
RESTRICTIONS
This DEMO copy of Executor/DOS 1.1 is fully functional with two
exceptions. You can only run this demo copy for ten minutes at a
time, and even if you have a SCSI adapter, you still can't access
Macintosh formatted SCSI drives or Powerbook disks.
This demo version does not keep track how many times you've run
it. Since you can easily copy a Macintosh formatted floppy or two
before the ten minute time limit is up, you can trivially get much
use out of this software without sending us any money. If you're
a hacker, you'll find it easy to disable the time limit as well.
The point is the creation of this program was a non-trivial
enterprise. Strict clean-room techniques were used to reverse
engineer the internals of the Macintosh ROMs. We need money to
grow. In fact, even if you don't quite find the utility that you'd
like from this current version, you might want to consider purchasing
it anyway to take advantage of our update policy when Executor/DOS
2.0 comes out and to make your voice heard in support of what we're
doing.
NO DOCUMENTATION WITH DEMO VERSION
Executor/DOS is easy enough to install and use that you really
don't need to read the documentation. However, if you are going
to be using Executor a lot, there are short-cuts and fine points
that you should be aware of, and for this we recommend you read
our documentation.
NO TECHNICAL SUPPORT WITH DEMO VERSION
Executor/DOS only costs $99. At this low price, we can't afford to
provide technical support to people who have not purchased the product.
If you think Executor is for you, but you are having trouble with this
DEMO version, you can try asking questions on various bulletin boards,
or wait for a new DEMO version to come out.
HOW TO ORDER
We accept Visa and Mastercard, Purchase Orders from large institutions
and personal checks sent by mail (we will not send our product
until your check clears). The easiest way to order is by FAXing
(+1 505 247 1899) us a request along with your credit card information.
Shipping via UPS ground is free within the United States, so just
let us know:
Number of Copies of Executor/DOS 1.1 (@ $99)
Name as it appears on the Credit Card
Credit Card Number
Expiration Date
Your Name
Address you want it shipped to
Phone Number
FAX Number (optional)
e-mail address (optional)
Be sure to mention that you want Executor for DOS with
your order, since we also have versions of Executor for
NEXTSTEP and UNIX/X-Windows.
You can also order by phone (+1 505 766 9115), but please DO NOT
send credit card information via e-mail.
HOW TO GET STARTED COPYING MACINTOSH FORMATTED FLOPPIES
Executor/DOS can only read High Density (1.4 Mb) formatted floppies.
Most older Macintosh applications were distributed on 800K floppies
which can't be used with Executor, so MAKE SURE you use 1.4Mb
Macintosh formatted floppies with Executor/DOS. Executor/DOS 1.1
doesn't format floppies for you; you'll have to do that on a
Macintosh, for now.
The key to copying Macintosh formatted floppies is the "Desk
Accessory" called HFS_XFer. Desk accessories are little programs
that piggyback off other programs to do their work. It's like the
old Vermont joke (beware, provincial humor does not always translate
well) "You can't get there from here (pause) you have to go someplace
else, first". The upshot is that you must run a program, almost
any program, in order to find and use "HFS_XFer". I usually start
up the "Mines" program. Once Mines is started, and the initial
"OK" box is clicked, you can find "HFS_XFer" under the Apple menu
at the far left of the menu bar.
It is important to note that you have three different areas that
you can copy to/from. In addition to Macintosh formatted floppies,
you can copy Macintosh files to your hard disk, either as DOS files,
or as Macintosh files within a single DOS file which represents a
Macintosh "volume". The fully-enabled version of Executor/DOS 1.1
also allows you to copy to/from Mac formatted SCSI drives if you
have a SCSI adapter.
When you copy Mac files as DOS files, they are broken up in two
halves. One half will have the original name of the file, the
other will have a "%" prepended to the original name. The file
with the original name represents the "data fork" of the Macintosh
file, and that's where data that can be used in both Macintosh and
DOS environments resides. The other half, the one with the "%"
prepended is the "resource fork" and it contains information that
only makes sense in the Macintosh environment.
Using the DOS filesystem to represent Macintosh files is very
awkward. In fact, if the names contain funny characters, you might
get an "I/O error". The alternative is to store files within a
single "Macintosh Volume". This demo version of Executor comes
with a 5 Mb Mac Volume. It should be sufficient to allow you to
explore Executor. While Executor is working within a Macintosh
volume, files can have upper and lower case names with lengths up
to 31 characters, but your DOS programs can't see the individual
files. More about what's going on is in the documentation included
when you purchase Executor/DOS 1.1.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN Executor/DOS 1.1 and Executor/DOS 1.0
The primary difference between Executor/DOS 1.1 and Executor/DOS
1.0 is that E/D 1.1 can run under Windows 3.1 and OS/2 2.1.
Internally there have been many improvements and a few programs
that would not run under Executor/DOS 1.0 should now run, but in
general it's the same program. Most of the big additions will not
be available until Executor/PC 2.0 is release. Although Executor
now runs under Windows, We'll be renaming the product to Executor/PC
once we have full inter-application clipboard support.
Originally, we thought that 1.1 would allow you to access Macintosh
formatted CD-ROMs. Alas, that feature didn't make it into 1.1,
although our NEXTSTEP version can do that (it can also print and
use the serial ports).
Executor/DOS 1.0 would restart itself after you quit an application.
However, that feature sometimes didn't work, and with Executor
running under Windows, that feature was more annoying than it was
useful.
If you purchased Executor/DOS 1.0, we will send you Executor/DOS
1.1 for $7.50 to cover the cost of the disks, packaging, postage
and handling. Send a FAX to +1 505 247 1899 with a request and
your credit card information (Name as it appears on the card, Credit
Card Number and Expiration date), or call us to order the 1.1
update. You must have filled out and sent in your registration
card to be eligible for the "almost-free" update.
UNIXISMS LEFT IN EXECUTOR
Executor was developed originally under UNIX. A few "UNIXisms"
have remained in Executor; they will be gone in 2.0. Sometimes
you will see "/" used where "\" would normally be used in DOS. In
addition, switches are introduced with a leading "-" instead of
"/". We apologize for this annoyance.
USE WITHOUT FLOATING POINT UNIT
Executor/DOS is designed to accept a drop in "80387 emulator" so
that even machines without floating point units can still run
programs that use floating point. Unfortunately, when we updated
Executor/DOS from 1.0 to 1.1 we broke the drop in 80387 emulator.
We will make "emu387" freely redistributable once it works with
Executor/DOS 1.1. In the meantime, Macintosh programs that use
floating point routines can not be used on PCs without floating
point units.
USE WITH WINDOWS
Executor/DOS 1.1 will run under Windows 3.1. We've tried very hard
to make Executor run almost as efficiently under Windows (in
full-screen mode) as it does under DOS, however you may find some
programs will run faster under Executor running directly on top of
DOS -- we still have a little room for improvement in this area.
You should make a double-clickable icon for Executor by using the
Program Manager in Windows:
Choose "New..." from the Program Manager "File" menu
Click the "Program Item" radio button
Click "OK"
Enter "Executor" in the Description field
Enter "c:\executor\executor" in the Command Line field
Enter "c:\executor" in the Working Directory field
Add a Shortcut Key if you wish
Click on "Change Icon...
Click on "OK" when the error message comes up
Find, Select and Click OK on an Icon you like
Click on "OK" to leave "Program Item Properties"
The only way you can run two Mac programs at once it to do so under
Windows. Once you have one copy of Executor running under Windows,
you can use "Left_Alternate-Tab" and "Right_Alternate-Enter" to
hot-key back and forth between different programs and screen modes.
USE WITH OS/2
Executor/DOS 1.1 works with OS/2 2.1, but not with OS/2 2.0, sorry.
USE WITH NT
Currently, Executor/DOS 1.1 does not run under Windows NT. This should
change soon, I believe.
IF EXECUTOR RUNS SLOWLY
Executor needs about 4 Mb of memory to work efficiently. Under
DOS, If Executor doesn't have enough physical memory, it will make
do by writing infrequently used parts of itself to your hard disk
and only "paging" them in when they're actually used. However,
DOS systems can have their memory artificialY eaten up in too many
ways to describe here. If think Executor is running slowly, you
might want to have a DOS guru check to make sure that it's not
being memory starved.
You can alter some of the amounts of memory that Executor uses by using
switches when you invoke Executor:
Switch Minimum Maximum Default
-applzone 128 4096 1024
-syszone 128 4096 512
-stack 64 4096 64
For example, to use the least amount of memory when running Executor,
you should invoke it thus:
C:\> \executor\executor -applzone 128 -syszone 128 -stack 64
CREDITS
Executor is a product of ARDI (Abacus Research and Development,
Inc.). The majority of Executor proper was designed and implemented
by Clifford T. Matthews. The synthetic CPU and DOS port were done
by Mathew Hostetter. Executor was originally written under X-Windows,
then ported to NEXTSTEP and finally ported to DOS using DJGPP, a
port of the Free Software Foundation's gcc compiler done by DJ
Delorie. The file "EXECUTOR.EXE" is actually a modified version of
DJ's "GO32" DOS extender, the source to which is freely available,
from us (for the cost of a floppy plus postage). The file "EMU387"
is a 486 FPU emulator written by Bill Metzenthen, originally for
Linux but ported to the DJGPP environment as well. The source to
it is freely available from the usual Linux sources.
More information about the Free Software Foundation and DJGPP is
included in our documentation.
GOALS
ARDI's goal is to provide compatibility with the majority of Macintosh
programs and the majority of System 7 on almost all 32 bit computer
systems. Executor is exceedingly portable. In addition to
Executor/NEXTSTEP which has been on sale in various forms since
December, 1991, Executor/DOS began shipping in October 1993 and we
already have Executor/X-Windows running in house. We hope to
release Executor/X-Windows for a variety of processors in the first
quarter of 1994, and to release Executor 2.0 for DOS, Windows,
OS/2, NEXTSTEP and X-Windows during the second quarter of quarter
of 1994. We also anticipate supporting Windows NT, but have not
yet worked it into our timeline.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The biggest thing that ARDI needs now is exposure. From that will
come both revenue and investment funds. If you like what you see
and you can afford to buy a copy, please do so. If are impressed,
but you don't yet have a use for Executor (because it doesn't
support color, or because your favorite program doesn't work), help
spread the news.
If you have any contacts in the following areas, you can help us
greatly by passing your Executor enthusiasm on to:
The Pres We need more mentions of Executor in
the trade press, and eventually in the popular press, as
well.
Bulletin Boards Upload the latest Executor/DOS Demo where appropriate.
Macintosh Software Authors Get them to see what Executor can do now, and
give them a copy of the Executor/DEMO if they have access to a PC and a
copy of README.ISV if they don't. With PCs, they can potentially multiply
their potential customer base by a factor of five, but even if they have a
Windows version too, Executor promises to deliver the UNIX workstation
market and hopefully the advanced home video game/entertainment system as
well (see below)
PC Clone Manufacturers Tell them that you wish you could have paid an
additional $25 when you bought your machine and got substantial Mac
emulation. We're already talking to one of the top 10 ... a single
bundling deal will assure us of sufficient revenues to get Executor/DOS 2.0
out the door quickly.
The Educational Establishment Executor/DOS 1.1 is extremely handy to some
Professors, Instructors and Teachers. Under 1.1, Courseware is much more
likely to run than big-ticket applications, because courseware is usually
developed using the same documentation (Inside Macintosh) that we used to
write Executor. Big-ticket applications are more likely to "color outside
the lines"
Sega, Nintento, 3DO If you know someone who works at any of these
companies, let 'em know about us. The processors that will be used in the
next generation of video games will be more than adequate to do Macintosh
emulation. We'd like to have the software ready when they have the
hardware ready.
Thanks!
Clifford T. Matthews ctm at ardi.com Founder ARDI
+1 505 766 9115 Phone
+1 505 247 1899 FAX
--
Dominik Wujastyk Phone (and voice messages): +44 71 611 8467
Wellcome Institute, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE.
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