DexOS

DexOS FAQ

General
Q: What is DexOS ?
A: DexOS is a very fast 32Bit, Single tasking, OS for 386+ PC's, written in assembly.

Q: Is the sourcecode available ?
A: Yes, full fasm sourcecode is available to members of the DexOS Dev team.

Q: Why is it, only available to DexOS Dev team ?
A: If you do not want to Dev for DexOS, why do you need the code.

Q: Where can I get software for DexOS ?
A: In the download area, we collect all the software we and other people make for DexOS.

Q: When I run DexOS will it do anything to my Win9x/XP/Linux/BeOS installation ?
A: NO, When you boot DexOS from a floppy or cd, it does not touch your harddisks.

Q: How do I shutdown DexOS ?
A: Just hit the powerbutton, or you can type "exit", at the command prompt, if you booted from dos and want to go back to dos.

Q: Will DexOS run on 386's only ?
A: No, 386+ means 386 and higher. So, it also runs on 486's, pentiums etc...

Q: How do I run Applications ?
A: You can download several applictions in the download area. You can just copy these files to
your DexOS Bootfloppy like any other file, from with in window or linux etc. Then boot the OS
and type 'test.dex' for example.

Community
Q: How can I find other people who use DexOS ?
A: DexOS has it's own forum for users and programmers, run by jas2o. There's also a IRC or
through mailinglists.

Q: Where can I find DexOS users on IRC ?
A: Server: irc.freenode.net - Channel: #dexos irc://irc.freenode.org/dexos

Q: Can I join a DexOS mailinglist ?
A: Yes, To subscribe, send an email with a subject of 'subscribe'to dexos-request@freelists.orgTo unsubscribe, send an email with a subject of 'unsubscribe' to dexos-request@freelists.org
Once subscribed, you can email the list members by sending an email to dexos@freelists.org

Technical
Q: What are the SystemRequirements for DexOS ?
A: A 386+ PC with a floppy-drive !

Q: Is that ALL ?!
A: For booting DexOS, yes. Some applications may require for example a VESA2.0 compatible
Videocard, but these requirements will be mentioned next to the download. We try to keep
the requirements as minimal as possible so everyone should be able to run it on any PC.

Q: Can I boot DexOS from a HD ?
A: Yes. As in you can boot DexOS from your pre Fat16 formated hdd, using"bootprog" ,only
from a fat16 formatted harddrive for now, As bootprog does not use fat32, which DexOS users for booting, But we're working on it.

Q: Are there any plans on porting DexOS to Alpha or PPC or ...?
A: Yes, As well as DexOS for the x86,we are working on a ARM port (Gp2x).

Q: I have a MAC. Can I use DexOS ?
A: You can't use it on a plain Macintosh. BUT, connectix has written a PC emulator that allows
DexOS to run on a Macintosh (Significantly slower I might add, but it works) It's called
VirtualPC.

Q: How about PC Emulators
A: Members have successfully run DexOS in QEmu, Bochs, DosBOX.

Programming
Q: Why program for DexOS instead of for any other Operating System ?
A: DexOS was build for speed, and has become the fasted OS available. Another feature of
DexOS is it's modulair architecture which has resulted in a great development platform.
It's very easy to add or replace parts of the Operating System.

Q: What programming languages can I use to make software for DexOS ?
A: DexOS itself is written in pure assembley. So it's a very good platform to use assembly
code. Also, forth is a very good choice, As theres a RetroForth port, by crc, It can be
found in the 'Download corner' or in the links to "RetroForth" web site, and you can code in C.

Q: Is it hard to program for DexOS ?
A: No, Not at all ! It's as easy as programing for dos, but with upto 4GB of memory instead of
1MB and simpler address.

Q: Are there any example sourcecodes available ?
A: There is a very nice beginners tut, by solidus117, with example sourcecode, in the download
section, also most applications and modules written by 3th parties come with full sourcecode.

Q: I'd like to develop something for DexOS, just for fun... What's missing ?
A: I think any thing that adds to the usability of DexOS would be good eg: games, paint
programs, image viewers, other than BMP, debug type programs, text or gui calculator,
drivers, vesa graphic demos to show what can be done. etc.

Q: Where can I get help when I'm making something for DexOS ?
A: We will help you in any way we can with system-information, URL's, documentation etc etc.
You can also post questions or ask someone to join you in the Programming part of DexOS
Forum.