DOS/V
Closed source | |
Initial release | November 1990 |
---|---|
Latest release | PC DOS 2000 / July 1998 |
Available in | Japanese, Chinese, Korean |
Platforms | x86 |
Kernel type | Monolithic kernel |
Default user interface | Command-line interface |
License | Commercial proprietary software |
DOS/V is a Japanese computing initiative starting in 1990 to allow
The promotion of DOS/V was done by IBM and its consortium called PC Open Architecture Developers' Group (OADG).[1]
Digital Research released a Japanese DOS/V-compatible version of DR DOS 6.0 in 1992.[3][4]
History
In the early 1980s,
Masahiko Hatori (羽鳥 正彦) was a developer of JX's DOS. Through the development of JX, he learned the skills needed to localize an English computer into Japanese. In 1987, he started developing the DOS/V during spare time at
The DOS/V development team designed the DOS/V to be simple for better scalability and compatibility with original PC DOS. They had difficulty reducing text drawing time. "A stopwatch was a necessity for DOS/V development", Hatori said.[10]
IBM Japan announced the first version of DOS/V, IBM DOS J4.0/V, on 11 October 1990, and shipped out in November 1990. At the same time, IBM Japan released the PS/55 Model 5535-S, a laptop computer with VGA resolution. The announcement letter stated DOS/V was designed for low-end desktops and laptops of PS/55,[11] but users reported on BBS that they could run DOS/V on IBM PC clones.[12] The development team unofficially confirmed these comments, and modified incompatibilities of DOS/V. It was a secret inside the company because it would prevent sales of PS/55 and meet with opposition. Hatori said,[9]
We hid the DOS/V run on other IBM compatible machines. The fact was that we developed it could run on Gateway's and any machines, but we had to keep the secret, not to spread it, because there are lots of enemies inside the company. In short, it was a double-edged sword. If the DOS/V run on such cheap compatible machines, conversely the 5550 series which had taken high profit up may not be sold. In fact, 80% of staff in Yamato office opposed it.
Maruyama and Mii had to convince IBM's branches to agree with the plan. In the beginning of December 1990, Maruyama went to IBM's Management Committee, and presented his plan "The low-end PC strategy in Japan". At the committee, a topic usually took 15 minutes, but his topic took an hour. The plan was finally approved by John Akers.[9]
After the committee, Susumu Furukawa, a president of Microsoft Japan, could make an appointment with IBM Japan to share the source code of DOS/V.[13] On 20 December 1990, IBM Japan announced they founded OADG and Microsoft would supply DOS/V for other PC manufacturers. From 1992 to 1994, many Japanese manufacturers began selling IBM PC clones with DOS/V. Some global PC manufacturers entered into the Japanese market, Compaq in 1992 and Dell in 1993. Fujitsu released IBM PC clones (FMV series) in October 1993, and about 200,000 units were shipped in 1994.[14]
The initial goal of DOS/V was to enable Japanese software to run on laptop computers based on the IBM global standards rather than the domestic computer architecture. As of 1989, the VGA was not common, but they expected the LCD panels with VGA resolution would be affordable within a few years. The DOS/V lacked its software library, so IBM Japan requested third-party companies to port their software to the DOS/V. The PS/55 Model 5535-S was released as a laptop terminal for the corporate sector. They only had to supply a few major business software to the DOS/V.[5]
In March 1991, IBM Japan released the
In 1992, IBM Japan released the PS/V (similar to the
Drivers
Three device drivers enable DBCS code page support in DOS on IBM PC compatibles with VGA; the font driver, the display driver and the input assisted subsystem driver. The font driver loads a complete set of the glyphs from a font file into the extended memory. The display driver sets the 640×480 graphics mode on the VGA, and allocates about 20 KB of the conventional memory for text, called the simulated video buffer. A DOS/V program writes the codes of the characters to the simulated video buffer through DOS output functions, or writes them directly and calls driver's function to refresh the screen. The display driver copies the font bitmap data from the extended memory to the actual video memory, corresponding to the simulated video buffer. The input assisted subsystem driver communicates with optional input methods and enables the text editing in the on-the-spot or below-the-spot styles. Without installing these drivers, the DOS/V is equivalent to the generic MS-DOS without DBCS code page support.
- $FONT.SYS – Font driver[20][21][22]
- $DISP.SYS – Display driver[23][21][22]
- $IAS.SYS – Input assist subsystem (IAS) with front end processor (FEP) support driver[21]
- $PRN.SYS – Printer driver[21]
- $PRNUSER.SYS – Printer driver[21]
- $PRNESCP.SYS – Printer driver for ESC/P J84[21]
Versions
In 1988, IBM Japan released a new model of the PS/55 which was based on the PS/2 with Japanese language support. It is equipped with a proprietary video card, the Display Adapter, which has a high resolution text mode and a Japanese character set stored in a ROM on the card. It supports Japanese DOS K3.3, PC DOS 3.3 (English) and OS/2.[24]
IBM DOS J4.0 was released in 1989.[25] It combines Japanese DOS and PC DOS, which runs Japanese DOS as the Japanese mode (PS/55 mode) and PC DOS as the English mode (PS/2 mode). Although it had two separated modes that needed a reboot to switch between them, IBM Japan called it bilingual. This version requires the PS/55 display adapter.
The first version of DOS/V, IBM DOS J4.0/V (J4.05/V), was released in the end of 1990. The word 'DOS/V' was quickly known to Japanese computer industry, but the DOS/V itself didn't spread quickly. As of 1991, some small companies sold American or Taiwanese computers in Japan, but DOS J4.0/V caused some issues on PC compatibles./HS=LC
switch of $DISP.SYS
in DOS J4.07/V.[7][27][28] "Some VGA clones did not correctly implement the CRTC address wraparound.[29]
IBM Japan released DOS J5.0/V in October 1991, and DOS J5.0 in December 1991.[30] DOS J5.0 combines Japanese DOS and DOS/V. This is the last version developed for the PS/55 display adapter. DOS J5.02/V was released in March 1992.[31] It added official support for the IBM PS/2 and the US English layout keyboard.
The development of MS-DOS 5.0/V was delayed because IBM and Microsoft disputed how to implement the API for input methods. It took a few months to make an agreement that the OEM adaptation kit (OAK) of MS-DOS 5.0/V provided both IAS (Input Assist Subsystem) and MKKC (Microsoft Kana-Kanji Conversion). Microsoft planned to add the AX application support into DOS/V, but cancelled it because its beta release was strongly criticized by users for lacking compatibility. Some PC manufacturers couldn't wait Microsoft's DOS/V. Toshiba developed a DOS/V emulator that could run DOS/V applications on a VGA-equipped J-3100 computer. AST Research Japan and Sharp decided to bundle IBM DOS J5.0/V. Compaq developed own DOS/V drivers, and released their first DOS/V computers in April 1992.[32][33]
On 10 December 1993, Microsoft Japan and IBM Japan released new versions of DOS/V, MS-DOS 6.2/V Upgrade and PC DOS J6.1/V.
IBM Japan ended support for PC DOS 2000 on 31 January 2001,[37] and Microsoft Japan ended support for MS-DOS on 31 December 2001.[38]
Japanese versions of
PC DOS versions
- IBM DOS J4.0/V "5605-PNA" (version 4.00 – 4.04 were not released for DOS/V)[41]
- IBM DOS J5.0/V "5605-PJA" (1991-10),[44][42][41] IBM DOS T5.0/V,[44] IBM DOS H5.0/V[44]
- PC DOS J6.1/V "5605-PTA" (1993-12),[44][42][41] PC DOS P6.1/V,[44] PC DOS T6.10/V
- PC DOS J6.3/V "5605-PDA" (1994-05)[44][42][41]
- PC DOS J7.0/V "5605-PPW" (1995-08),[42][40][41] PC DOS P7/V,[40] PC DOS T7/V,[40] PC DOS H7/V[40]
- PC DOS 2000 Japanese Edition "04L5610" (1998-07)[42][41][37]
-
IBM DOS J5.02/V
MS-DOS versions
MS-DOS versions of DOS/V:
- Toshiba Nichi-Ei (日英; Japanese-English) MS-DOS 5.0[32]
- Compaq MS-DOS 5.0J/V (1992-04)[33]
- MS-DOS 5.0/V (OEM, generic MS-DOS 5.0/V)
- MS-DOS 6.0/V[citation needed]
- MS-DOS 6.2/V (Retail, 1993-12)[41]
- MS-DOS 6.22/V (1994-08)[citation needed]
- Towns OS for FM Towns (only late issues had DOS/V compatibility added)[citation needed]
-
Japanese MS-DOS 6.2/V floppy disks
-
MS-DOS 6.2/V user's guide
DR DOS versions
- DR DOS 6.0/V (Korean)[nb 1]
- ViewMAX 2 (Japanese) (1991–1992)[46]
-
- (DR-DOS 7.0x/V) (2001–2006) (an attempt to build a DR-DOS/V from existing components)[49]
Extensions
IBM DOS/V Extension extends DOS/V drivers to set up a variety of text modes for certain video adapters. The High-quality Text Mode is the default 80 columns by 25 rows with 12×24 pixels large characters. The High-density Text Mode (Variable Text; V-Text) offers large text modes with various font sizes. DOS/V Extension V1.0 included drivers for VGA,
Some of its drivers were included in PC DOS J6.1/V and later.- IBM DOS/V Extension V1.0 (1993-01) includes V-Text support[51]
- IBM DOS/V Extension V2.0 "5605-PXB"[51]
See also
- Unicode
- List of DOS commands
- Kanji CP/M-86(1984)
- DOS/V Power Report (A Japanese magazine on IBM clones)
Notes
- ^ DR DOSdriver contain support for a number of special arguments to switch to Japanese video modes and toggle between Korean and English input modes.
ANSI.SYS
- Toshiba J-3100. DOS/V-related updates were distributed by Novell as
DOSV6.EXE
,DOSV.EXE
,TSBODI.LZH
and were supported up to 1997. - Novell DOS 7was announced and is referred to in various English documents, but was apparently never released.
- Toshiba J-3100, some of which were distributed by CONTEC. DOS/V-related updates were distributed by Novell as
P10J0?.EXE
(with?
replaced by1
-5
),PNDOSV2.EXE
,PNDOSV1.LZH
and were supported up to 1995.
References
- ^ a b c Boyd, John (April 1997). "From Chaos to Competition - Japan's PC industry in transformation". Computing Japan Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
- ^ DOS/Vとは - IT用語辞典. IT用語辞典 e-Words (in Japanese). Incept Inc. 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ ISSN 0386-5428.
- ^ DR DOS 6.0[…] Japanese input support for Japanese version of DR DOS. […]
- ^ a b c d Special Interview キーマンが語る: 日本IBM情報システム(株) 竹村譲 氏、日本IBM(株) 羽鳥正彦 氏 [Special Interview: Key persons talks: IBM Japan Information System, Joe Takemura and IBM Japan, Masahiko Hatori]. ザ・ベーシック (in Japanese). 120. 技術評論社: 33–40. 1993.
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ a b Hatori, Masahiko. "WingBird Lab. by M.hatori: DOS/V" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2002-01-06. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ISBN 4-532-16331-5.
- ^ ISSN 0916-0302.
- ^ Hatori, Masahiko. "DOS/V architecture" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 1999-05-03. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
- ^ ISSN 0368-3354. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ ISSN 0289-6508. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ISBN 978-4-8443-9700-7.
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ 伊勢, 雅英 (2002-10-29). ThinkPad 10th Anniversary Special 10: 日本IBMデザイン部門担当部長 山崎和彦氏インタビュー [前編]. pc.watch.impress.co.jp (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ISSN 0916-0302.
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ 96年度パソコン国内出荷台数、前年度比29.7%増―マルチメディア総研. Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun. 1997-04-24. p. 9.
- ^ "$FONT.SYS". PC Users' Guide Forums (FPCU). Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ^ a b c d e f Myers, Steven; Smith, Greg (March 1995). "DOS/V: The Soft(ware) Solution to Hard(ware) Problems". Computing Japan Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ^ a b Cha. N. (2012-10-21). "DOS/V - FONTX - Electronics Projects". Archived from the original on 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ^ "$DISP.SYS". PC Users' Guide Forums (FPCU). Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ISSN 0386-5428.
- ISSN 0386-5428.
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ "Schwarzschild Cafe" 退廃的互換機趣味(其之二十)【ET4000】. Schwarzschild Cafe (in Japanese). 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
- ^ 長浜, 和也 (2018-08-15). 「大和研究所は憎悪の対象だった」――初代IBM PC開封の儀で明らかになった「ThinkPad誕生の奇跡」. ITmedia PC USER (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ "DOS/V graphics text modes and scrolling | OS/2 Museum".
- ISSN 0387-9569.
- ^ ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ ISSN 0289-6508.
- ^ ISSN 0386-5428.
- ^ マイクロソフト、MS-DOS最新版、自社ブランドで発売。. Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun (in Japanese). 1993-12-07. p. 6.
- ISSN 0289-6508.
- ^ 鈴木, 直美 (2002-01-22). 鈴木直美の「PC Watch先週のキーワード」. pc.watch.impress.co.jp (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ a b IBM PC DOS 2000 日本語版 および 英語版 の発表. www-01.ibm.com (in Japanese). 1998-06-10. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
- Microsoft Corporation. 2001-09-07. Archived from the originalon 2001-11-08. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ 及川, 卓也 (2006-06-16). Windows Vista における 16 ビットサポート (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
- ^ IBM Corporation. 2007-12-31 [2001]. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-08-06. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Timeline of DOS/V versions" (in Japanese). 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t akm (2013) [2007]. "What's DOS/V". Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ a b c d e f "IBM AS/400 Client Access Branches into Two New Families -- AS/400 Client Access Family for Windows and AS/400 Client Access Family Version 4 Release 1 - Software Announcement". IBM. 1997-08-19. Announcement Letter Number: 297-302. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
- ISSN 0289-6508.
- ^ $FONT.SYS.
- ^ a b "Minimum Patch List (Japanese)" (in Japanese and English). Novell. 2006-01-19. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
- ^ OpenDOS 7.01, including the description of many undocumented features and internals. It is part of the author's yet larger
MPDOSTIP.ZIP
collection maintained up to 2001 and distributed on many sites at the time. The provided link points to a HTML-converted older version of theNWDOSTIP.TXT
file.) - ^ Izumi, Yu, ed. (2006-06-11) [2001-03-03]. DR DOS 7.0x/V 非公式インストールマニュアル - 管理人関係リンク [DR DOS 7.0x/V - Unofficial installation, manual administration, links]. 4.7.4 (in Japanese). Japanese DR DOS User's Group (JDUG).
- ISSN 0287-9506.
- ^ a b "V-Text-24" (in Japanese). 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
Further reading
- Adachi, Tsuyoshi (1994). DOS/V Technical Reference Manual. Softbank Books.
- Tsuchiya, Masaru (1994). PC DOS 6/V Handbook. Natsumesha, Inc.
- Compaq Seran Kikaku Division (1993). DOS/V Pasokon. Seitousha, Inc.