Windows XP... Microsoft COBOL 5.0... DOS and Windows 2

[SteveMillman]

I am concerned about what I have read about DOS going away.
I use Microsoft COBOL internally and for a few of my small clients. Applications were written over 10 years ago and
have DOS programs and Batch files.

Will I not be able to compile any longer under XP? Will programs continue to work if untouched? Would they work
if I recompiled them to Windows? Does converting to Windows require more than recompile? Would that automatically give me access to Print manager, etc. without doing any fancy API calls?

I would appreciate the feedback.

A troubled programmer (Steve Millman)

 

[Comtech]

It's WindowsME that doesn't have DOS.
Windows XP still has the "Command prompt" as a DOS shell.
For true DOS, just boot to a startup disk. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[SteveMillman]

Jim,

I don't believe that is true. I have read that XP does away with DOS. That is why I am concerned about it.

Steve

 

[Comtech]

My beta has a fully functioning DOS prompt (command prompt) from within windows, as well as the starup option to Safemode command prompt.
I haven't heard anything about doing away with it completely.
Like I said, just use any windows startup disk. The one from 98 will even give you CD-ROM support, or get the best one at

http://www.startdisk.com

Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[SteveMillman]

Jim,

Thanks. The stuff I read elswhere must have been mistaken. I myself have not yet played with the
XP OS; but was under the impression that command prompt
had gone away.

Thank you for the upshot and for allaying my fears.

Steve

 

[brettybaby]

i loaded windows me and the dos workes great

I dont know if im special but it does so it does

as for xp my programs that are dos do not work

I do get a dos shell for limited dos usage

 

[hads]

Steve,

I think you may actually run into a bit of trouble, like you thought.

XP is based on NT, which is not DOS. Windows 9x/Me are all still 16/32 bit based so you should'nt have problems with your DOS based code -- I say should'nt, but you may well. Where as NT/2000/XP are 32 bit only and could prove more challenging to your code than the others.

It's hard to say anything specific as I don't know exactly what you are doing and I'm also not into that type coding. The best thing I can suggest is to track down someone you know with XP and give it a go.

Hope this helps.
01101000011000010110010001110011

 

[BChumie]

I believe in XP and ME dos is emulated. So from what I have read you are not really using dos in either one. As far as your programs go, depending on how good ms's emulation of dos is you could or could not have problems.

-Brad