110 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
110 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
# DVX -- DOS Visual eXecutive
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DVX is a windowed GUI environment and application platform for DOS.
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It provides a Motif-inspired desktop, a cooperative multitasking kernel,
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a widget toolkit, a compiled BASIC language with a visual form designer,
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and a small set of bundled applications.
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The system is a compositor built on VESA VBE 2.0+ linear framebuffer
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video modes. A dirty-rectangle compositor keeps redraw cost proportional
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to what actually changes on screen, so the desktop is responsive even at
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1024x768 on modest hardware.
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## What's Included
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* **DVX Shell** -- desktop, app lifecycle manager, Task Manager, crash
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recovery. The shell is the program the user interacts with and the
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host for all running applications.
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* **Widget toolkit** -- 31 widget types as plug-in modules: buttons,
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labels, text inputs, list boxes, tree views, tab controls, sliders,
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spinners, progress bars, canvases, scroll panes, splitters, an ANSI
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terminal, and more.
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* **DVX BASIC** -- a Visual Basic 3 compatible language with a visual
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form designer, per-procedure code editor, project management, and a
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bytecode compiler and VM. BASIC programs compile to standalone DVX
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applications.
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* **Help system** -- a full hypertext help viewer with table of contents,
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keyword index, full-text search, and inline images. Help files are
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compiled from a plain-text source format.
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* **Serial / networking stack** -- an ISR-driven UART driver, HDLC
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packet framing with CRC-16 and Go-Back-N reliable delivery, 1024-bit
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Diffie-Hellman key exchange, and XTEA-CTR encryption, plus a Linux
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bridge that connects a virtual serial port to a telnet BBS.
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* **Control Panel** -- themes, wallpapers, video mode, mouse
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configuration, all with live preview.
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* **Bundled applications** -- Program Manager (desktop launcher),
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Notepad, Clock, Image Viewer, DVX Demo, Control Panel, DVX BASIC
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IDE, Help Viewer, Resource Editor, Icon Editor, Help Editor, BASIC
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Demo.
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## Target Hardware
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* DOS with a 386-class CPU or newer (486 recommended, Pentium for best
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performance)
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* VESA BIOS Extensions 2.0 or newer with linear framebuffer support
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* 4 MB of extended memory minimum; 8 MB or more recommended
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* Any resolution the video card reports at 8, 15, 16, 24, or 32 bits
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per pixel. 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768 are the common cases.
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* Two-button mouse; scroll wheel supported if a compatible driver is
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loaded
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## Building and Deploying
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```
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make # build everything
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make clean # remove all build artifacts
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./mkcd.sh # build and produce a CD-ROM ISO image
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```
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`make` builds in dependency order: core, tasks, loader, helpers,
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host tools, widgets, shell, task manager, apps. Build output goes to
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`bin/` and intermediate objects to `obj/`.
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`./mkcd.sh` builds everything, then wraps `bin/` into an ISO 9660
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image for use with an emulator or for burning to physical media.
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## Directory Layout
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```
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dvxgui/
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assets/ logo and splash artwork
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bin/ build output (runtime tree; mirrors what ships)
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config/ shipped INI, themes, wallpapers
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docs/ HTML exports of the built-in help content
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LICENSE.txt MIT license
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Makefile top-level build
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mkcd.sh build-and-package script
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src/
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apps/ bundled applications
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include/ shared include files (BASIC library declarations)
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libs/ core libraries (GUI, tasks, shell, helpers, serial, SQL)
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loader/ bootstrap executable
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tools/ host-native development tools and the BASIC compiler
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widgets/ widget plug-in modules
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```
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See `src/tools/README.md` for the host-side development tools
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(resource tool, icon generators, help compiler, proxy), and
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`src/apps/kpunch/README.md` for the SDK contract applications must
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follow.
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## Documentation
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Full reference documentation ships with the system as browsable help:
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* `docs/dvx_system_reference.html` -- system API, widget catalog
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* `docs/dvx_basic_reference.html` -- DVX BASIC language reference
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* `docs/dvx_help_viewer.html` -- help viewer guide
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The same content is available from inside DVX via the Help Viewer and
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Program Manager.
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## License
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MIT. See `LICENSE.txt`.
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