Recognising that there’s a vast army of users that want to multi-task MS-DOS applications without necessarily running them under OS/2, 11 companies including Microsoft Corp, Locus Computing Corp, Intel Corp, Phoenix Technologies Ltd and Quaterdeck Inc have come together to define a DOS Protected Mode Interface, designed to enable extended MS-DOS applications to exploit more fully the capabilities of protected mode multitasking operating systems for Intel iAPX-86-based personal computers, including those supporting system-wide virtual memory – the team cites Microsoft Windows, Unix V.386, DESQview, OS/2 and VM/386, a multitasking variant of MS-DOS using principles borrowed from IBM’s VM, developed by Softguard Systems and marketed by the software division of IGC Technology Corp in Santa Clara. Providing a standard way for for extended MS-DOS applications to co-operate with protected mode, multitasking MS-DOS operating environments using the protected mode feature of the 80386 and 80486, the Protected Mode Interface provides a vehicle for binary portability for extended MS-DOS applications across multiple operating environments able to run MS-DOS – one version of the application will fit all. The first version, 0.9, of the DPMI specification is available now and the fully-compatible 1.0 version should be out by the end of 1990.
