Resources for DOS (was: DOS Compatable OS)

[Scott Stevens]

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 10:08:41 -0800
"Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:

> On 12/16/2005 at 3:37 PM Hans Franke wrote:
> 
> >The MS-DOS Enzyclopedia from MS-Press
> >
> >Good book, but of course only a compilation of the 'official'
> >material. only about 20% cover the DOS API, the rest is
> >somewhat like the mother of all DOS manuals. ~1500 pages in
> >one book. If you need a DOS-manual, try to get this book. It
> >even got a small entertaining history secttion. Originaly it
> >was HUGE a hard cover book for a unpayable price (I remember
> >500+ Mark).
> 
> "The Programmer's PC Sourcebook" by Thom Hogan was another big
> book of tables and charts, and also covered some of Windows 3.0
> structures and APIs.  The date on mine is 1991, published by
> Microsoft Press and ISBN is 1-55615-321-X.  The big gray
> hardcover DOS book is less complete, more expensive, has bigger
> print and looks visually impressive.  I don't care much for the
> Hans-Peter Messmer "PC Hardware" book; he's too gabby and gets
> some things flat wrong.
> 
> Another book that still gets used here is the Phoenix "CBIOS for
> IBM PS/2 Computers and Compatibles" published about 1989 and its
> companion volumes for PC XT and AT systems.  Not much about DOS,
> but deals with BIOS in wonderful detail.
> 
> Don't overlook old MSDN CD-ROMs--the earlier ones had lots of
> good information about DOS-related items.  I imagine that the
> very early ones are pretty hard to find, but if you wanted to
> know how DOUBLESPACE worked, with all of its API calls, etc., it
> was the place to find it--at least until the Stacker lawsuit,
> when it suddenly vanished.
> 
> Cheers,
> Chuck
> 

And the IBM DOS Technical Reference Manuals came out for each
version of PC-DOS and have to be considered 'authoritative'
(ahem).  The PC-DOS Manual, the PC-DOS techref, and the Technical
Reference Manuals are a complete 'authoritative' set.

I like some of the numerous textbooks that came out in the late
80s through the 90's that covered the hardware and firmware base
comprehensively.  For a time, engineering professors used the IBM
hardware as a laboratory for training students.  Mazidi & Mazidi's
"The 80x86 IBM PC and Compatible Computers (Volumes I & II)
Assembly Language, Design, and Interfacing" Prentice-Hall, 1998,
(ISBN 0-13-758509-8) is a big hefty book, and provides one HECK of
a thorough exploration of the PC architecture.  It's also fairly
expensive but I don't regret having bought it.  It's not a DOS
programming guide, though.  It's more keyed toward Assembly
Language and digging deep into the hardware.