TEMAS EM DEBATE

The future of OS/2
Clear?

by Daniel Goggia, Team OS/2
Editor, Team Brief
The Team Brief is a Team OS/2 News Letter put into a brief INF format. What it is trying to attempt is give views from both Users of OS/2 and Team OS/2 Members. It has been published since November 1996, however the first real format of the Team Brief began the following month of December.

We have seen a lot of NEW news about OS/2, some just rumor and from Germany, new
news about the next version of OS/2.

The news about the next version of OS/2 is good and then again, not so good. It looks as if IBM is only planning at this time small update of fix packs for it's operating system that we have fallen in love with. But at least that is something.

The way things look, and as always, this is only an assumpsion on my part, along with
others who too are looking at the " where are we headed "?

W.S.O.D. is moving right along, and it seems that this is a good thing for OS/2, and even better for those who have large investments in the OS/2 operating system and it's environment. It gives them the power of choice, the choice to stay with OS/2, and look forward to the future and it's development.

We will in the end just have to wait and see what IBM is really going to do, I can only
write what I see, and hear. The following stories are from different sources, but do give us hope that there is something happening in our treasured world of OS/2.


This is from a good source, but then we know how that always goes don't we? Read this and the following, then take a grain of salt and you can then do as I do, just wonder with amazement, at the world of OS/2.


From Around Here!


It has been quite a while since the rumored on the web were updated. This is due to many things but mostly to the fact IBM has kept really quiet about anything to do with its next release of OS/2.

From the sites on the Web, we can learn that there is a major turn in the development of OS/2. It looks like it has shifted into the following directions.


OS/2 is now part of the network computing division

Warp Server is the main product now, not the Warp Client

Java has taken a hard grip on every part of IBM (this we already knew)


Myself and others too, both users and Team OS/2 members would like to see OS/2 pull ahead of Windows 95/98. However from looking at what IBM has done (or not done), we see IBM has no intention to try.


On the web at the rumors section, when you look for Warp or OS/2 there will no longer be a distinction between the server and the client component of Warp 5.


Even if IBM is not going to completely do away with the client version, its main thrust now seems to be working on and improving its server version and its application.


The rumor is that IBM will incorporate the server code into the client version of OS/2,
meaning its bases will come form the server source code.



Warp 5 The Mega Release ?


While the rumors of a new client version are getting few, the server is truly going to be a mega release. That is a quote from the rumor page. There are also IBM'ers talking about a new version of OS/2 that will be announced shortly to coincide with the new version of Workspace on demand. We will have to wait and see<smile>.


If you would count the rumors and what they talk about you could or would come to the
conclusion that there are four different levels or versions of OS/2 Warp. While I am at it, it may not be called Warp anymore, (this is ok with me), problem with Paramount it seems.

Listing the four are as follows:

WSOD - an update to Workspace on demand (rumored for release in 2q - 3q 1998)

Warp Server for e-bussiness the mega release of Warp Server rumored for release in 1q 1999, beta in 3q 1998)

power users client version

A thin client version (WSOD again)


The talk of a Microkernel is taking form, making OS/2 even more powerful then it is now.The OS would zing while it hhuummmssss. Then again, how and when they could do it gives way to total loss of any direction. So while hard at work on it, IBM will have to make up there minds on how to proceed with it. (hummm, we been here?)


What can they put into the next version of OS/2? What is the list of Rumored features they could put into the next level? There's a good name for the next version of OS/2 " Next Level
OS/2 " they could shorten it to " OS/2 NL ".


The rumored list:

No more 512MB limit Warp 5 will provide all 32 bit applications the ability to address
memory higher than 512 Mb. Applications that use APIs that accept pointers as parameters can now allocate those parameters above the 512M a requirement if OS/2 is to support Win32s 1.30


VD CD-ROM support to be available on Software Choice before becoming a part of Warp 5. When DVD finally takes of this will be a must have and not an add on.


Kernel redesign , another goal is to make all the internal worker routines pure 32 bit
(enhancing performance). The external interfaces to the Doscall APIs will not be changed to preserve compatibility. Thunk routines will be removed and new interfaces will be created in the Kernel to support 32 bit workers but external 16 bit APIs will still be supported.

Symmetric Multiprocessing, (SMP) support is a key feature to come. SMP support will be integrated into the next version of OS/2. The Warp 5 product will integrate SMP support into a 'single source' product code base. All versions of Warp 5 will support SMP. The primary objectives of the OS/2 SMP support is to integrate SMP support as a basic part of the system and to improve the SMP scale ability and performance. In order to have both the cost saving attributable to a single binary and still have acceptable Uni-processor (UP) performance, Warp 5 will have single SMP enabled binaries for all parts of the system except the kernel (OS2KRNL). Both UP and SMP versions of OS2KRNl will be provided to avoid the SMP performance cost when running on a UP system.


Java 1.1.6 or even possibly 1.2 will be included in Warp 5. IBM has been supporting Java for a long time now, I should say pushing but to be fair I must say supporting. IBM has plans to integrate the Java support in the operating system (at the kernel level) to enhance performance. No one knows if this will be done in time for the next release of OS/2, I say add it later if you must.<smile>.


Communicator 4, is to be part of the operating system. There will be a feature sweep to
include things on Software Choice where Communicator is supposed to be found during q3-98. This seems to be due to the fact that Netscape has problems with their JavaGator that IBM probably wanted to include in OS/2.


Lotus GO webserver is also to be part of the operating system (server edition).


No more 386, OS/2 intends to use the CMPXCHG instruction. This instruction was introduced on the Intel 486 processor, therefore OS/2 will not work on Intel 386-based machines. This may or may not be a good thing. The usage of this instruction by the next level of OS/2 on both UP and SMP systems will prevent it from running on Intel 386 processors. Some of the places where the CMPXCHG instruction will be used is in the 32 bit RAM semaphore code and the kernel execution environment locking services.


New device drivers, OS/2 will assume that all 32 bit installable file systems and device
drivers are SMP safe. The 32 bit IFSs and DDs will be new for the next level of OS/2. It
will not do protective locking around 32 bit IFSs and DDs to make them SMP safe. The new 32 bit IFSs and DDs must make themselves SMP safe. Kernel execution environment 32 bit locking services are provided for use by IFSs and DDs to become SMP safe. Kernel execution environment services are also provided to obtain necessary serialization for a 32 bit IFS or DD to call a non-SMP safe 16 bit DD. This is the ADD32 interface. .


Osprey, is the effort to supply XPG4v2 (spec1170) and X11/Motif API's for Warp 5. This
allows most UNIX (spec1170) programs to be ported to OS/2 quite easily.

JFS/Warp is the OS/2 version of the AIX 64bit Journaling File System. It is currently being ported to OS/2 by mainly a group of AIX people. JFS/Warp has been out on a internal alpha/beta round a least since the beginning of February 1997! The current code is said to be quite stable, it is therefore possible that it will be out before Warp 5 in a fixpack for Warp Server. IBM is VERY quiet about JFS/Warp and might plan to use it as a surprise item when promoting some future OS/2 update. This is a new and fantastic file system they have for OS/2, but unknown if it really exsist or not. The texts says that JFS/Warp is to be included into the Warp Server framework.

Logical Volume Manager (LVM). All Installable File Systems (IFS) will be contained in the LVM. LVM takes over drive letter mapping for programs that require them. This allows users to selectively assign drive letters to a volume of our choice. And (even better) the OS itself won't use drive letters. This will allow users to combine several partitions and even physical disks into a single logical drive (also known as disk spanning). There is even a rumor of something called dynamic partition resizing.


C2 security IBM's large customers demanded this. C2 requires a secure file system and while 386 HPFS is adequate JFS/WARP will probably be used. Rumors say 386 HPFS will not be included in future releases.


Will it be Microkernel based ? Probably not, but IBM seems very ambivalent to what to do with microkernel OS/2. I think they have a new version but don't really know what to do with it.


The next version of OS/2 will most likely take on some of the multithreaded device drivers found in the PowerPC editions of OS/2.


Serialized I/O, raw file I/O, full failover-support and lots more. Clustering of servers will
also be supported.


A server-specific enhancement called Fallback Fault-tolerant Server (FFS) will be included. FFS can be thought of as an automated version of the domain controller/backup server concept in Warp Server.

The FFS is the same thing as the Vinca Standby server as IBM licensed it from Vinca. And the concept is that there are 2 machines (servers) up and running. One of them (the primary machine) will be running all the server code, while the other ( the standby machine ) is only running OS/2. As soon as the primary goes down the server code gets started on the standby machine which becomes the primary machine. It takes from one to two minutes for the switch over.


There might also be 32 bit Object Oriented device drivers. The technique of Object Oriented device drivers is inherited from OS/2 for the PowerPC and is probably based on Taligent code. It means that a device driver developer can inherit from other drivers to greatly reduce the development effort. This is similar to the current video (GRADD) and printer (OMNI) drivers but not the same as ADD32 drivers.


With these new rumors and all the other news about the next level of OS/2, it makes one very happy to think of what is coming next. For those who keep saying OS/2 is dead, look away, it is dead, I say get a grip.


Across the ocean is talk about OS/2 6, the level beyond the level we are waiting for! So if OS/2 s dead or dieing, why is there talk about OS/2 6 ?


In Austin there is a secure server with a directory that had a list of many of the projects
IBM has in development. Each project has a directory and are password protected. Well, there are two directories for Warp, one for Warp 5 and another one for Warp 6. Rumor, well maybe it is, but from surfing the net, looking into Germany and about, I would say it is a good one. One with some merit<smile>.



end OS/2 next level



We need your help!



The Win32-OS/2 Project is a collection of tools and DLL's that allow an end user to convert a Win32 (i.e. Win95/WinNT) program into a native OS/2 program, and then run that program under OS/2 without needing Windows or Win-OS/2 support installed.

Also, many people have asked how much this software will cost. IT IS FREE! Yes, that's right, FREE! Free for commercial users AND home users.



PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY

Please download the current release before emailing us any offers. Try the converter yourself first. If it doesn't work, then we can talk. Do not email us your results. Post them to comp.os.os2.bugs.

Don't tell us about software we can download ourselves. We're only interested in commercial software that has to be purchased.

Don't ask us what software we want - that's completely missing the point. The idea is for YOU to send US software that YOU want to have converted. Look at the Win95/NT software that YOU NEED TO USE under OS/2, and pick from that list. We don't want suggestions. We don't want advice.

Most of all Windows 95/NT software WILL NOT WORK. In fact, the majority of the small
apps that come with Windows 95/NT will not work either.

DO NOT EMAIL US ANY SOFTWARE. The March 1998 release is now available. We are accepting donations of Windows 95/NT software. Our intention is that you purchase an application and have it shipped to us. We need to have a full blown legal copy of the application, because we will need all manuals and we may also need to contact the vendor's technical support. Without a full legal copy of the application, we will not have all the resources we need to convert it.


IMPORTANT NOTE : We make no guarantees whatsoever that we will be able to convert your application. All we are offering is to include your application in our test suite. We will be aware of the problems, but we make no promises that we will be able to fix them. Our goal is to be able to convert every Windows 95/NT application, but there are limits, and we know that there are some Windows 95/NT applications that we will never be able to convert.


he team member who will accept your donation will depend on what kind of application and where you live. First determine if any of the team members is working on the appropriate area. If no one qualifies, then send it to the nearest team member.


Who's on the Project

A list of all the project team members and their assignments.

Name Email Address Accomplishments and Current/Future Work

Timur Tabi timur@io.com Maintainer of web site. Spoke at Warpstock.

Jochen Schaeu jochen@Herrenberg.netsurf.de Maintainer of mirror-web site.

Sander van Leeuwen sandervl@xs4all.nl Almost everything (pe2lx + dll's)

Peter Fitzsimmons pfitz@ican.net API utilities, development environment and help with
pe2lx, user32, kernel32.

Christophe M. Vallat miodrag@mygale.org Registry API's.

Vince Vielhaber vev@michvhf.com Winsock

Kevin Laughbaum klaughbaum@utsi.com OpenGL

Chris McKillop cdmckill@engmail.uwaterloo.ca Build environment

Joel Troster jtroster@ibm.net MIDI support

Patrick Haller haller@zebra.fh-weingarten.de Console API's


If you can help out, please contact one of the above people. Also see the site on the web for updates on the progress of this project. The address is:
http://www.os2ss.com/win32-os2/


From this site you can get all the information about the programs they need, that they are working on, and ones they are going to be working on. The Team is moving right along, a lot of work and effort we are very thankful for it all.

Are you planning something ? Do you have a tip ? Maybe a story ? Some code to share ? If you do........please send it in to me at DANNYGOS2@AOL.COM and at some point I'll share it in the Team Brief. Thank You.................................................