Just a couple of comments. First of all, thanks for volunteering! Stepping up for something like this is not an easy thing to do, I know. The licensing thing will get managed somehow, I'm sure.
If you've never written TSR's or device drivers before, this is definitely "jumping in the deep end." Writing TSR's is very different than writing "regular" programs, so I would suggest that you experiment with a "simple" TSR first. There are lots of "gotcha's" in TSR's that don't exist in other programs, and the only way you really learn them is with experience (screwing things up and then troubleshooting). The other thing I'll mention is that a lot of people seem to recommend using the network interface (Installable File System) as the way to "bridge" between DOS and the (currently) foreign file system. That is certainly one way to do it, and may ultimately prove to be the best way, but there are many factors to consider. One thing to consider is whether doing so will make the driver incompatible with DOS's Buffers and Caching mechanisms (both for FreeDOS and other DOS's as well). As I mentioned earlier, you also need to consider whether this would make it incompatible with removable disks. USB (removable) disks, e.g., is one of the primary places where exFAT is intended to be and will be installed. The other major area where compatibility is a consideration is in the disk maintenance utilities, like DEFRAG & CHKDSK (and their clones). Those types of programs don't work with network disks, so if there is any intent on adding exFAT support to those utilities, a network interface may not necessarily be a good choice. Again, I need to say that a network interface may indeed be the best option -- I'm not really sure. There are pluses and minuses to a network interface, and lots of things to consider besides the fact that a network interface might be "easier" to implement. ____________________________________________________________ Buffett’s New Enemy Buffett just confirmed his worst fear. Click here for his warning. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5609ae3149f522e312747st04vuc ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
