7 Jun
2023
7 Jun
'23
12:05 a.m.
On Tue, Jun 6, 2023 at 8:01 PM Fred Cisin via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
wrote:
I thought the goal back then was not 100% hardware compatibility, it was
MS/IBM DOS compatibility. To be able to load/run/copy files from one PC to
another, dBASE, Lotus, Wordstar, etc. I don't think most manufacturers
cared as long as the software worked and you could make a printout using a
standard printer of the day like an Epson or whatever.
Bill
> "The
only possible way to have 100% compatability is copyright
infringement. But, you can certainly come up with something that is
similar enough to do what you need."
On Tue, 6 Jun 2023, Paul Koning wrote:
That's not always true. Another way to get
it is to implement from
sufficiently high quality specifications. The DIX Ethernet spec, and the
DECnet specs, are examples where if you do what they say you will have an
interoperable implementation.
Unfortunately that level of quality is not
common, but it can and has
been done.
Well, our discussion will be hindered by variations in the definitions of
compatability.
And, we are discussing it in the context of IBM 5150!
A perfect implementation of the specification is certainly one definition,
and should certainly give you something similar enough to do what you
need. In MOST cases.