16 Dec
2005
16 Dec
'05
7:42 p.m.
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:
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.
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