Port old 16-bit Win program to FreeBSD that needs access to core memory

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

Hi Sam,

  This isn't the best mailing list to ask this question, but here goes.

  You generally cannot directly access memory under UNIX, period.
You have to go through a device driver.  Keep in mind WIndows is
a single-user system, thus a Windows program can make a lot of
assumptions.  One of these is that the program I/O is going to go
to the screen, input will come from the keyboard, etc.  UNIX is a
multiuser
system and a program can be run from a terminal or SSH session
logged in over the network, a direct connection from the console,
etc.  Thus the program cannot make assumptions about where the
data is going to be going to.

  However, the good news is that it should be pretty easy to modify
a driver for your card.  For example take a look here:

http://www.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/sw/ifurnace/

  There's driver source up there and it sounds like that card is
similar to yours.

Ted

>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
>[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Sam Guyer
>Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:51 PM
>To: freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
>Subject: Port old 16-bit Win program to FreeBSD that needs
>access to core memory
>
>
>I have an old 16-bit C++ program written for Win 3.1 that I would like
>to be able to run on FreeBSD.  Before I try to port the application, I
>wanted to know if it would be possible at all.  The program needs to
>directly access the memory range D0000-DFFFF, and as I am new
>to FreeBSD
>I don't know if this is allowed by the kernel or if the range is
>available.  The program is for a motor control board (ISA, not PCI) and
>is designed to communicate with the card by writing directly to the core
>memory region D0000-DFFFF.  It would be best described as an old ISA
>video card for Windows 3.1/MS-DOS where there is no real driver.  The
>only operation the
>operating system need to perform separate of the program is to assign
>the memory region to the ISA card.  Is this possible?  Thanks!
>
>-Sam Guyer
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