Until recently, the the SvarDOS project was essentially a distribution of FreeDOS. SvarDOS cut FreeDOS down into something that would run on even an 8

SvarDOS: DR-DOS is reborn as an open source operating system

submited by

Style Pass

2024-12-24 03:00:07

Until recently, the the SvarDOS project was essentially a distribution of FreeDOS. SvarDOS cut FreeDOS down into something that would run on even an 8086 or 8088 PC. SvarDOS came as four 360kB floppy images, or a single 1.4MB disk image, and didn't need a 386-class CPU or a CD-ROM drive.

In 2024, though, somes changes have been afoot – perhaps prompted by Microsoft open sourcing MS-DOS 4 back in April. No, SvarDOS hasn't switched to the MS-DOS kernel (With good reason: IBM's PC DOS 4 was not one of the classic releases. In fact, DOS 4 was famously one of the most memory-hungry version of DOS ever released.)

We reported in 2022 on the more relevant information that the usage terms covering CP/M and its derivatives has been relaxed. Specifically, the license now grants:

This is relevant because DR-DOS is a derivative of CP/M – specifically of CP/M-86. Most of DR-DOS remains proprietary, but way back in 1996, Caldera announced it would open source its DOS. It released the kernel and a few core utilities, and while it later changed its mind and shut the project down, the internet never forgets and the source code is still available. It got picked up and developed by the DR-DOS/OpenDOS Enhancement Project.