DOSBox

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DOSBox
Image:DOSBox icon.png
Image:DOSBox.png The interface of DOSBox
Developer	DOSBox Team
Latest release	0.72 / August 27, 2007
OS	Cross-platform
Genre	Emulator
License	GPL
Website	www.dosbox.com

DOSBox is an x86 emulator which mimics a DOS command-line environment intended for running MS-DOS-based IBM PC compatible programs, especially computer games, which may not run properly on newer PCs and may not run at all on non-IBM PC compatibles (e.g. PowerPC Macintosh). DOSBox is open source and available for many operating systems, such as Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Windows 9x, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Mac OS X, OS/2, Palm OS, RISC OS, and BeOS. It has also been ported to PlayStation Portable and the GP2X device.^[1]

DOSBox has been used by software companies to redistribute MS-DOS-native games in a format which can be run on Windows NT-based operating systems. Most recently, Steam interactive has teamed up with id Software to distribute various DOS games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Commander Keen bundled with DOSBox.^[2]

1 Features
2 Issues
3 Frontends
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Features

Contrary to compatibility layers such as dosemu or VDMs for Windows and OS/2, which rely on virtualization capabilities of the 386 family processors, DOSBox is a full CPU emulator. The emulator is capable of running DOS programs that require the CPU to be in real mode or protected mode.
Dynamic CPU core: On systems which have the i386 instruction set, the option to use dynamic instruction translation is available in DOSBox. Though this setting is less accurate and reliable, it is significantly faster than interpretive CPU emulation.
Graphics emulation: DOSBox is capable of emulating various graphical settings, including text mode, Hercules, CGA (including composite and 160x100x16 tweaked modes), Tandy, EGA, VGA (including Mode X and other tweaks), VESA, and full S3 Trio 64 emulation.
Sound emulation: DOSBox is also capable of emulating various digitized sound cards, including AdLib, Gravis Ultrasound, PC speaker, Tandy, Creative Music System/GameBlaster, Sound Blaster 1.x/2.0/Pro/16, MPU-401, and Disney Sound Source. (MT-32/CM-32L emulation is included in some builds[2], but not in the main build due to need for copyrighted ROM images.)
Network emulation: A component that differentiates DOSBox from other emulators is its ability to simulate peer-to-peer or Internet/Intranet networking. This includes modem simulation over TCP/IP, allowing for DOS modem games to be played over modern LANs or the Internet, and IPX network tunneling, which allows for old IPX DOS multiplayer games to be played as UDP/IP over modern LANs or the Internet. Win32 and Linux specific builds support direct serial port access.
Shell: It contains its own internal DOS-like shell, rather than being a fully virtual PC emulator like Bochs. Most commands that are typically used in installer batch files are supported, but many of the more advanced commands of later MS-DOS versions (e.g. post-Windows 98 DOS shells) are not.
Bootable images: In addition to its internal shell, DOSBox also supports running image files of games and software originally intended to start without any operating system.
Serial Port: DOSBox is capable of timing compatible implementation of the serial ports, and runs several old hardware and software dependent on such; however, some USB devices that are supported by the host OS can act as a replacement for older serial port devices when using the emulator.

[edit] Issues

As with most emulators, DOSBox requires substantially more computing (particularly processor) power than the original systems, and is greatly affected by what software the user is running in the emulated system at the time. This weakness can be sometimes greatly reduced by using an open source substitute of the most common protected mode memory extender DOS/4GW (the much smaller and faster DOS32a). Moreover, DOS programs that run in protected mode, which include most games released after 1995, may not perform as well as in other emulators such as VMware or Virtual PC, since those programs mostly virtualize the processor instead of emulating it like DOSBox.

Since the GP2X port for DOSBox has suboptimal controls for certain DOS games that require a significant portion of the keyboard, some text-input utilities have been created to suit the limitations of the GP2X and take advantage of the classic features of DOS emulated on the GP2X port.^[3] Also, some prescripted games for the GP2X version of DOSBox have been made to take advantage of the emulator.^[4] These games and demos for the GP2X version of DOSBox are mostly compiled with QuickBASIC 4.5.^[5] DOSBox for the GP2X also uses the English keyboard layout so foreign users may have difficulty typing certain characters (notable : and \).

[edit] Frontends

DOSBox is configured by editing a plaintext configuration file. Frontends can also be advantageous for experienced users with large collections of games, since they often allow for easy sorting by game title, developer, publisher, etc.

Over the years, several such graphical frontends have been developed for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, including: