BillJosephson wrote:
> Hi, I want to write a program in Java or C++, and just discovered on my
> bookshelve Codewarrior 7. It says Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME. Can I
> develop a command line application that will work on my XT machine? A
> grahpical interface?
Windows 2.11 (the earliest version I've ever seen), which requires an
80286 processor, won't even run on an XT, let alone any of the Windows
versions you mentioned. The XT is primarily useful as a DOS machine
since it's limited to a maximum of ~1 MB of RAM. Since Windows 3.x and
earlier, and those older DOS versions, don't support long filenames, it
simply won't be possible to do real Java development.
If you're looking to write Java code, you're going to need newer
hardware. I recommend at least a Pentium I (80586 processor) as an
absolute minimum. And then, for the Microsoft Windows family, you'll
need Windows 2000 or newer (e.g., Windows XP) to use the current
version of Java -- scrap Windows 95/98/ME since these are no longer
supported by Microsoft (and Windows ME will be soon if it hasn't been
discontinued already).
You might also consider using Unix or Linux (I recommend NetBSD Unix
with Gnome {GUI} because they aren't known to be memory hogs, and
NetBSD has a very novice-friendly support community in IRC, etc.) if
you can't afford the newest hardware since the hefty cost of a Windows
license can be used to purchase better hardware.
As for C++, you can probably do it with an XT, but that's beyond the
scope of the Java newsgroup you posted this in.
> Thanks a lot for any thoughts on this. I know I should get a newer
> compiler but if I could save the money for the time being that would be
> great.
If I were you, I'd worry about getting a newer computer -- you
obviously got more value out of your XT than anyone I know given that
the 8088 processor is ancient hardware nowadays. Given the speed
difference between an XT processor (typically up to 8 MHz) and modern
PC processors (typically measured in GHz which is well over 1,000 times
faster given additional enhancements such as Caching, Pipelining,
HyperThreading, and so much more), it doesn't really make sense to
consider using an XT for any levels of serious software development
anymore.
> Thanks.
You're welcome, and congratulations on having an XT that actually still
works (maybe the Guiness Book of World Records will add an entry for
you in their next book?). =)
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