DOS/32 Advanced DOS Extender - Technical Reference Contents: 1.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Overview 2.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Startup 3.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - The Loader 4.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Exit to DOS 5.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Exceptions and Hardware Interrupts 6.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Built-in Debugger 7.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Memory Management 8.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Allocation of >64MB of memory 9.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Physical Memory Mapping 10.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Values returned by DPMI function 0A00h 11.0 - DOS/32 Advanced - Spawning programs Terminology and definitions: ADPMI = DOS/32 Advanced built-in DPMI DOS or Low memory = conventional memory, available under 1MB Extended or High memory = extended memory, available above 1MB DOS/32 Advanced or DOS/32A = the whole DOS Extender (DOS Extender + ADPMI) Words "DOS Extender" refer to that part of DOS/32 Advanced which performs initialization and cleanup of protected mode and DPMI, and extends software interrupts INT 10h, INT 21h and INT 33h. Words "built-in DPMI" or "ADPMI" refer to the DPMI server that is built into DOS/32 Advanced and provides INT 31h interface. Words "external DPMI" refer to any DPMI host other than DOS/32 Advanced built-in DPMI (for example Windows DPMI). Please remember that by definition, a DOS Extender is not necessarily includes an incorporated (built-in) DPMI host, and a DPMI host is not necessarily extends any software interrupts, but only provides an API entry point through INT 31h. _ _ _ The intention of this document is to provide protected mode programmers and application software developers with certain technical information on how DOS/32 Advanced DOS Extender and DOS/32 Advanced built-in DPMI host operate, what system resources they use as well as how they interact with the present (underlying) system software and with 16/32-bit protected mode application. The reader should have strong skills and a good experience of protected mode programming and system programming in order to understand the topics covered by this documentation. Copyright © DOS/32 Advanced Team 1996-2002 All Rights Reserved