TDOSVERS.WS4
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- "Versions"
  R. Roger Breton
  TurboDOS Users' Group Newsletter (TUG'N), Vol.3, No.1 (Month? 1986), p.1

(Retyped by Emmanuel ROCHE.)


There  has  been considerable confusion about the various  TurboDOS  versions:
what  the  differences are, and whether or not a system should be  updated.  I
hope,  in this very short article, to dispel at least some of the  myths  that
have arisen.

TurboDOS  has been presented in the following versions: 1.00-1.16,  1.20-1.22,
1.30,  1.40-1.43.  The last version in each range was  the  "stable"  debugged
issue of that version (though there may be a series of patches required to fix
the bugs). The current version is 1.43.

Versions 1.00 through 1.16 were the earliest versions of TurboDOS, created and
issued  when  MP/M  did  not work and MP/M-II was a  dream.  As  a  result,  a
proprietary  form  of file locking, via the $.LOK pseudo-file, was  used,  and
record locking was not possible.

Versions 1.20 through 1.22 were the first MP/M-compatible versions as  regards
file  and record locking. They still used extended BDOS functions  numbers  to
perform TurboDOS-only functions, however, and many of the newer CP/M and  MP/M
programs will not work because of this.

Version 1.30 eliminated the BDOS/TurboDOS function conflict, greatly  improved
overall performance, and introduced the ability to use 16-bit slaves.

Versions 1.40 and 1.41 introduced 16-bit masters, allowing a significant  leap
in performance, and the ability to network with IBM PCs.

Version  1.42 greatly improved the networking capabilities of 1.41, and  added
several new functions.

Version 1.43 again improved networking capabilities, added more functions, and
increased  the number of files that may be opened from a few hundred  to  well
over a thousand, allowing increased power with database programs.

A  system should always be upgraded to the most recent version,  unless  there
has  been a considerable investment in software that will not work  under  the
newer version.


EOF