[HN Gopher] DOjS - A DOS JavaScript Canvas with Sound
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       DOjS - A DOS JavaScript Canvas with Sound
        
       Author : AlexeyBrin
       Score  : 135 points
       Date   : 2024-09-02 13:33 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (github.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
        
       | makach wrote:
       | This is amazing, represents a beautiful playground similar to the
       | early systems, Basic, Amos, aso.
        
         | SuperIlu wrote:
         | And you can create real applications with it. Like DOStodon,
         | the mastodon client for MS-DOS:
         | https://github.com/SuperIlu/DOStodon
        
       | xhrpost wrote:
       | This is great work! I've been interested in having a ready to go
       | dev environment for DOS where you just do straight INT 10H
       | development like back in the day. Is it possible to compile work
       | here to an actual x86 DOS executable that could run on DOS
       | without this environment?
        
         | SuperIlu wrote:
         | No, sadly you can't. But there is a packaging mechanism where
         | you can put all scripts and assets into a ZIP file and you only
         | need to ship the DOJS.EXE and the ZIP.
         | 
         | You can also (sort of) rename the EXE...
        
           | zozbot234 wrote:
           | You should be able to use COPY /B DOJS.EXE + PACKAGE.ZIP
           | DOJSPACK.EXE to end up with a single .EXE file that still
           | contains the packaged data when read as a ZIP file. The .ZIP
           | format is specifically designed so that this will work.
        
             | SuperIlu wrote:
             | well, the format maybe, but I have to check if my ZIP
             | library supports that, too...
        
       | scandox wrote:
       | > LPT or parallel port access
       | 
       | Last time I tried I couldn't get this working with DOSBox. Can
       | someone who knows this stuff well comment on whether this
       | represents an extension of DOSbox capabilities or if I've just
       | missed what DOSbox can already do?
        
         | polpo wrote:
         | This is a framework for building things that run on DOS (yes,
         | that means running JavaScript on DOS). If what you're running
         | DOS on has a working parallel port, DOjS can use it.
        
           | scandox wrote:
           | Ah yes sorry that is clear in my head now
        
       | thom wrote:
       | Discovered to my delight that iDOS is back on the App Store[1].
       | Immediately got Windows 3.11 and MSVC++ 1.52 up and running, and
       | will definitely experiment with DOjS now. Much more fun than
       | getting iSH up to scratch for a real development environment,
       | honestly.
       | 
       | 1: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/idos-3/id1580768213
        
         | teruakohatu wrote:
         | Are there any good guides to running 3.11?
        
           | thom wrote:
           | It basically just works, but if you want slightly better
           | drivers you can follow:
           | 
           | https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=9405
           | 
           | I found it necessary to add an oplmode to get MIDI working,
           | as described at:
           | 
           | https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Sound
           | 
           | I've got some nostalgia hits like Encarta 94 and Castle of
           | the Winds up and running. You can see more at WinWorld:
           | 
           | https://winworldpc.com/home
           | 
           | I jumped through the same hoops on my Steam Deck (although
           | you can use DOSBox-X there which is slightly more capable)
           | but the iPad has become by far my favourite DOS gaming
           | experience. With Stage Manager, you can have Norton Commander
           | in iDOS running side by side with Midnight Commander in iSH,
           | on a tablet with all day battery life. Anything for a weird
           | life.
        
       | debo_ wrote:
       | Needs NIBBLES and GORILLA or it's not real. Maybe that can be my
       | first project. It looks delightful.
        
         | SuperIlu wrote:
         | I'd love to include that as a contribution.
         | 
         | I've created a text adventure with a friend and a number puzzle
         | using DOjS: https://superilu.itch.io/
        
       | username3 wrote:
       | Are there any terminal UI frameworks for the web? I want to
       | create web apps that only use keyboard shortcuts.
        
       | redbell wrote:
       | > If you run it on real hardware, you need at least an _80386
       | with 4MB_. I recommend a _Pentium class machine ( >= 100MHz) with
       | at least 32MB RAM_.
       | 
       | This is nostalgic (!_!)
       | 
       | I recall my very first computer was an Intel Pentium I with 16MB
       | of RAM and around 2.5GB of HDD. Nowadays, even the cheapest
       | smartphone would outperform, by far, those machines.
        
       | vunderba wrote:
       | This seems really neat. However, I'm on a Mac M1 with a stock
       | install of DosBox-X and it seems like all the examples run
       | _incredibly_ slow even when I crank up the cycles to emulate a
       | Pentium 100mHz (~60_000 cycles).
       | 
       | What would be nice is an example JS file called something like
       | "bench-p100.js" along with an expected framerate range you should
       | be seeing assuming running on various Pentium 100mHz systems
       | (DosBox, DosBox-X, bare metal, etc).
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2024-09-02 23:00 UTC)