------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ Frequently Asked Questions About PMODE/W ------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: Is PMODE/W 100% compatible with DOS/4GW? A: PMODE/W is 100% compatible with Watcom C/C++ functions. However, PMODE/W does not support all of the extensions and API functions which DOS/4GW does. DOS/4GW does a number of things that we feel are quite unnecessary for most applications and most likely you will never miss them (especially since they waste alot of your precious memory and disk space). For example, PMODE/W does not extend the mouse driver functions to take protected mode parameters as DOS/4GW does. Why extend something, wasting system resources, when you may not even be using it in your program? So remember: before blaming a problem with your program on PMODE/W, make sure that what you are doing is indeed supported by our system. Read PMODEW.DOC for more information. Q: What does not having an exception handler do to my program? A: If it's properly coded, absolutely nothing. An exception should only occur in the event that your program has a bug. Exception handlers may provide a minimal degree of security to your program, but in the long run end up slowing it down. Installing exception handlers means having to take control of any IRQ that goes off first, examine it, and then pass it down to its appropriate handler. We would rather not slow down IRQ processes in this way because our goal here is to run your code as fast as possible. If you require exception handling while developing, you can compile your program using DOS/4GW and test it with that. Just about anything that is not out of the ordinary which you do under PMODE/W should work correctly under DOS/4GW. PMODE/W is designed in such a way that you can even execute a PMODE/W executable under DOS/4GW without the need to recompile. Simply typing "DOS4GW PROGRAM.EXE" (where "PROGRAM.EXE" is your program) will run any PMODE/W executable under DOS/4GW. This is an excellent way to still use DOS/4GW for debugging, and PMODE/W for the finished product. Q: Can I still debug PMODE/W programs under the Watcom debugger? A: Yes you can. You can debug your PMODE/W programs in exactly the same manner you would debug a DOS/4GW program (using the /TR=RSI switch of course).