Re: [announcement] SYSAPI and SYSSVC for Windows

["Ekkehard Morgenstern" <ekkehard.morgenstern@onlinehome.de>]

"David Marceau" <davidmarceau@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Ekkehard Morgenstern wrote:
> > Note: The Windows Platform SDK documentation now (02/2003) states that
> > asynchronous file I/O is possible with Windows 95, 98 and ME (i.e. the
> 
> 1)Go to msdn.microsoft.com and check out the device driver developer kit aka
> "DDK".
> 2)The book "Microsoft...Guide for System Engineers..." discusses how to create
> virtual device drivers(VXD's and VSD's).
> 
> You'll definitely be able to confirm everything you want here.  There are third
> party DDK tools like Vireo that might also have answers for you.

Thank you very much actually for bringing my attention to the DDK! :)

This particular project doesn't need the DDK, just the regular SDK, and I 
corrected my point already in another post in this thread, but your comment
made me go look again for the DDK on Microsoft's website! :)

I long wanted to write a filing system for Windows (a database actually with
filing system interface), and perhaps I can even do it with Ada, if I write
a device driver abstraction kit for my system service library or similar! :)

I know that in Longhorn, Microsoft plans to ship a database with the filing
system, but AFAIK it's not official yet what it will be like or when it will be
available. Yet, I still want to study my own filing system approach and the
DDK hopefully will enable me to. :)

I am pleasantly surprised that the DDK is now available almost free of charge,
a big change compared to earlier this year, when it was very expensive! :)

I'm also a big fan of virtual device drivers, and I'd write many if I could.
With the DDK, I'll perhaps soon be able to. :)

For example, picture a virtual device driver that would enable any application
to create windows and graphics using regular file I/O. This would simplify
programming a lot. I have written similar stuff already for AmigaOS, and it
was only the price of the DDK or the MSDN subscription that stopped me from
doing that on Windows. Now that I can order the DDK separately almost for free,
things look brighter and new possibilities arise (and perhaps not just for me)! :)

best wishes,
Ekkehard. :)