Mike Bilow wrote in a message to Gilles de Vos:
 MB> Gilles de Vos wrote in a message to Bruce Lane:
-> PC> Could someone please tell me if there is a Network Program for DOS PC>
-> that can use more than the DOS 26 letters limitation ?
-> This limitation is there because DOS is a 16-bit OS. It does not exist
-> in Linux because Linux is 32-bit.
 GdV> this can't be ...
 GdV> the real reason is because MS choosed to use alphabetical 
 GdV> letters insteed of "names" for the drives...
 GdV> at that time, networks wasn't even a dream, and a HD was 
 GdV> something that was so rare that A: and B: was alot more than 
 GdV> required..
 MB> You are right that the drive letter model has nothing to do 
 MB> with whether the operating system is 16-bit or 32-bit. However, 
 MB> the real reason DOS adopted it was because of the need for 
 MB> backward compatibility with CP/M.
Actually,  CP/M only allowed the use of 16 letters,  not 26 -- they used a 
four-bit field to store the drive designator.
email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com 
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