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Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:08 am
by USCode
"At CES next month, Microsoft will reportedly unveil a full-featured version of Windows that runs on ARM processors--a big departure from the x86 architecture."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20026344-75.html

Would a Windows version of PB for ARM be of interest anyone?

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:14 am
by dhouston
...sources familiar with Microsoft's plans said this version of Windows will continue to work on x86 processors
The above quote from the referenced article may make such an eventuality (i.e PB for ARM) much more likely.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:22 am
by IdeasVacuum
It would potentially be of great interest to those working on single board computers.

http://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtop ... 15&t=44516

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:55 pm
by Thorium
USCode wrote: Would a Windows version of PB for ARM be of interest anyone?
Yes, but a Linux ARM version of PB would be even much more interesting. As there are a ton of devices out there that run Linux.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:08 am
by USCode
If I understand what Fred has stated in the past about the modular nature of PB, supporting additional architectures is not trivial but very do-able.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 10:05 am
by leonhardt
USCode wrote:"At CES next month, Microsoft will reportedly unveil a full-featured version of Windows that runs on ARM processors--a big departure from the x86 architecture."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20026344-75.html

Would a Windows version of PB for ARM be of interest anyone?
I think so,because in general every language just call win API in the end,except ASM,if the API support it,PB support it .it seems PB's libs are written in VC,which calls API?

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:23 am
by blueznl
It's all irrelevant. If Fred & Co decide to support it, it will happen. If they decide against it, it won't.

I guess they only would dig in if the (commercial) opportunity is big enough. It makes me wonder though... Are all those new tablets created equal, ie. are they all using the same Arm processors, or is there a multitude of different CPU's around?

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:42 pm
by Thorium
leonhardt wrote: I think so,because in general every language just call win API in the end,except ASM,if the API support it,PB support it .it seems PB's libs are written in VC,which calls API?
It's not that easy.
The compiler need to be rewritten to generate ARM code.

btw: You can call API functions in ASM like in any other language. And code is not just API calls.
blueznl wrote: Are all those new tablets created equal, ie. are they all using the same Arm processors, or is there a multitude of different CPU's around?
They are not using the same processors. But there are only 2 mainly used architectures: ARM and MIPS and you can skip MIPS because it's only used in some gaming handhelds. Most smartphones, tablets and some gaming handhelds use CPU's with ARM instruction set.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:34 pm
by the.weavster
Thorium wrote:
USCode wrote: Would a Windows version of PB for ARM be of interest anyone?
Yes, but a Linux ARM version of PB would be even much more interesting. As there are a ton of devices out there that run Linux.
I'd pay double the current license fee for PB for Symbian and/or Android :wink:

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:48 am
by DarkDragon
Thorium wrote:They are not using the same processors. But there are only 2 mainly used architectures: ARM and MIPS and you can skip MIPS because it's only used in some gaming handhelds.
I've also seen MIPS in a netbook.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:06 am
by USCode
Confirmed: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110106/ap_ ... soft_chips
"Microsoft Corp. confirmed Wednesday that it is developing a version of its main Windows operating system that will run on cell phone chips, providing an alternative for the first time in many years to the chips based on Intel technology."

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 2:35 pm
by smishra
I would second that. I would gladly pay double the license fee for PB on ARM.

I will pay even more if the compiler can be used to target OS less environments. I do a lot of development of on embedded hardware and it would be nice to have access to PB libraries and commands.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:28 pm
by smishra
I would like to add:

The dominant computing platform, in terms of usage, may pretty soon be smartphones. It would be great if we can expand to that.

Mark Sibly is about to release a follow on to BlitzMax, BlitzMax2 or BMX2. BMX2 supposedly runs everywhere. It does only 2D graphics, but it is an indicator of the trend.

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:40 am
by USCode
Would the fact that Microsoft is working to port Windows to ARM and that this is available: http://arm.flatassembler.net/ make creating a version of PB for ARM for Windows any more likely?

Re: Windows for ARM ... PB for ARM ?

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:30 am
by Thorium
USCode wrote:Would the fact that Microsoft is working to port Windows to ARM and that this is available: http://arm.flatassembler.net/ make creating a version of PB for ARM for Windows any more likely?
I dont think so.