Folks, here is another question:
The following excerpt is from the Microsoft antitrust trial's finding of facts. Some of what has been said in this thread hints at the extreme position this finding takes. That said, I can't believe that members of this community believe the task is "impossible", otherwise why would this community exist at all? Here it is:
---------------------------- 4. Cloning the 32-Bit Windows APIs
52. Theoretically, the developer of a non-Microsoft, Intel-compatible PC operating system could circumvent the applications barrier to entry by cloning the APIs exposed by the 32-bit versions of Windows (Windows 9x and Windows NT). Applications written for Windows would then also run on the rival system, and consumers could use the rival system confident in that knowledge. Translating this theory into practice is virtually impossible, however. First of all, cloning the thousands of APIs already exposed by Windows would be an enormously expensive undertaking. More daunting is the fact that Microsoft continually adds APIs to Windows through updates and new versions. By the time a rival finished cloning the APIs currently in existence, Windows would have exposed a multitude of new ones. Since the rival would never catch up, it would never be able to assure consumers that its operating system would run all of the applications written for Windows. IBM discovered this to its dismay in the mid-1990s when it failed, despite a massive investment, to clone a sufficiently large part of the 32-bit Windows APIs. [**44] In short, attempting to clone the 32-bit Windows APIs is such an expensive, uncertain undertaking that it fails to present a practical option for a would-be competitor to Windows. ----------------------------
My belief (which opposes the 'fact' stated above) is that if there was virtually complete documentation of what exists, and full disclosure of additions and modifications, a cloning could be achieved. Of course it would take a huge capital and time investment, but the payoff would likely be worth it.
Thoughts? Thanks! Susheel