Windows 95 source code, need help understanding???

Question

I'm new to programming and trying to develop my own OS. I found a website that has Windows 95 source code. Please help me understand how this works. Thanks.

Here's the link to the website
http://www.codeproject.com/scrapbook/win95_source_code.asp

Answer 1

It says "This is a piece of humor I found on the internet." So this piece of code is supposed to humour people who knows C++. It isn't the actual Windows 95 code.

Anyway, the Windows 95 source code is a closely guarded property of Microsoft. You won't find it lying just like that on the internet. Maybe you would like to take a look at the source code of the open-source Linux OS. Go to http://www.linux.org/ for more info.

But, if you're new to programming, you better start with something simpler.

Answer 2

Ummm... well, first of all, this *ISN'T* the source code to Windows 95. It *IS* about 2 *MILLION* lines of code too short! And Windows 95 and most of the newer versions too are written in C, not C++. If you want to see some good code in C++, take a look at some of the projects at the first URL below. If you'd like to work on understanding the C or C++ languages (or many others, for that matter!), look at the free compilers, tools and tutorials at the second URL below. I wish you luck getting started.

Answer 3

I had never heard of it till this question and I must say it intrigues me. From the looks of it and what they say there should be no legal implications with reactOS and windows (although once Microsoft gets word of this they wont be happy and will try somthing), they have not looked at the source code for windows and are only using the windows documentation as a guide line. It is like the Linux is to Unix...Linux is a Unix clone (many many Unix clones!) this is an attempt at making a clone of windows and it isnt based on DOS. By the looks of it they are trying to create something very similar to yet compatible with windows from the ground up as to not have the same mistakes that windows has. Thanks for the heads up on this, I do a lot of messing around with operating systems and am often booting multiple operating systems to experiment with them (Currently I have Mac OS X and 2 copies of XP on the 1 PC)

Answer 4

Um, programming an operating system is not something you can just do as a beginner. You will need probably more than 10 years of programming experience.
Also, Windows 95 code is obviously going to be outdated and irrelevant.

Answer 5

As a new programmer, you shouldn't even bother trying to build your own OS.

You don't know anything about "drivers" (system programs that control the computer environment, such as "talking" to your printer, "talking" to your monitor, "talking" to your CD player, etc, etc, etc)

You don't know anything about software engineering or structuring.

You don't know how to "talk" to your CPU.

Just leave this to people who have been doing it for years. Start with something simple, like a program that you can use to balance your check book.

As far as the URL, that's called "humor" - you're supposed to read it and laugh.