Can DOS Applications Access HPFS Drives?
Yes: DOS applications make file system calls like open, close, read and write through DOS’s INT 21H API. They neither know nor care what the actual disk format DOS is managing is; if it was not for this, DOS applications would not be able to work with the wide range of floppy and hard disk formats, not to mention magneto-optical and floptical drivers on the market today. And of course, DOS applications are able to access files located on network servers, including Netware, which has its own weird formt, and LAN Server, which supports HPFS. When a DOS application running under eComStation makes a file system call, this is intercepted by the Virtual DOS Machine, which then traps into eComStation protected mode and the eComStation kernel satisifes the request. Since it’s the eComStation kernel doing the actual work, the requested file can reside on any file system supported by eComStation – including HPFS, HPOFS, and network redirected drives.
