From 71867b9551759a84fe364954eec3c9b0a4a92e40 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Carl J. Bialorucki" Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 23:16:48 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Remove Eric Kohl interview --- content/blogs/30yrs-of-ros.md | 45 ++--------------------------------- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 43 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/blogs/30yrs-of-ros.md b/content/blogs/30yrs-of-ros.md index 1d7288d8..75298b86 100644 --- a/content/blogs/30yrs-of-ros.md +++ b/content/blogs/30yrs-of-ros.md @@ -21,49 +21,6 @@ Progress on ReactOS was very slow at first. Contributors had to first build a very basic NT-like kernel before they could develop drivers for it, then continue developing the kernel; not too dissimilar to the process of bootstrapping a new programming language. Once a few basic drivers were written, other contributors were able to learn from these examples and develop other drivers. -While writing this article, I reached out to Eric Kohl. He developed the original storage driver stack for ReactOS (atapi, scsiport, class2, disk, cdrom, cdfs) and has been with the project since 1998. I asked him about his experiences with ReactOS during this time, how he found the project, and what contributing to ReactOS was like during those early days. He wrote: - -{{< blockquote >}} -I think I found ReactOS while searching for example code for my contributions to the WINE project. -I subscribed to the mailing list and followed the discussions for a few days. -The developers were discussing the future of shell.exe, a little command line interpreter that could only change drives and directories and execute programs. -A few days \[later\] I had started to convert the FreeDOS command.com into a Win32 console application, because I wanted to extend it to make it 4DOS compatible. -4DOS was a very powerful command line interpreter. -On December 4th, 1998 I introduced myself and suggested to use my converted FreeDOS command.com as the future ReactOS cmd.exe. -I had a little conversation with Jason Filby and Rex Joliff, the CVS repository maintainer. -I sent my cmd.exe code to Rex and he applied it to the repository. -After applying a few more cmd-related patches over the next weeks, Rex asked me whether I would like to have write-access to the repository. -I accepted the offer... - -... - -The first version I downloaded and used was 0.0.8. -It was not much more than a DOS-based bootloader, some drivers, and a basic kernel that ran a few test routines after initialization. - -... - -Version 0.0.8 didn't use PE files, but flat (position independent) binaries. -There was no PE loader, no smss, no csrss, no winlogon, no process heaps, no process environments, no threads, etc. -Each and every little feature was a milestone. - -... - -Initially there was not a review process at all. -You write some code, test it and fix it until it works. -Then you commit it. -If something failed on another machine, you got a reply on the mailing list and discussed a solution. -You fixed the issue and committed a fix. -That's how it worked. - -... - -There was always an open and friendly atmosphere. -It was and still is always nice to talk to other developers. -No fights, no wars, like in some other projects. -{{< /blockquote >}} - -*Editors note: minor errors were corrected.* - ReactOS 0.1.0 was released on February 1st, 2003 and received minor updates up until November 2003. ReactOS 0.1.0 was the first version of ReactOS that could boot from a CD. It had a command line interface and no desktop. @@ -133,3 +90,5 @@ Even small contributions can help a lot! - Total unique contributors: 301 - Total files: 31,025 - Total lines of code: 14,929,578 + +**Update (Aug. 3, 2026)**: Eric Kohl asked us to remove his interview because he does not support an MIT/BSD licensed ReactOS project.