On: Windows 11 will happily execute a binary compiled ...

[pjmlp]

Those issues only apply to Windows 9x linage.

Current Windows versions trace back to Windows NT 3.51/2000 linage.

Naturally 9X => XP don't work flawlessly, they are two different OS stacks.

[blibble → pjmlp]

well yes

however it sort of undermines the "insane compatibility" / "stable API" point if mass-market Windows software produced before the 2001 release of XP mostly doesn't work on modern Windows

NT effectively forked Win32 (introduced with Windows 3.1) into something incompatible

(meanwhile it all runs on Wine perfectly fine)

[pjmlp → blibble]

What? Windows NT never forked anything.

Windows 3.1 introduced Win16 protected mode with segmented memory.

Win32s was a backport from a Win32 subset from Windows NT 4.0.

Windows NT linage exists since 1993.

[sillywalk → pjmlp]

I remember Win32s, I think Netscape Navigator needed it. I was thinking Lode Runner, but that was WinG.

I always thought it was backported from Windows 95, thanks for the info.

[dboreham → sillywalk]

Iirc Win32s existed before Win95.

[pjmlp → dboreham]

Windows 95 - August 24th, 1995

Win32s - October 1992.

And I was off by one Windows NT version, it was already based on 3.51, not 4.0.