[squarefoot]

Likewise. The presentation manager was much more advanced than Windows, and aside the infamous single queue "bug", a lot more stable. I never wrote software for OS/2, aside some playing with the C compiler whose name I can't recall now, but I used OS/2 as a better multitasker for DOS instances. At that time I was writing a database software in Clipper that I adapted to work for two shops (books and furniture) and needed to have in both places two DOS machines communicating over NETBIOS, where both would work as sales terminals but only one of them would keep the db, indexes etc. The customers had two machines, and also did I, but I wanted to speed things up so I tried to open multiple DOS windows on a single machine and let them share the same directory emulating the NETBIOS shares environment, so that I could for example compile both client and server on the same machine off the same code base to keep code changes consistent in case I was for example changing common structures etc. Turns out that OS/2, after enabling something to allow data sharing between DOS instances (can't recall which option or setting), not only worked but was a lot more stable than Windows 95 at that; for some reasons Win95 appeared to work for a while, only to crash in multiple ways shortly after, while OS/2 never had a hitch, so after realizing that Windows wasn't an option I ditched it for good using only OS/2. Good times.

[neverartful]

Regarding compilers, IBM had their C Set/2 compiler and then later the VisualAge C++ one. Borland also produced a C++ compiler and IDE as well.

Funny that you should mention Clipper because I developed Clipper software too that got to be too big (memory requirements) for DOS to handle without doing crazy tricks. At that point, I sucked it up and transitioned it to OS/2 PM. I wrote the GUI front end in Watcom's VX-REXX (an excellent product) and the back-end in C and using DB2/2. Fun times!

[pjmlp]

Additionally with Visual Age for Smalltalk and SOM (OS/2 version of COM, which also did metaclasses), there was a .NET like experience with Smalltalk, before Microsoft even though of it.

Visual Age for C++ was also one of the few IDEs that back in the day provided a Smalltalk like experience for C++, especially in version 4.

[HankB99]

I used VX-REXX as well for a back end written in C++ (IBM compiler, IIRC.) No DB2 for this one, it was a network relay for some incoming data.

[nocman]

> I never wrote software for OS/2, aside some playing with the C compiler whose name I can't recall now...

Was it Watcom C++? I may actually still have a CD with that on it somewhere.

[rnd0]

It's still being developed[1]; but I have no idea of the state of the OS/2 support. I wouldn't rely on it being up to date, myself.

[1]https://open-watcom.github.io/

[jiqiren]

I ran a BBS on my 386 in a DOS box on OS/2. I basically had a usable computer and in the background people would dial-in, play door-games, download files, get some fidonet(?) feeds, etc etc. Was completely not a bother at all.

[neverartful]

The infamous "SIQ" problem is synchronous (not single) input queue.