Screen output in a simple OS

Question

I'm starting to write a very simple OS right now, just the boot sector, to get used to basic assembly. What is the best way to output text? I've tried :

int 0x10 ah = 0x0E

int 0x21 ah = 0x09

Int 0x10 is slow, and int 0x21 is a DOS call, and I'm trying to write a simple stand alone OS, so I don't think this will work.

What other methods are there of going about outputting to the screen. In other words, what is the best method I can take of putting text on the screen, without using DOS interrupts?

Answer 1

Well, if you're rejecting BIOS as too slow, then your other option is to write directly into video memory (segment B800h for color adapters, B000h for monochrome). Format is alternating character/attribute bytes. IIRC attribute 07h is standard white.