emularity
gcc-ia16
| emularity | gcc-ia16 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 11 | |
| 605 | 154 | |
| - | - | |
| 4.6 | 0.0 | |
| about 2 months ago | 3 months ago | |
| JavaScript | C | |
| GNU General Public License v3.0 only | GNU General Public License v3.0 only |
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emularity
gcc-ia16
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Building GCC 1.27 (first GCC with x86 support) (2019)
Mainstream GCC has never supported 16-bit code on x86, only 32-bit
However, there is (at least one) fork which adds 16-bit code support, see https://github.com/tkchia/gcc-ia16
I don't think the GCC maintainers have ever or will ever want to support 16-bit x86, because it is so limited, and adds a lot of messy corner cases, and nowadays is really only of hobbyist/retrocomputing interest.
Maybe there is some 16-bit x86 embedded system still being maintained–there were military spec versions of the 8086, and possibly some weapons system, aircraft, satellite, etc, still in use contains one. But I doubt they'd have any interest in adopting a 16-bit GCC – they'd already have some proprietary compiler they'd been using for decades, switching now would add a lot of risk, very late in the life of a legacy system, for no tangible benefit
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Djgpp
These days there is also a 16-bit GCC port to DOS (https://github.com/tkchia/gcc-ia16). I never encountered one of those back in the day? I think the compiler itself does not run in 16-bit DOS though.
Anyone interested in compiling for DOS (32-bit or 16-bit) should also check out Free Pascal.
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Rust is Boring
My advice is, when you feel you need that challenge, install DOSBox or DOSBox-X and Open Watcom C/C++, DJGPP, or gcc-ia16 and do some retro-programming. You'll also get the fun of being able to do low-level hardware twiddling and rely on DOS being so simple that it's effectively an RTOS.
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Writing FreeDOS Programs in C
Looking at part 1 and some of the videos, it looks like this doesn't actually use OpenWatcom, but i16gcc from the FreeDOS distribution, which looks to be a port of gcc that targets 16-bit x86.
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"My Reaction to Dr. Stroustrup’s Recent Memory Safety Comments"
And, if that surprises you, gcc-ia16 is a thing that has come into existence not only over a decade after DJGPP but also after Open Watcom already existed.
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How can I compile rust for 16bit x86 (Intel 8086)?
or GCC IA 16 (https://github.com/tkchia/gcc-ia16) gets someday mainlined (also a multi month/years project) and then gccrs can maybe use it as backend
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Tools and/or tutorials for making a roguelike in DOS?
There is a 16-bit port of GCC these days as well included together with DJGPP if you install FreeDOS, but available separately as well (I think it can cross-compile from other systems like DJGPP can too?) https://github.com/tkchia/gcc-ia16
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How FreeDOS Grew Up and Became a Modern DOS
TK Chia and others have been working on adding DOS C/C++ compiler-isms to GCC as well as improving the the codegen to make it more hospitable for DOS apps. So far, the FreeDOS kernel compilable by gcc-ia16.
https://github.com/tkchia/gcc-ia16
- Linux (ELKS) running on an IBM PC XT replica
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how to get started programming a game/program for dos?
There is a more recent fork of gcc/DJGPP to make 16-bit DOS applications that I also never tried, but that might be worth using (and I think it is bundled in the latest FreeDOS, so it might be very easy to set up by just installing that in a virtual machine?): https://github.com/tkchia/gcc-ia16
What are some alternatives?
emu2 - Simple x86 and DOS emulator for the Linux terminal.
open-watcom-v2 - Open Watcom V2.0 - Source code repository, Wiki, Latest Binary build, Archived builds including all installers for download.