> On Thu, 26 Oct 2017, David McMackins wrote: > >> I have been informed that gcc has a -m16 flag that actually outputs >> binaries that can run in 16-bit mode. Is there then anything stopping >> FreeDOS from being compiled fully with gcc? >> >> If not, why are we still using Watcom?
On Thu, Oct 26, 2017 at 8:48 AM, Steve Nickolas <usots...@buric.co> wrote: > Pretty sure that GCC, if it supports 8088/286 at all, can't handle all the > memory models (this was, iirc, DJ Delorie's justification for why DJGPP > would only do 386+ binaries - think he said it would at best only support > the tiny and small models, and some of the FreeDOS tools need other memory > models.) It would be interesting to try GCC in 16-bit mode. I wonder if this works in the DJGPP version, which is the version of GCC (5.5) that runs on DOS. Steve raises a good point about the memory models. DOS compilers (including Watcom) can generate different executable memory models, suitable for different sizes of applications. Some FreeDOS programs use Tiny memory model, for example. David: would you like to try compiling some FreeDOS programs under GCC using -m16 flag? The Kernel is big project, so starting with some utilities would be a good first experiment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most engaging tech sites, Slashdot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list Freedos-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
