On 12/1/2020 4:55 AM, Danilo Pecher wrote:
I would agree with Ralf on most points.
As for the 16 bit C-Compiler, I think Turbo-C fits that bill but
acquiring it legally requires a registration with embarcadero, so not
exactly optimal and not everyone is an old hack like me, who started
coding in 1989 and still legally owns nearly every Borland Compiler
ever released.
What is with the OpenWatcom compiler? Does that need an extender too?
Else we're looking at a completely new project, and as much as I feel
tempted by it, such work would only make sense if there was enough
interest and at least a small group of people volunteering to work on it.
OpenWatcom at least requires a 386 and additional RAM, I don't think it
is running on a 640KB 808x machine anymore. But there is for years an
Open Source 16bit C compiler, though a bit of a quirky one, which got
pretty much forgotten since Turbo C came out in the mid '80s. I started
to get a proper, easy to use release, but RL just keeps getting in the
way of things, and things didn't get easier since COVID hit... 🙁
A 16-bit Pascal compiler would probably be the easier choice to start
with as the language is better structured and easier to compile.
Not writing from scratch, but getting an easier to use and set up 16bit
version of FreePascal. It pretty much exists, but is an over all an
afterthought by the general project maintainers these days. And requires
also a 386+ machine for the compiler itself, but it would at least help
to open up a vast amount of Turbo Pascal code that is still out there to
be utilized with FreeDOS. Working on this is also on my list, though for
me personally less of an issue, as I legally own Borland Pascal 7 (and
Borland C(++) 3.1 for that matter).
The biggest barrier in my view is that FreeDOS is still a bit of a toy
for old hacks like me, who can't let go of the past when programmers
had to actually code properly instead of relying of monstrous
languages that come with garbage collectors and whatnot and leave you
with memory-leaking megabyte-sized executables.
Why is FreeDOS a toy in this case? I think it is pretty much en par with
MS-DOS 6.x, for all practically purposes, just that less 3rd party
support for drivers for devices like network cards/chips ad printers for
example...
So apart from the software I think FreeDOS needs to find a market for
serious use other than retro afficionados, and cheap SBCs would be
something that could work. Maybe we should port FreeDOS to the
raspberry Pi ;) Just kidding...
Well, there is now the Pi-X (no relation to the Raspberry Pi Foundation
though), with $100 the cheapest x86 board I know. Money is pretty tight
these days but I still hope to get myself one as a Xmas present this
year... 😉
Ralf
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