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NASM version 2.09 available | 8086 is COOOOL (Announce)

posted by Rugxulo Homepage, Usono, 06.09.2010, 22:27

> > I believe cm is using NASM 2.04+ features in his port of
> > RxDOS. While I don't personally see a huge need to have a
> > 16-bit NASM just to assemble that, it would still be cool
>
> An 8086 DOS kernel done in pure ASM and compilable on 8086 would be very
> COOL :-)

What about the RxDOS (GPL) hack using A86 (shareware) instead of MASM? Even Japheth compiled one tiny piece of it with JWasm. But cm's NASM fork is probably better. Then again, no expectations, I think he's just doing it for fun, no timetable.

> Of course the assembler should compile from its source on 8086 and
> be done in pure ASM too.

WASM 2.23 (Wolfware) and Venksi's ASM-1.9 are the only free/libre, 8086-compatible ones that can assemble themselves, IIRC.

> If done in C then it should compile on 8086 from C
> and also the C compiler should compile itself on DOS and 8086 :-)
TC 2.01 or TC++ 1.01 can run on 8086, but they are closed source. OpenWatcom always needs a 386+ host. (And Debian hates OSI's approval of the Sybase license.) Any of those can compile FreeDOS's KERNEL.SYS.

> > only format that definitely can't be
> > used in DOS (that I know of) is Mach-O.
>
> For 8086 development just binary and OMF are sufficient.
ELKS probably uses what BCC/Dev86 uses, AS86 (a.out?) I guess.

> So you have 8086 and 80386 ? Would you occasionally do some tests maybe ?
>
> - FreeDOS and EDR-DOS on 8086
It was only "back in the day" that FreeDOS accidentally didn't run on 8086 (boot sector). Of course, FreeCOM 0.84-pre2 needs 186+ for having all features. Old 0.82pl3 "stable" should run anywhere (even with KSSF or VSPAWN).

> - FreeDOS HIMEMX on 80386
We already know HIMEMX, as is, has a 386 bug (RayeR??), but it's not patched officially, nobody got around to it, and nobody complained.

> - FASM on 80386
Should work, why wouldn't it? I tested a few months ago on (now disconnected) 486 Sx, ran fine.

> - 7-ZIP on 80386
mik's p7zip 4.57 ran on 486 Sx fine, IIRC, later versions didn't. Haven't tested Khrusaw's latest because the machine is packed up. Anyways, HX + 7ZA always worked, IIRC.

> - MPLAYER on 80486 (needs 32 MiB RAM, however)
32 MB + data = what, 64? Unlikely that any 486 has that. I think even original Pentiums never had more than that (motherboard limit???). But if you can find a suitable test machine .... (386EX might've supported 64 MB, but who outside of NASA or whoever still has that?)

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