I should post about the latest #retrocomputing project I started.
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I should post about the latest #retrocomputing project I started.
Problem: I'd like an open-source, self-hosting C compiler on 8086, that supports the large memory model, overlays, and enough C89 to build Lua.
This seems to not exist! K&R is much more common in this size category. Around the time of C89, many compilers bloated to the point of requiring a 386 or better host, though they could still target 8086. The 8086 holdouts were, in general, commercial products that never got a source release.
One notable exception was DeSmet C http://www.desmet-c.com. It seems to have started life as a commercial PC fork of Bell Labs PCC, a small and sturdy K&R compiler. DeSmet 3.1 added "draft ANSI C" support, but this is incomplete, and riddled with code-gen bugs. This version later found itself on Github as OpenDC https://github.com/the-grue/OpenDC.
Aside from all the bugs, this is a pretty cool package: its dis/assembler, debugger, text editor, and some other utilities were also open sourced, and it runs on an 8088 with 256K RAM and two 360K floppies.
The OpenDC person did a good job packaging things up into an easily buildable form, and fixing syntax errors that probably came from running the sources through a different compiler version than expected, so... yes, it does indeed build and self-host... and I've done this on my Book 8088.
So now I will try to fix the bugs and add the missing C89 features. There are many, many of both... gulp.
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Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
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@krisfreedain @btp @fosstodon Our DeepL limit has now been expanded from 1.5 million characters to 2.5 million characters, for only €15 a month more (€50 pm in total). Translation should work again.
Thanks for the message @ryo 😊
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@klara ty :D
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@aeva Lincoln Square!
Specifically Laurie's Planet of Sound.
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@klara where :O
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Ah, yes, the kind of record store with tarot and incense sections.
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@molly0xfff This is hilarious, and I am definitely at least partially the target audience (would be 100% if they were crocheted socks lol). I did get some knitting needles a couple months back but haven't given it a go yet 🤷
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@molly0xfff idk the first thing about #knitting or #crochet, but the people who do these crafts seem very fun-spirited. So, I share this reminder that the U.S. National Park Service has patterns for a goat, a cactus, fish, triops, a beaver, and more. https://www.nps.gov/search/?query=Crochet&sitelimit=&affiliate=nps
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@newstik @molly0xfff
I don't recognize him either.
