DOS third-party library support
<!--
Project: FreeBASIC compiler manual
File: doc/manual/cache/DOSLibrarySupport.wakka
Purpose:
Record third-party library evidence for the DOS target.
Responsibilities:
- identify the DOSBox-X and DJGPP qualification environment
- distinguish runtime checks from compile and link checks
- record the full Exampleageddon outcome and tested library versions
- identify optional DOS networking requirements
This file intentionally does NOT claim physical-PC qualification or
support for library versions that were not tested.
-->
This page records which external libraries have a matching DOS library and
what level of evidence was collected. A FreeBASIC binding file only declares
the API. The DOS target also needs a compatible DJGPP library, headers,
runtime files, and any data assets required by the program.
Test environment
- DOSBox-X 2026.10.01, DOS 7.1 with long filename support enabled
- Emulated Pentium II, dynamic x86 core, maximum cycles
- DJGPP 3.4 toolchain, FreeBASIC 1.20.4 DOS candidate
- Compiler options: `-target dos -arch 686 -fpu x87 -w all -exx -mt -dos-threads pdmlwp`
- Full corpus receipts: `out/exampleageddon-dos-20261012/evidence/sweep/`
The full sweep covered 1,767 examples in 45 completed batches: 1,347
compiled and linked, while 420 did not. The raw categories include unavailable third-party packages, platform-specific
examples, helper modules, and intentional failures. Of the 313 external-library
rows, 22 linked against staged packages. All 652 DOS-applicable self-contained
examples compiled, linked, and returned status 0 at runtime. DOS `THREADCALL`
is excluded because the runtime omits its libffi implementation. The full
Exampleageddon runner does not launch interactive or external-library examples
at runtime.
Focused DOSBox-X retries fixed two actionable compile failures from the raw
sweep. Example 1025 now compiles and links after its DOS extern aliases were
adjusted for FreeBASIC's leading C symbol prefix; its embedded-data object
exports `_binary_hello_txt_start/end`. Example 1043 now compiles and links
after correcting its timer rollover checks. Neither interactive example was
launched. Example 1667 includes an explicit `#error "Unsupported platform"`
in its timer library on DOS and is now classified as platform-specific. R006
rebuilt the two corrected examples from the current worktree source; both
artifacts were present and neither interactive program was launched. The raw
receipts are preserved as run.
The full sweep used the listed options with Watt-32, PDMLWP, DPMI yield, and
low-power graphics enabled in the private compiler candidate. These results
are DOSBox-X evidence only. It compiled and linked all three network examples,
but did not run them or any external-library examples.
Runtime checks
Compile and link checks
These examples linked against the listed DOS packages. Their external-library
APIs were not exercised at runtime by the corpus runner.
DXE and threaded runtime limits
The DOS DXE compiler path created `mydll.dxe` and `libmydll_il.a`. The
import-library basename fix and the DOS COFF profiling-boundary linker-script
fix were checked in a private candidate package. With the multithreaded DOS
runtime, `dylib.bas` loaded the DXE and called its exact DOS export name
`_AddNumbers` successfully. The import-library consumer also compiled and
linked, but its runtime stopped with error 14 because the DXE referenced
`_fb_ErrorSetModName`, which the multithreaded runtime does not export.
The existing DOS shared library limitations page
describes this multithreaded DXE limit. A successful consumer link alone does
not qualify import-library loading at runtime.
Watt-32 is present in the staged DJGPP library set, but is an opt-in compiler
feature. Build FreeBASIC with `DOS_TCP_PROVIDER=watt32` so the DOS driver adds
`-lwatt` automatically. On a real DOS PC, Watt-32 also needs a compatible
packet-driver and `WATTCP.CFG`. Packet-driver networking and socket runtime
behavior were not tested here, so the library is available for opt-in builds
but is not runtime-qualified.
The provider-enabled full sweep compiled and linked all three DOS network
examples, including their active `OPEN TCP` code. The DOS branch of
`examples/network/http-get.bas` uses the FreeBASIC TCP file device rather than
Unix socket bindings. The verbose link commands confirmed automatic `-lwatt`
selection. The examples were not run because this setup did not configure or
qualify a packet driver and `WATTCP.CFG`.
Not qualified in this setup
The `ExtLib*.wakka` platform lists include DOS for the three third-party
libraries with targeted runtime checks, plus the DOS API and DJGPP C runtime.
Compile/link-only results, missing packages, and other DOS limits are recorded
here. "Not qualified" means that this run did not establish a usable matching
DOS library. It does not prove that no third-party DOS port exists.
The corpus examples for libzip, caca, SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, FreeImage,
GD, PDFLib, Allegro 5, Cairo, FreeType, OpenGL, SDL, and several other
bindings did not link in the staged DJGPP setup. Review the per-library page
for the specific dependency or platform limitation. SQLite 3.54 was also
tried from source; the POSIX-oriented build path failed on missing or
incompatible `osFstat`, `ETIMEDOUT`, `timespec`, and `nanosleep` APIs.
The DJGPP toolchain supplies the C runtime. FreeBASIC's DOS API bindings
target DOS BIOS and DOS calls. Their presence does not imply that optional
third-party libraries are available. Likewise, a package archive or `.bi`
binding is not a successful link or runtime result. A successful link also
does not show that the library's devices, configuration files, or runtime
assets work on a physical DOS PC.
<!-- end of DOSLibrarySupport.wakka -->
Project: FreeBASIC compiler manual
File: doc/manual/cache/DOSLibrarySupport.wakka
Purpose:
Record third-party library evidence for the DOS target.
Responsibilities:
- identify the DOSBox-X and DJGPP qualification environment
- distinguish runtime checks from compile and link checks
- record the full Exampleageddon outcome and tested library versions
- identify optional DOS networking requirements
This file intentionally does NOT claim physical-PC qualification or
support for library versions that were not tested.
-->
This page records which external libraries have a matching DOS library and
what level of evidence was collected. A FreeBASIC binding file only declares
the API. The DOS target also needs a compatible DJGPP library, headers,
runtime files, and any data assets required by the program.
Test environment
- DOSBox-X 2026.10.01, DOS 7.1 with long filename support enabled
- Emulated Pentium II, dynamic x86 core, maximum cycles
- DJGPP 3.4 toolchain, FreeBASIC 1.20.4 DOS candidate
- Compiler options: `-target dos -arch 686 -fpu x87 -w all -exx -mt -dos-threads pdmlwp`
- Full corpus receipts: `out/exampleageddon-dos-20261012/evidence/sweep/`
The full sweep covered 1,767 examples in 45 completed batches: 1,347
compiled and linked, while 420 did not. The raw categories include unavailable third-party packages, platform-specific
examples, helper modules, and intentional failures. Of the 313 external-library
rows, 22 linked against staged packages. All 652 DOS-applicable self-contained
examples compiled, linked, and returned status 0 at runtime. DOS `THREADCALL`
is excluded because the runtime omits its libffi implementation. The full
Exampleageddon runner does not launch interactive or external-library examples
at runtime.
Focused DOSBox-X retries fixed two actionable compile failures from the raw
sweep. Example 1025 now compiles and links after its DOS extern aliases were
adjusted for FreeBASIC's leading C symbol prefix; its embedded-data object
exports `_binary_hello_txt_start/end`. Example 1043 now compiles and links
after correcting its timer rollover checks. Neither interactive example was
launched. Example 1667 includes an explicit `#error "Unsupported platform"`
in its timer library on DOS and is now classified as platform-specific. R006
rebuilt the two corrected examples from the current worktree source; both
artifacts were present and neither interactive program was launched. The raw
receipts are preserved as run.
The full sweep used the listed options with Watt-32, PDMLWP, DPMI yield, and
low-power graphics enabled in the private compiler candidate. These results
are DOSBox-X evidence only. It compiled and linked all three network examples,
but did not run them or any external-library examples.
Runtime checks
Library || DOS version || Evidence and limits ||
bzip2 || 1.0.8 || The DOS example compressed a fixture to 710 bytes. Host-side decompression recovered the original bytes; DOS-side decompression was not exercised. ||
QuickLZ || 1.5.0 || Level 1 compressed an 8 KiB input and decoded it byte-for-byte. The DJGPP build used `QLZ_MEMORY_SAFE`. ||
zlib || 1.3 || Runtime self-tests, stream operations, and gzip file checks passed. The binding declares 1.2.8, so its version warning is expected. ||
bzip2 || 1.0.8 || The DOS example compressed a fixture to 710 bytes. Host-side decompression recovered the original bytes; DOS-side decompression was not exercised. ||
QuickLZ || 1.5.0 || Level 1 compressed an 8 KiB input and decoded it byte-for-byte. The DJGPP build used `QLZ_MEMORY_SAFE`. ||
zlib || 1.3 || Runtime self-tests, stream operations, and gzip file checks passed. The binding declares 1.2.8, so its version warning is expected. ||
These examples linked against the listed DOS packages. Their external-library
APIs were not exercised at runtime by the corpus runner.
Library || DOS library version || Evidence ||
Allegro 4 || 4.2.2 || Five Allegro 4 examples linked. The binding page lists headers for 4.4.2 and 5.0.11; this result does not qualify those versions. ||
Curses || PDCurses 3.9 || Curses examples linked; interactive runtime behavior was not checked. ||
Expat || 2.0.0 || Manual library example linked. ||
JPEG || 9e || JPEG example linked. ||
GRX || 2.4.9 || GRX graphics example linked. ||
libpng || 1.6.40 || PNG example linked. ||
Lua || 5.2.2 || Lua example linked. ||
PCRE1 || 8.42 || PCRE examples linked. ||
Allegro 4 || 4.2.2 || Five Allegro 4 examples linked. The binding page lists headers for 4.4.2 and 5.0.11; this result does not qualify those versions. ||
Curses || PDCurses 3.9 || Curses examples linked; interactive runtime behavior was not checked. ||
Expat || 2.0.0 || Manual library example linked. ||
JPEG || 9e || JPEG example linked. ||
GRX || 2.4.9 || GRX graphics example linked. ||
libpng || 1.6.40 || PNG example linked. ||
Lua || 5.2.2 || Lua example linked. ||
PCRE1 || 8.42 || PCRE examples linked. ||
The DOS DXE compiler path created `mydll.dxe` and `libmydll_il.a`. The
import-library basename fix and the DOS COFF profiling-boundary linker-script
fix were checked in a private candidate package. With the multithreaded DOS
runtime, `dylib.bas` loaded the DXE and called its exact DOS export name
`_AddNumbers` successfully. The import-library consumer also compiled and
linked, but its runtime stopped with error 14 because the DXE referenced
`_fb_ErrorSetModName`, which the multithreaded runtime does not export.
The existing DOS shared library limitations page
describes this multithreaded DXE limit. A successful consumer link alone does
not qualify import-library loading at runtime.
Watt-32 is present in the staged DJGPP library set, but is an opt-in compiler
feature. Build FreeBASIC with `DOS_TCP_PROVIDER=watt32` so the DOS driver adds
`-lwatt` automatically. On a real DOS PC, Watt-32 also needs a compatible
packet-driver and `WATTCP.CFG`. Packet-driver networking and socket runtime
behavior were not tested here, so the library is available for opt-in builds
but is not runtime-qualified.
The provider-enabled full sweep compiled and linked all three DOS network
examples, including their active `OPEN TCP` code. The DOS branch of
`examples/network/http-get.bas` uses the FreeBASIC TCP file device rather than
Unix socket bindings. The verbose link commands confirmed automatic `-lwatt`
selection. The examples were not run because this setup did not configure or
qualify a packet driver and `WATTCP.CFG`.
Not qualified in this setup
The `ExtLib*.wakka` platform lists include DOS for the three third-party
libraries with targeted runtime checks, plus the DOS API and DJGPP C runtime.
Compile/link-only results, missing packages, and other DOS limits are recorded
here. "Not qualified" means that this run did not establish a usable matching
DOS library. It does not prove that no third-party DOS port exists.
The corpus examples for libzip, caca, SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, FreeImage,
GD, PDFLib, Allegro 5, Cairo, FreeType, OpenGL, SDL, and several other
bindings did not link in the staged DJGPP setup. Review the per-library page
for the specific dependency or platform limitation. SQLite 3.54 was also
tried from source; the POSIX-oriented build path failed on missing or
incompatible `osFstat`, `ETIMEDOUT`, `timespec`, and `nanosleep` APIs.
The DJGPP toolchain supplies the C runtime. FreeBASIC's DOS API bindings
target DOS BIOS and DOS calls. Their presence does not imply that optional
third-party libraries are available. Likewise, a package archive or `.bi`
binding is not a successful link or runtime result. A successful link also
does not show that the library's devices, configuration files, or runtime
assets work on a physical DOS PC.
<!-- end of DOSLibrarySupport.wakka -->