An SDK for developing DOS software for x86 machines, including IBM PC compatibles and NEC PC-98
This SDK (Software Development Kit) is modeled after the Amiga NDK (Native Development Kit). The Amiga NDK contains a set of header files and libraries for both assembly and C development, which provides all the required constants, flags, data structures and whatnot to interface directly with the hardware, and having readable code making use of human-readable symbols and type definitions. An equivalent for the IBM PC platform, or PC DOS/MS-DOS/compatible environments has never been available to my knowledge. This SDK attempts to fill that void. Think of it as Ralfs Interrupt List and Bochs ports.lst turned into .inc/.asm and .h/.c files ready for use in a programming environment.
What an awesome initiative.
Old school bare metal developers were not ones to favor unnecessary code indirection/resources. Ralf’s list provides superb documentation, better than these C & H files do. So I find it hard to see much need for a new “DOS SDK” at this point. But on the other hand I suppose this is meant to be a fun/learning project so I shouldn’t be too harsh, haha.
Agreed. I came from a period when there wasn’t this much variety ( unless you needed to interact with a video card or something ) in systems towards the latter part of DOS based systems just before windows took over., but I wouldn’t have been able to get this approved for a new project back then unless I parried it down to the minimum I needed.
I don’t often program for DOS, but when I do, I program my own ports
Many DOS programs even sidestepped DOS itself (INT 21), and directly went to hardware. Especially when you are limited to 64K (COM) / 640K (EXE), or want to access protected mode (DPMI), there was little room for adding yet another framework.
That being said, I remember using bunch of random libraries together. And some compiler provided ones, like Turbo Vision, but overall I don’t remember one comprehensive API.
Basically each individual software was in an “API island”
So great. these things i saw at basketball stars and now i understand more about it.