From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:43:45 +0000
From: "John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [via djgpp@delorie.com]" <djgpp@delorie.com>

I have a djgpp cross-compiler (i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc) setup on GNU/Linux after following the instructions on the website and have confirmed it functions correctly. However i'm not sure how i can use it to compile djgpp software, such as emacs, for DOS. The v2gnu/ emacs READMEs as well as msdos/INSTALL in the emacs source tree only explain how to do it on a DOS system with djgpp.

Emacs doesn't support cross-compilation, because part of the Emacs
build process needs to run the Emacs binary just built.

This has nothing to do with DOS or DJGPP, it's just a missing feature
in Emacs: no one has yet figured out how to remove this limitation.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:43:45 +0000
From: "John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [via djgpp@delorie.com]" djgpp@delorie.com

I have a djgpp cross-compiler (i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc) setup on GNU/Linux after following the instructions on the website and have confirmed it functions correctly. However i'm not sure how i can use it to compile djgpp software, such as emacs, for DOS. The v2gnu/ emacs READMEs as well as msdos/INSTALL in the emacs source tree only explain how to do it on a DOS system with djgpp.

Emacs doesn't support cross-compilation, because part of the Emacs
build process needs to run the Emacs binary just built.

This has nothing to do with DOS or DJGPP, it's just a missing feature
in Emacs: no one has yet figured out how to remove this limitation.

Ok i guess Emacs was a bad example, however i'm having trouble with other djgpp software too. Djgpp's Bash docs also only have instructions for compiling on DOS, and when i tried running 'make bash.exe CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc' it would fail because it would try to run the .exe file in the directory (./mksyntax.exe) which obviously a GNU/Linux system can't do so that would fail. I couldn't find where exactly it was instructed to run those so i couldn't remove that. I had no success running the configure scripts myself with --host=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp or CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc either.

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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:53:36 +0000
From: "John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [via djgpp@delorie.com]" <djgpp@delorie.com>

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:43:45 +0000
From: "John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [via djgpp@delorie.com]" djgpp@delorie.com

I have a djgpp cross-compiler (i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc) setup on GNU/Linux after following the instructions on the website and have confirmed it functions correctly. However i'm not sure how i can use it to compile djgpp software, such as emacs, for DOS. The v2gnu/ emacs READMEs as well as msdos/INSTALL in the emacs source tree only explain how to do it on a DOS system with djgpp.

Emacs doesn't support cross-compilation, because part of the Emacs
build process needs to run the Emacs binary just built.

This has nothing to do with DOS or DJGPP, it's just a missing feature
in Emacs: no one has yet figured out how to remove this limitation.

Ok i guess Emacs was a bad example, however i'm having trouble with other djgpp software too. Djgpp's Bash docs also only have instructions for compiling on DOS, and when i tried running 'make bash.exe CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc' it would fail because it would try to run the .exe file in the directory (./mksyntax.exe) which obviously a GNU/Linux system can't do so that would fail. I couldn't find where exactly it was instructed to run those so i couldn't remove that. I had no success running the configure scripts myself with --host=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp or CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc either.

Which version of Bash did you try to build? Maybe they dropped DJGPP
support at some point? Look into the configure script to see if DJGPP
is supported.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

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On Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 10:54=E2=80=AFAM John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [v=
ia
djgpp@delorie.com] <djgpp@delorie.com> wrote:
[SNIP]

Ok i guess Emacs was a bad example, however i'm having trouble with other djgpp software too. Djgpp's Bash docs also only have instructions for compiling on DOS, and when i tried running 'make bash.exe CC=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc' it would fail because it would try to run th=

e

.exe file in the directory (./mksyntax.exe) which obviously a GNU/Linux system can't do so that would fail. I couldn't find where exactly it was instructed to run those so i couldn't remove that. I had no success runni=

ng

the configure scripts myself with --host=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp or CC=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc either.

I don't think `make bash.exe CC=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc` is a valid target=
.
`bsh4428s/gnu/bash-4.4.28/djgpp/readme` details the specific environment
setup (for DOS) you need and the build process. It does not list
`bash.exe` as a target.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr">On Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 10:54=E2=80=AFAM J= ohn Doe (<a href=3D"mailto:altaptitude@proton.me">altaptitude@proton.me</a>=
) [via <a href=3D"mailto:djgpp@delorie.com">djgpp@delorie.com</a>] &lt;<a h= ref=3D"mailto:djgpp@delorie.com">djgpp@delorie.com</a>&gt; wrote:</div><div= >[SNIP]</div><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><blockquote c= lass=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px soli=
d rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Ok i guess Emacs was a bad example, ho= wever i&#39;m having trouble with other djgpp software too. Djgpp&#39;s Bas=
h docs also only have instructions for compiling on DOS, and when i tried r= unning &#39;make bash.exe CC=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc&#39; it would fail be= cause it would try to run the .exe file in the directory (./mksyntax.exe) w= hich obviously a GNU/Linux system can&#39;t do so that would fail. I couldn= &#39;t find where exactly it was instructed to run those so i couldn&#39;t = remove that. I had no success running the configure scripts myself with --h= ost=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp or CC=3Di586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc either. <br> <br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I don&#39;t think `make bash.exe CC=3D= i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc` is a valid target.=C2=A0 `bsh4428s/gnu/bash-4.4.28/= djgpp/readme` details the specific environment setup (for DOS) you need and=
the build process.=C2=A0 It does not list `bash.exe` as a target.=C2=A0</d= iv></div></div>

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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Which version of Bash did you try to build? Maybe they dropped DJGPP
support at some point? Look into the configure script to see if DJGPP
is supported.

It's the bash source from djgpp itself (v2gnu/bsh4428s.zip).

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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

I don't think `make bash.exe CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc` is a valid target. `bsh4428s/gnu/bash-4.4.28/djgpp/readme` details the specific environment setup (for DOS) you need and the build process. It does not list `bash.exe` as a target.

I believe bash.exe is a target because when running it it tries to do something, whereas when trying with any non existant target make says 'make: *** No rule to make target 'example'. Stop.'

Regardless the results aren't any better when running just make.

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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Hi,

On Tue, Nov 4, 2025 at 9:47rC>AM John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [via djgpp@delorie.com] <djgpp@delorie.com> wrote:

I don't think `make bash.exe CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc` is a valid target. `bsh4428s/gnu/bash-4.4.28/djgpp/readme` details the specific environment setup (for DOS) you need and the build process. It does not list `bash.exe` as a target.

I believe bash.exe is a target because when running it it tries to do something, whereas when trying with any non existant target make says 'make: *** No rule to make target 'example'. Stop.'

Regardless the results aren't any better when running just make.

So you're trying to rebuild Bash? Why?? Do you run it natively in DOS
(SFNs only?) or under some other system (e.g. DOSEMU2 or WinXP)?

Try to build a "Hello, world!" program first to make sure everything
is functioning.

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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

On Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 7:54rC>PM John Doe (altaptitude@proton.me) [via djgpp@delorie.com] <djgpp@delorie.com> wrote:

Ok i guess Emacs was a bad example, however i'm having trouble with other djgpp software too. Djgpp's Bash docs also only have instructions for compiling on DOS, and when i tried running 'make bash.exe CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc' it would fail because it would try to run the .exe file in the directory (./mksyntax.exe) which obviously a GNU/Linux system can't do so that would fail. I couldn't find where exactly it was instructed to run those so i couldn't remove that. I had no success running the configure scripts myself with --host=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp or CC=i586-pc-msdosdjgpp-gcc either.

Unfortunately, bash is also a very problematic one. The tarballs are a
mess. The git repo even more so. I managed to cross-compile it last
year with a lot of hackery, and the result of this would refused to
work and produced all kinds of unexpected errors.

Building it natively on Windows XP or Vista 32bit works and produces a
working executable. Building on DOS with doslfn also works, but is significantly slower (I would think around 10 times slower).

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From Newsgroup: comp.os.msdos.djgpp

On Tue, Nov 4, 2025 at 10:16rC>PM Stefan Ring <stefanrin@gmail.com> wrote:

Building it natively on Windows XP or Vista 32bit works and produces a working executable. Building on DOS with doslfn also works, but is significantly slower (I would think around 10 times slower).

As my mind had turned to this topic anyway, I fired up a real machine
in order to test building it on bare-metal DOS. Sure enough, it was
slow as molasses, but it made me notice the source of that slowness:
the HD led would show constant activity. It looks as if smartdrv
became completely immobilized when doslfn is loaded. I started an
experimental CI build on GitHub Actions a few months ago, and it used
to take 2h25m to compile bash. Because of the discovery with the HD
led, I moved everything to a RAM drive, and now it finishes in 13
minutes. Still a lot longer than the 3-4 minutes it takes on Windows
XP/Vista, but a lot more reasonable. And somewhat reproducible, which
was the entire point of this exercise.

https://github.com/Ringdingcoder/dosbuild-test/actions/runs/19197309887

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