Questions tagged [c]
For questions regarding the use or installation of the C language on retrocomputers.
29
questions
24
votes
1answer
2k views
Did DOS zero out the BSS area when it loaded a program?
As an example, say we have a DOS MZ EXE file that's around 20 KiB in size. The EXE header contains the value 0x1400 at offset 0x0A indicating that the program is requesting 5,120 paragraphs (or 80 KiB)...
29
votes
9answers
9k views
How did early x86 BIOS programmers manage to program full blown TUIs given very few bytes of ROM/EPROM?
I've always wondered how so much functionality and relative luxuries(CMOS Configuration Utilities. See: https://geekprank.com/bios/ for an example) included with most popular x86 BIOSes could be ...
6
votes
3answers
217 views
Why is modulo operation an operator for integer types but only a function for floating-point ones?
In C, we have the % operator which finds remainder of division. But it's only applicable to integral types. For floating-point types we have to use fmod function from math.h. This makes an impression ...
28
votes
3answers
7k views
Was Dennis Ritchie being too modest in this quote about C and Pascal?
In his 1993 conference proceeding The Development of the C Language, Dennis Ritchie stated
Successors
C and even B have several direct descendants, though they do not rival Pascal in ...
58
votes
6answers
12k views
Why did C use the -> operator instead of reusing the . operator?
In the C programming language, the syntax to access the member of a structure is
structure.member
However, a member of a structure referenced by a pointer is written as
pointer->member
...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
DOS, create pipe for stdin/stdout of command.com(or 4dos.com) in C or Batch?
I'm working on a retro project and was trying to create a pipe of stdin/out/err in DOS, but I can't find any functions to to this?
For instance the pipe() command from unistd.h isn't present in ...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
DOS, create pipe for stdin/stdout of command.com(or 4dos.com) in C or Batch? [duplicate]
I'm working on a retro project and was trying to create a pipe of stdin/out/err in DOS, but I can't find any functions to to this?
For instance the pipe() command from unistd.h isn't present in ...
9
votes
5answers
299 views
Alternatives for TurboVision on DOS
TurboVision was a library by Borland for developing TUI's (Text User Interfaces). It was included with their C++ and Pascal compilers.
Were there any other TUI libraries that supported multiple ...
82
votes
20answers
17k views
Have programming languages driven hardware development?
Programming language development has been influenced by hardware design. One example from this answer mentions how C pointers were, at least in part, influenced by the design of the PDP-11. Has the ...
5
votes
3answers
702 views
Were some Atari 2600 games written in C?
I thought all Atari 2600 games had been programmed in 6502/6507 assembly language (plus whatever activated the Stella sound system), but at a party recently, a friend indicated that some 2600 ...
1
vote
1answer
180 views
How to read disk files using CBM specific functions in cc65 with proper error checking
TL:DR
What is the reason my kernel_read() function ignoring file errors?
I'm trying to understand how to work with files in cc54 using CBM specific functions. My target is Commodore 64 with 1541 ...
-3
votes
2answers
390 views
gcc: installation problem, cannot exec 'as': No such file or directory
How do I compile my code that I have typed on my SGI Indy computer? I have already tried to install the GCC/G++ compilers, but when I run my application, I get the error that says:
gcc: ...
1
vote
0answers
227 views
How do I compile C code with the IRIX X Window System?
I have typed out a rather large file in C code that is defining OpenGL graphics and will draw a triangle on the screen. While I know all of the functions of the X Windowing System, I do not know how ...
3
votes
4answers
593 views
Was there ever a compiler type that was just large enough to contain a memory segment?
From this answer,
Hark back to the days of segmented 16-bit architectures for example: an array might be limited to a single segment (so a 16-bit size_t would do) BUT you could have multiple ...
18
votes
6answers
3k views
What caused the downfall of Pascal? [closed]
From 1985 to 1990 Borland's Turbo Pascal was at least as popular as C for DOS systems. Turbo Pascal was especially popular because of it's ground breaking BGI graphics interface while C was stalled in ...
8
votes
1answer
883 views
What was the name of the object-oriented C language I used in the 1980s on the Mac
I clearly recall working with an object-oriented C derivative on the Mac but I cannot find any definitive references to it.
It was back in the days of System 7 and later System 8. It had both ...
30
votes
2answers
5k views
Why was UNIX never backported to the PDP-7?
Originally, UNIX was written in PDP-7 assembly, and then in PDP-11 assembly, but then when UNIX V4 began to be re-written in C in 1973 and was run mostly on the PDP-11.
So far as I can tell, there ...
61
votes
8answers
17k views
Why do C to Z80 compilers produce poor code?
When reading some other questions about compiling C for the Z80,
How much benefit should be expected on a more advanced compiler for z80/r800 based computers?
Native C compiler for Sinclair ZX ...
12
votes
3answers
2k views
Native C compiler for Sinclair ZX Spectrum
I am looking for a native C compiler for the Spectrum 128. I would like one which:
Has good support for the latest C standard at the time.
Is not limited to compiling ridiculously short source code.
...
45
votes
5answers
13k views
Why did C have the return type before functions?
In general, there are two types of syntax of defining functions - Something like C, C++, C#, or Java (int functionName(char arg)) vs the ML (and others) tradition of defining the return type after the ...
40
votes
7answers
8k views
The history of the NULL pointer
As we know, in C to dereference a null pointer is undefined behaviour. From what I understand, the PDP-7 and the PDP-11 both have ordinary memory that can be written to and read from at address 0.
On ...
29
votes
4answers
7k views
Why (historically) include the number of arguments (argc) as a parameter of main?
A comment on this answer to a StackOverflow question made me curious. According the C99 standard, section 5.1.2.2.1:
The function called at program startup is named main. The implementation ...
39
votes
2answers
23k views
Why were the /\ (min) and the \/ (max) operators abandoned in the C language?
In the UNIX V7 version of the C language (but not yet in the V6 version), there were the /\ (min) and the \/ (max) operators. In the source of the scanner part of the compiler,
case BSLASH:
if (...
29
votes
5answers
5k views
How was the C language ported to architectures with non-power-of-2 word sizes?
By the time the C language started to gain popularity outside of the PDP-11 circles (mid-1970s), mainframes with "weird" word sizes, and no capability to address individual bytes efficiently were ...
12
votes
2answers
533 views
Are there any public tools for the TMS34010?
I am interested to learn about the Texas Instruments TMS34010, a 32-bit fully functional CPU with built-in graphics manipulation capabilities, which appeared in Atari's Hard Drivin' arcade boards ...
28
votes
2answers
7k views
Which tools were used to create the C language?
Was the original C compiler written in some old assembly language and now later flex and bison are used instead?
13
votes
1answer
2k views
What was the first C compiler for the Mac?
When did a C compiler first become commercially available for the Apple Macintosh? And what was its name?
The only programming languages that I recall were available for the Mac at launch (January ...
27
votes
10answers
15k views
How to get started writing C for the IBM PC in 1980-81
Suppose it's late 1980 to early 1981, you've got some software you want to write for the IBM PC which will be released later in 1981, want to get started ASAP, and believe C is the right language for ...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
What was the first C compiler for the IBM PC?
When did a C compiler first become available for the IBM PC? I have fond memories of Turbo C, but that didn't become available until the mid to late eighties; it definitely wasn't the first one. ...
