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Difference between 16 and 32 bit EXEs

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 5:24

I'm trying to port a 16 bit compiler to 32 bit. Don't ask why. Are there any things I should keep in mind or resources I should use?

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 5:27

Yes. ISAs

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 5:56

32 > 16

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 7:11

If you have to ask then it is probably pointless to try.

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 7:49

I just found out there is no difference between .COM and .EXE programs: change the extension of a .EXE program to .COM and you will see.

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 7:52

This thread's stupidity is astonishing. 8/10

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 8:20

>>3
Only for very small quantities of 16 is that true.

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 9:12

>>3
Only true on a 32 bit processor or better

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 11:21

>>8
Even a 6-bit processor could compute that.

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 12:57

>>9
3 bit if you use unsigned long

Name: Anonymous 2010-05-31 23:52

>>10
unsigned long is at least 32 bits, no matter what processor you're running it on.

Name: Anonymous 2010-06-01 2:11

>>1
Which 16bit exes? DOS EXE or NE EXE?
32bit exes are PE, and quite different from DOS exes, altough they are backward compatible (a PE is usually also a DOS exe, but the DOS code is never ran when you're using it in a 32bit OS. Running such Windows PE files in DOS will result treating it as a DOS EXE, which code usually just displays a message like "This program cannot be run in DOS mode."
You'll have to study the PE file format if you want to know how to make your own, or alternatively, you could just use Microsoft's Assembler and Linker, and just generate the assembly listing, which is likely less work, and it's usually how most people proceed. If you want portability, you could make it compatible with some open source assemblers/linkers and target more OSes, altough you'll have to provide OS-specific runtime as well.

Name: Anonymous 2010-06-01 3:14

llvm

Name: Anonymous 2010-06-01 9:15

>>12
You'll have to study the PE file format

or you just commit suicide, PE is a pain in the ass.

Name: Anonymous 2010-06-01 9:39

>>14
It's actually rather easy. After having worked with it for years, I'm very familiar with its internal workings. The only problem is that there are certain obscure behaviours, which altough Microsoft documented, are only mentioned in short paragraphs of their vast documentation, which means that to truly learn how to generate proper PE files, one must experiment a bit and study files generated by working compilers.

Name: Anonymous 2011-02-03 2:03

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