FreeDOS/docs/build.txt

To build the operating system, a batch file (BUILD.BAT) is included
to make life easier.  This file is in the FDKERNEL directory of the
distribution.  In addition, there is a corresponding batch file
(CLEAN.BAT) to clean up the source directories.

There is a CONFIG.B file that specifies all the paths and names of
the compiler, assembler, etc. that you want to use.  You MUST copy
it to CONFIG.BAT first, then edit it to reflect your setup.

The reason for this copying of files is that when new releases of the
kernel come out, you can extract them over your previous source, and
not have to worry about resetting up your configuration because your
CONFIG.BAT file will not get replaced!

You will also need to download the latest version of NASM and Turbo C
2.01.  Install Turbo C and NASM somewhere (it doesn't really matter
where) and then be sure to edit the CONFIG.MAK file to reflect where
you put the tools.

You can find NASM at http://nasm.sourceforge.net. Version 0.98.36 is
strongly recommended. The older 0.98 will also work fine, but
any version in between is likely to fail. It's best to use a NASM
that is native to your host; that is, when compiling in Windows, use
the win32 version. The DJGPP version is less likely to run out of
memory than the DOS version.

Optionally, the kernel can be compressed using UPX. You can find
UPX at http://upx.sourceforge.net. Simply adjust config.bat to
enable it.

This kernel will now compile with Turbo C 2.01, Turbo C++ 1.01 (now freely
available!), Turbo C 3.0, Borland C 4.51 & 5.01.  It should work with
other Borland compilers, Microsoft C and (Open)Watcom C.

The OpenWatcom 1.0 compiler for DOS can now be downloaded at
www.openwatcom.org: you need at least the following zips from
ftp://ftp.openwatcom.org/watcom/zips/

cm_core_all     - Core binaries (All hosts)
cm_clib_hdr     - C runtime library header files
cm_clib_a16     - C runtime libraries (16-bit all targets)
clib_a16        - C runtime libraries (16-bit all targets)
cm_clib_d16     - C runtime libraries (16-bit DOS)
clib_d16        - C runtime libraries (16-bit DOS)
cm_core_dos     - Core binaries (DOS host)
core_doswin     - Core binaries (DOS & Win16 hosts)
c_doswin        - C compiler (DOS & Win16 hosts)
ext_dos4gw      - DOS/4GW DOS extender

Replace "dos" by "nt" for an NT/Win9x host or "os2" for an OS/2 host.
The host needs to be a 386+ with at least 8MB of memory.

If you feel hardy, read on to understand the directory structure.  A
more complete description of the build environment is contained in a
companion book, "The FreeDOS Kernel" (ISBN: 0-87930-436-7) published
by R&D Books, an imprint of Miller Freeman of Lawrence, Kansas (USA)
and distributed in the USA and Canada by Publishers Group West.  See
the file README.TXT for more details.


Directory Structure
-------------------

fdkernel			root directory
  +-----bin			holds image of distribution disk
  +-----boot  			boot.bin (boot sector)
  +-----docs			documentation directory
  +-----drivers			DEVICE.LIB
  +-----hdr			common *.h files
  +-----kernel			The kernel itself
  +-----lib			LIBM.LIB and DEVICE.LIB
  +-----sys			SYS.COM and supporting programs
  +-----utils			Miscellaneous utilities


Organization in a nutshell
--------------------------
Each component or group of utilities is segregated into its own
directory. In order to build that component or utility, a makefile
exists in the directory that bears the component's or utility's
basename.

Each makefile has at least two targets, production and clean.  The
target production builds the expected component or utility and the
component clean cleans up the directory for distribution.  The
makefile may have at least one additional target that builds the
component.  Study the makefile to better understand this.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

$Id$