When I first started using DOS, I enjoyed writing games and other interesting programs using BASIC, which DOS included. Much later, I learned the C programming language.
I immediately loved working in C! It was a straightforward programming language that gave me a ton of flexibility for writing useful programs. In fact, much of the FreeDOS core utilities are written in C and Assembly.
So it’s probably not surprising that FreeDOS 1.3 RC4 includes a C compiler—along with other programming languages. The FreeDOS 1.3 RC4 LiveCD includes two C compilers—Bruce’s C compiler (a simple C compiler) and the OpenWatcom C compiler. On the Bonus CD, you can also find DJGPP (a 32-bit C compiler based on GNU GCC) and the IA-16 port of GCC (requires a '386 or better CPU to compile, but the generated programs can run on low-end systems).Programming in C on FreeDOS is basically the same as C programming on Linux, with two exceptions:
I like to write my C programs in the IA-16 port of GCC, or OpenWatcom, depending on what program I am working on. The OpenWatcom C compiler is easier to install since it’s only a single package. That’s why we provide OpenWatcom on the FreeDOS LiveCD, so you can install it automatically if you choose to do a “Full installation including applications and games” when you install FreeDOS 1.3 RC4. If you opted to install a “Plain DOS system,” then you’ll need to install the OpenWatcom C compiler afterward, using the FDIMPLES package manager.
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