Basic Go binaries for MSDOS?

[Steve Mynott]

OK I know this is somewhat pointless but just for the sake of
completeness I was wondering if it was possible to generate basic
hello world type binaries which would execute on MSDOS generation OSes
(Sure it's not 64 bit and goroutines would be quite impossible).

I imagine this might be more likely with go using gccgo and the right
crosscompilation options than the mainstream gc compiler. It might
even be of some use for embedded systems using FreeDOS.

Enquiring minds want to know!

--
4096R/EA75174B Steve Mynott <steve....@gmail.com>

[David Symonds]

The Go spec defines `int` as either a 32-bit or 64-bit type, which
practically (if not strictly technically) restricts to Go being
implemented on 32-bit or 64-bit platforms. As far as I know, there
aren't DOS-like OSes that support 32-bit modes, though it's been many
years since I looked closely.

I don't actually think goroutines would be impossible, or even
particularly hard. It's actually relatively straightforward to have Go
stick to a single thread.

[Andrew Gerrand]

DOS programs could run in 32-bit protected mode. Examples of 32-bit DOS programs are Windows 3.1 and Doom (which used the popular "DOS extender" DOS/4GW).

I have no idea what would be involved in porting Go to DOS, but it doesn't seem worth the trouble to me. :-)

Andrew

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[David Symonds]

Hah, I completely forgot about 32-bit protected mode and related things.

I think it's infeasible to port Go to a C64, though perhaps it's
feasible to do a DOS port (386+).

[Aram Hăvărneanu]

Porting Go to DOS wouldn't be any more difficult than porting it to
bare metal, which is not very difficult. In the early days Go used to
ship with a bare metal (GOOS=tiny) toy port.

--
Aram Hăvărneanu

[john warmer]

Creating basic “Hello World” binaries for MSDOS using Go is indeed possible but comes with limitations, especially since the mainstream Go compiler (gc) targets modern OSes and 64-bit architectures, making features like goroutines impractical. Using gccgo with the right cross-compilation flags increases your chances of generating small, executable binaries suitable for FreeDOS or other MSDOS environments. Think of it like ordering a KFC special: just as KFC customizes a special meal with select ingredients for a unique taste, you can tailor Go’s compilation options and libraries to produce a minimal, functional MSDOS binary, focusing only on the essentials needed to run, without the overhead of modern OS features.

[Brian Candler]

tinygo supports Linux on both 386 and amd64, and Windows (unclear whether it's 32-bit, 64-bit, or both).  That might be another starting point.