Watcom C/C++

Open Watcom C/C++
Original author(s) Watcom
Developer(s) Sybase, SciTech Software
Initial release January 8, 2003 (2003-01-08)
Stable release
1.9 / June 2, 2010 (2010-06-02)
Preview release
2.0 / April 2, 2015 (2015-04-02)
Written in C, C++
Platform IA-32, x86-64
Size 66–84 MB
Type Integrated development environment
License Sybase Open Watcom Public License version 1.0
Website openwatcom.org

Watcom C/C++ (currently Open Watcom C/C++) is an integrated development environment (IDE) product from Watcom International Corporation for the C, C++, and Fortran programming languages. Watcom C/C++ was a commercial product until it was discontinued, then released as freeware under the name Open Watcom C/C++. It features tools for developing and debugging code for DOS, OS/2, Windows, Linux operating systems, which are based upon x86, IA-32, x86-64 compatible processors.

History

Though no longer sold commercially by Sybase, the Watcom C/C++ compiler and the Watcom Fortran compiler have been made available free of charge as the Open Watcom package.

The Open Watcom C/C++ version 1.4 release on December 2005 introduced Linux x86 as an experimental target, supported from NT or OS/2 host platforms. There is code for an abandoned QNX version, but libraries necessary for it to be compiled could not be released as open source.

Stable version 1.9 was released in June 2010.[1]

A forked version 2.0 beta was released that supports 64-bit hosts (Windows and Linux), built-in text editor, 2-phase build system, and the DOS version supports long filenames (LFN).[2]

Release history

The Open Watcom Wiki has a comprehensive history.[3]

DateProductNotes
1984Waterloo C for S/370
1985Work on current code generator codebase started
1988Watcom C 6.0
  • DOS host and target only
  • Included a debugger and full set of runtime libraries
  • Generated better code than other compilers at the time
  • Watcom C Version 6.5 contained Graphics Library similar to Microsoft Graphics Library
1989Watcom C 7.0
1989Watcom C 7.0/386
1990Watcom C 8.0
1990Watcom C 8.0/386
1991Watcom C 8.5
1991Watcom C 8.5/386
1992Watcom C 9.0
1992Watcom C 9.0/386
  • OS/2 2.0 host and target support
  • 486 optimizations
  • Based pointer support
Watcom C 9.01/386
1993Watcom C/C++ 9.5
1993Watcom C/C++ 9.5/386
1994Watcom C/C++ 10.0
1995Watcom C/C++ 10.5
1996Watcom C/C++ 10.6
1997Watcom C/C++ 11.0
  • Namespace, RTTI, and new style cast support in C++ compiler
  • 64-bit integer support
  • Multi-byte character support in libraries
  • Incremental linking support
  • COFF and ELF object file support in linker and librarian
  • Microsoft clone tools added
  • DLL based tools for better IDE integration
1998Watcom C/C++ 11.0B
1999Sybase issues end-of-life notice for Watcom C/C++ 11.0
2000Sybase announces open sourcing of Watcom tools
2001-09-27Watcom C/C++ 11.0c Beta
2002-12-21Watcom C/C++ 11.0c
2003-01-28Open Watcom 1.0
2003-08-12Open Watcom 1.1
2004-01-07Open Watcom 1.2
2004-08-03Open Watcom 1.3
2005-12-14Open Watcom 1.4
2006-04-26Open Watcom 1.5
2006-12-15Open Watcom 1.6
2007-08-18Open Watcom 1.7
2007-10-23Open Watcom 1.7a
2009-02-21Open Watcom 1.8
2010-06-02Open Watcom 1.9Current official version
2015-04-02Open Watcom 2.0 BetaGitHub V2 fork. Open Watcom ported to 64-bit hosts (Windows and Linux), Resource compiler and Resource editor support WIN64 executables, built-in text editor, 2-phase build system, DOS version of tools support long filenames (LFN), numerous fixes.[2]

License

The Open Source Initiative has approved the license as open source, but Debian, Fedora and the Free Software Foundation have rejected it because "It requires you to publish the source code publicly whenever you “Deploy” the covered software, and “Deploy” is defined to include many kinds of private use."[4]

Design

The compiler can be operated from, and generate executable code for, the DOS, OS/2, Windows, Linux operating systems. It also supports NLM targets for Novell NetWare. There is ongoing work to extend the targeting to Linux[5] and modern BSD (e.g., FreeBSD) operating systems, running on x86, PowerPC, and other processors.

The code is portable and, like many other open source compiler projects such as GCC or LCC the compiler backend (code generator) is retargetable.

Uses

In the mid-1990s some of the most technically ambitious DOS computer games such as Doom,[3] Descent,[3] Duke Nukem 3D,[3] and Rise of the Triad[6] were built using Watcom C/C++, some such as ROTT using the DOS/4GW protected mode extender with the Watcom compiler.

It was used to port the game Retro City Rampage to DOS in 2015.[7]

It is used by VirtualBox to compile the BIOS.[8]

Variants

There is an unofficial fork[9] of Open Watcom V2 on GitHub.[10] A variant of the 16bit DOS CRT library startup was created with WASM.[11]

Compatibility

Open Watcom's syntax supports many conventions introduced by other compilers, such as Microsoft's and Borland's, including differing conventions regarding (for instance) the number of leading underscores on the "asm" tag. Code written specifically for another compiler rather than standard-compliant C or C++ will often compile with the Watcom compiler.

The compiler supports C89/C90 standards by default.

Open Watcom supports partial compatibility with the C99 standard. It implements the most commonly used parts of the standard. However, they are enabled only through the undocumented command-line switch "-za99". Three C99 features have been bundled as C90 Extension since pre-v1.0: C++ style comments (//), flexible array members, trailing comma allowed in enum declaration.[12]

The compiler currently doesn't support any new major C11 features, though the C library does include "Safe C" functions. It is specified in ISO/IEC TR 24731-1[13][14] and known as "Bounds-checking interfaces (Annex K)" in C11. Some function name examples are strcpy_s(), memcpy_s(), printf_s().[15] This library was released along with Open Watcom 1.5 in April 2006.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Latest Release (June 2010) - Open Watcom". OpenWatcom.org wiki.
  2. 1 2 List of main differences of v1.9 to v2.0 Beta.
  3. 1 2 3 4 History - Open Watcom. OpenWatcom.com wiki.
  4. ↑ Free Software Foundation. "Various Licenses and Comments about Them". GNU Operating System. Retrieved Dec 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ Installing Open Watcom on Linux - Open Watcom. OpenWatcom.org wiki.
  6. ↑ "RotT was written in Watcom C++ v10.0 with the Rational Systems DOS/4GW extender".
  7. ↑ "How 5 years of burning ambition brought Retro City Rampage to DOS". Gamasutra.
  8. ↑ "#12011 (Compiling BIOS requires Open Watcom compiler)– Oracle VM VirtualBox". www.virtualbox.org. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  9. ↑ "Open Watcom V2 Fork".
  10. ↑ "Open Watcom V2 Fork Project on GitHub".
  11. ↑ "pcdosasm.zip archive". 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2014-02-10. Modified Open Watcom C/C++ DOS 16-bit ..\STARTUP\DOS\CSTRT086.ASM code
  12. ↑ "C99 compliance in Open Watcom". Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  13. ↑ ISO/IEC TR 24731-1; Extension to the C Library, Part 1: Bounds-checking interfaces.
  14. ↑ WG14 N1969 — "Updated Field Experience With Annex K — Bounds Checking Interfaces", Carlos O'Donell, Martin Sebor
  15. ↑ Open Watcom Safer C Library
  • Open Watcom, official website, (Archived March 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.)
  • Open Watcom V1.9 binary downloads
  • Open Watcom V2 Fork on GitHub
  • Open Watcom V2 Fork binary downloads
  • Paul Hsieh. (May 8, 2005). "The WATCOM C/C++ Programmer's FAQ". Retrieved Oct 7, 2008.
  • Rick Grehan (October 1994). "Watcom C/C++ Gets a New Face". BYTE. 19 (10): 111. Archived from the original on 1997-07-12. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
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