When I’m not at work on my Linux desktop, you possibly can normally discover me writing code for a legacy 16-bit system. FreeDOS is an open supply DOS-compatible working system that you should use to play traditional DOS video games, run legacy enterprise software program, or develop embedded methods. Any program that works on MS-DOS must also run on FreeDOS.
I grew up with DOS. My household’s first private pc was an Apple II clone, however we finally upgraded to an IBM PC working DOS. I used to be a DOS person for over ten years, from the early 1980s till 1993, after I discovered Linux.
I used to be impressed by the liberty afforded by Linux and open supply software program. So when Microsoft introduced the tip of DOS in 1994, with the forthcoming Windows 95, I made a decision to write down my very own open supply DOS. That’s how FreeDOS started.
All these years later, and I proceed engaged on FreeDOS. It is a superb passion system, the place I can run my favourite DOS purposes and video games. And sure, I nonetheless write code for FreeDOS.
My favourite editor for DOS programming is the FED editor. FED is a minimal textual content editor with out numerous visible aptitude. This minimal method helps me profit from the usual 80×25 display screen in DOS. When modifying a file, FED shows a single standing line on the backside of the display screen, leaving you the remaining 24 strains to write down your code. FED additionally helps colour syntax highlighting to show totally different components of your code in varied colours, making it simpler to identify typos earlier than they change into bugs.
When you could do one thing within the menus, press the Alt key on the keyboard, and FED shows a menu on the highest line. FED helps keyboard shortcuts too, however watch out in regards to the defaults. For instance, Ctrl-C will shut a file, and Ctrl-V will change the view. If you don’t like these default keys, you possibly can change the important thing mapping within the Config menu.
If you don’t just like the default black-on-white textual content show, you possibly can change the colours underneath the Config menu. I favor white-on-blue for my major textual content, with key phrases in vivid white, feedback in vivid blue, particular characters in cyan, and numbers in inexperienced. FED makes it simple to set the colours you need.
FED can also be a folding textual content editor, which implies that it could possibly collapse or develop parts of my code in order that I can see extra of my file. Tap Ctrl-F on a perform identify and FED will collapse the complete perform. Folding works on different code, as nicely. I additionally use folding to cover for and whereas loops or different movement controls like if and change blocks.
Shawn Hargreaves wrote and maintained FED from 1994 to 2004. Robert Riebisch has maintained FED since then. FED is distributed underneath the GNU GPL and helps DOS, Linux, and Windows.
You can obtain FED at https://www.bttr-software.de/products/fed/
