Open Watcom template project

This project aims to keep a simple project folder for Watcom C/C++ so that programmers can focus more on their code in a more modern environment than the IDE provided in Watcom.

License

MIT

Quick update

Things I want to do :

• Figure out if there's a C Language Server that actually works with Watcom C/C++ code, without requiring recompilation
• Improve intuitiveness further
• Debugging through emulator (DOSBox/X86Box)

Introduction

This project contains a number of files designed to simplify the workflow when working with C and C++ for Watcom. The build.ps1 file takes all source files in the src directory and compiles and links them. watcom-vscode.code-workspace is the default project settings, which adds build.ps1 to the Build Task in vscode (default: ctrl+shift+B). The .vscode directory contains some default settings for C and C++. It will assume C89 and C++98, as those are (at best) what the Watcom C and C++ compilers support. This file also contains the default Watcom directory for the includes, so if another platform than windows is to be supported, it needs to be updated here as well. A define for far is added here as well to remove annoying vscode squiggles under the far keywords.

Caveats

• Only designed for simple projects
• All C and C++ files in src will be built by default

Structure

src : this is where you'll place your own source files
obj : object files output by the Watcom compilers
bin : output from the Watcom linker
assets : place graphics and any related assets in this directory
build.ps1 : compiles and links all C/C++ files placed in src directory

Goals

The original IDE for OpenWatcom is old and not very user friendly.

My solution provides something that is supposed to work out-of-the-box for "typical" Watcom scenarios. This repo was made to suit my own needs; primarily writing code for 16-bit and 32-bit DOS in a modern environment without having to deal with Watcom IDE projects

Future improvements

• Platform targets and compiler optimization flags
• Post-build actions

How to use

First, install OpenWatcom 2.0. Then make sure the appropriate PATH, INCLUDE and EDATA environment variables are set for your environment

In the PowerShell commandline, go to a project directory and type the following :

Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/intbeam/watcom-vscode/tarball/main" -OutFile "./watcom-vscode.tar" && tar.exe -xf "./watcom-vscode.tar" && Remove-Item "./watcom-vscode.tar"

This should create a directory named watcom-vscode that you can rename to your own needs.

You can also clone the repository and then manually remove the .git directory.

On Linux

Open a terminal and install the required prerequisite tools:

sudo snap install powershell --classic
sudo snap install code --classic
wget https://github.com/open-watcom/open-watcom-v2/releases/download/Current-build/open-watcom-2_0-c-linux-x64
sudo chmod +x ./open-watcom-2_0-c-linux-x64
sudo ./open-watcom-2_0-c-linux-x64

Follow the install instructions for Open Watcom, install in default location (which should be /usr/bin/watcom) and remember to select 16-bit compilers.

Finally,

wget -c https://github.com/intbeam/watcom-vscode/tarball/main -O ./watcom-vscode.tar && tar -xf ./watcom-vscode.tar && rm ./watcom-vscode.tar

And delete or replace the readme.

Requirements

• PowerShell Core
• Visual Studio Code
• Open Watcom 2.0

Optional

• DOSBox
• X86Box

Thanks

A thanks and apology to @eltoneo for not fixing your issues, I'll try to be more vigilant going forwards

Thanks to the guys over at the Open Watcom Discord for tips

• Count_MHM
• Jiri Malak