VirtualBox, IBM PC-DOS 5.02: TOC286 not working at all

[hmommer]

k:\dos\toc>toc286 hello.mod /Entry=Run
ERROR:oc: cannot create module-graph temp
k:\dos\toc>

This happens with or without 386MAX DPMI active (C:\HX\BIN in the PATH of course as DPMILD16.EXE is always needed), on a NetMount share and on the local C: drive.

So in my setup the DPMI16 compiler compiler nothing. The non-DPMI toc.exe is fine. TET286.EXE is also fine.

The used HX dos extender is HX 2.23 which is the last official release.

I may tomorrow test additionally on IBM PC-DOS 7 and on Novell DOS 7.0 on another machine to see what happens there.

[DosWorld]

Could you, please, share disk image (.img etc) of your test env?

Seems like a small problem happens. Main big problem was solved: write to CS: segment, like mov [cs:xxxx], reg (cause GPF). Dosbox-x was tolerant to CS-writing and it cause big pain.

PS: Module Overlays is comming in nearest future (now, is implementing cross-overlay calls). But overlay-modules will lost initialization block :( because impossible call it before call Overlays.OvrInit('FILENAME.OVR'). Module Graph (BGI) also comming, but later (last in a queue), bgi2 drivers (non-dpmi) available.

PPS: Also, check TASM+TLINK. Many updates. TETRIS.ASM (in master branch) show well-known turbo-dialect (or mixed tasm+nasm dialect). I hope, you find it funny.

[hmommer]

Have now a zip file of a bootable PC-DOS 5.02 disk image which contains the compiler and runs under virtualbox. toc.exe for comparison diet compressed for space reasons, toc286.exe not compressed.
One compiler compiles hello.mod and the other just throws the error message.

toc-test.zip

[DosWorld]

Reproduced (virtualbox):

toc286.exe (my version) crashes non woring (try to compile: /cp /entry=Run hello.mod)
tet286.exe works, but crashes on exit

reproduced (DOSBox-x):

toc286.exe - message "ERROR:oc: cannot create module-graph temp"

[DosWorld]

Small status update: was implemented few peephole optimisations (reduce 20-30k compiler code, after self-recompile). Now i am focused on fix bugs in overlays. (Overlays make promises allow to run into <500kb memory). But it very slow - "bug on bug behind bug over bug". (now, iteration 5) So, work in progress, project is alive.

[DosWorld]

I’ve run into something strange.
TET286.EXE: a critical error occurs upon exiting the game.
I initially assumed the fault was mine; however, a very similar error occurs when exiting TDX.EXE (Turbo Debugger for DPMI). Just run TDX.EXE and press Alt+X (exit) - without load/debug any .exe.
I conclude that it might be worth re-evaluating the test environment (Virtual Box etc).

PS: To minimize guesswork, I bought an old laptop, but unfortunately, not all its components were functional, so I ordered spare parts from China.

PPS: Problems with DOS-memory seems like solved, but few fixed bugs is not in current release. Will be pushed, next few days.