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CP/M-86 & MS-DOS Cross Development Environment

2026-05-31 | original

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Why This Matters

This article introduces a cross development environment for CP/M-86 and MS-DOS, enabling developers to build DOS programs using familiar tools across different platforms. It highlights the availability of essential compilers, assemblers, and emulators, making legacy development more accessible and adaptable for modern users. This effort bridges historical computing environments with contemporary workflows, benefiting both enthusiasts and industry professionals interested in legacy system development.

Key Takeaways

Supports multiple programming languages including C, assembler, and Basic for CP/M-86 and DOS.
Provides access to essential development tools like Aztec C, NASM, MASM, and Digital Research utilities.
Includes the emu2 DOS emulator, facilitating development and testing on macOS and Linux.

CP/M-86 & MS-DOS Cross Development Environment

This project regroups a simple method to create a cross development environment for CP/M-86. It happens that all DOS based tools can also be used for building DOS programs. This project was developed for myself in a nerdy spirit and for a lot of fun. Just sharing without any guarantees.

Languages supported are:

C (K&R and almost ANSI)

Assembler

Basic

Where to find CP/M-86?

The source for CP/M-86 doc, sources and binaries is http://www.cpm.z80.de.

A cleaned-up distribution and kernel is available at https://github.com/tsupplis/cpm86-kernel. This distribution is working well in virtual environments, patched with all known patches, 'y2k' friendly (it contains the version of tod which sources are in this project) and AT friendly.

Key tools for CP/M-86 development

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Explore topics: cpm-z80 ms-dos aztec-c digital-research cross-development