This repository attempts to modernize the DOSBox codebase by using current development practices and tools, fixing issues, and adding features that better support today's systems.
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| DOSBox Staging | DOSBox | |
|---|---|---|
| Version control | Git | SVN |
| Language | C++17 | C++031 |
| SDL | >= 2.0.5 | 1.2＊ |
| Logging | Loguru for C++6 | Yes, in-house class |
| Buildsystem | Meson or Visual Studio 2019 | Autotools or Visual Studio 2003 |
| CI | Yes | No |
| Static analysis | Yes2,3,4,5 | No |
| Dynamic analysis | Yes | No |
| clang-format | Yes | No |
| Development builds | Yes | No |
| Unit tests | Yes6 | No |
| Automated regression tests | WIP | No |
DOSBox Staging supports features not included in DOSBox SVN. Below is a detailed comparison of feature differences between DOSBox Staging and DOSBox SVN.
Codecs supported for CD-DA emulation:
| DOSBox Staging† | DOSBox SVN‡ | |
|---|---|---|
| Opus | Yes (libopus) | No |
| OGG/Vorbis | Yes (built-in) | Yes - SDL_sound 1.2 (libvorbis)6,＊ |
| MP3 | Yes (built-in) | Yes - SDL_sound 1.2 (libmpg123)6,＊,§ |
| FLAC | Yes (built-in) | No§ |
| WAV | Yes (built-in) | Yes - SDL_sound 1.2 (built-in)7,＊ |
| AIFF | No | Yes - SDL_sound 1.2 (built-in)7,＊ |
＊- SDL 1.2 was last updated 2013-08-17 and SDL_sound 2008-04-20
† - 8/16/24 bit-depth, 22.05/44.1/48 kHz, and mono or stereo
‡ - 44.1 kHz stereo only
§ - Broken or unsupported in either SDL_sound or DOSBox
Feature differences between release binaries (or unpatched sources):
| Feature | DOSBox Staging | DOSBox SVN |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel-perfect mode | Yes: output=openglpp or output=texturepp |
N/A |
| Resizable window | Yes: for all output=opengl modes |
N/A |
| Relative window size | Yes: windowresolution=small, medium, or large |
windowresolution=X% |
| Window placement | Yes: windowposition = 0,0, and more16 |
Manual placement |
| OPL emulators | compat, fast, mame, nuked8 | compat, fast, mame |
| CGA/mono support | Yes: machine=cga_mono)9 |
Only CGA with colour |
| CGA composite modes | Yes: machine=pcjr/tandy/cga with hotkeys) |
N/A |
| Wayland support | Experimental: use SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland |
N/A |
| Modem phonebook file | Yes: phonebookfile=<name> |
N/A |
| Autotype command | Yes10 | N/A |
| Startup verbosity | Yes11 | N/A |
| GUS enhancements | Yes12 | N/A |
| Raw mouse input | Yes: raw_mouse_input=true |
N/A |
| FluidSynth MIDI | Yes13: FluidSynth 2.x | Only external synths |
| MT-32 emulator | Yes＊: libmt32emu 2.4.2 | N/A |
| Expanded S3 support | 4 and 8 MiB of RAM14 | 2 MiB of RAM |
| Portable & layered conf | By default15 | With-userconf and -conf |
| Translations handling | Bundled, see section 14 in README | With path to .lng file |
| ENet modem transport | Yes: serialport sock:1 flag or SERIAL.COM17 |
N/A |
| Ethernet via [slirp] | Yes: See [ethernet] section in conf file |
N/A |
| IDE support for CDROMs | Yes: See -ide flag in IMGMOUNT.COM /help |
N/A |
| Networking in Win3.11 | Yes: Via local shell18 | Yes: bootable HDD image |
＊- Requires original ROM files
-
Clone the repository (one-time step):
git clone https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging.git
Read BUILD.md for the comprehensive compilation guide.
DOSBox Staging has the following library dependencies:
| Package (libname) | Min Version | Provides feature | Presence | Meson-wrap | VCPKG | repo availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FluidSynth (fluidsynth) | 2.2.3 | General MIDI playback | Optional | yes | yes | common |
| Google Test+Mock (gmock) | 1.8.0 | Framework for unit testing (development) | Optional | yes | yes | common |
| IIR (iir1) | 1.9.3 | Audio filtering | Mandatory | yes | yes | rare |
| Munt (libmt32emu) | 2.5.3 | Roland MT-32 and CM-32L playback | Optional | yes | yes | rare |
| libpng (libpng) | n/a | PNG-encoding of screen captures | Optional | yes | yes | very common |
| Opus File (opusfile) | n/a | CDDA playback for Opus-encoded track files | Mandatory | yes | yes | common |
| SDL 2.0 (sdl2) | 2.0.5 | OS-agnostic API for video, audio, and eventing | Mandatory | yes | yes | common |
| SDL_net 2.0 (sdl2-net) | 2.0.0 | Network API for emulated serial and IPX | Optional | yes | yes | common |
| slirp (libslirp) | 4.6.1 | Unprivileged virtual TCP/IP stack for Ethernet | Optional | yes | yes | less-common |
| SpeexDSP (speexdsp) | n/a | Audio resampling | Mandatory | yes | yes | common |
| Tracy Profiler (tracy) | n/a | Event profile (development) | Optional | yes | yes | rare |
| Zlib (zlib) | 1.2.11 | ZMBV video capture | Optional | yes | yes | very common |
Install build dependencies appropriate for your OS:
# Fedora
sudo dnf install ccache gcc-c++ meson alsa-lib-devel libatomic libpng-devel \
SDL2-devel SDL2_net-devel opusfile-devel fluidsynth-devel \
mt32emu-devel libslirp-devel speexdsp-devel# Debian, Ubuntu
sudo apt install ccache build-essential libasound2-dev libatomic1 libpng-dev \
libsdl2-dev libsdl2-net-dev libopusfile-dev \
libfluidsynth-dev libslirp-dev libspeexdsp-dev
# Install Meson on Debian-10 "Buster" or Ubuntu-20.04 and older
sudo apt install python3-setuptools python3-pip
sudo pip3 install --upgrade meson ninja
# Install Meson on Debian-11 "Bullseye" or Ubuntu-21.04 and newer
sudo apt install meson# Arch, Manjaro
sudo pacman -S ccache gcc meson alsa-lib libpng sdl2 sdl2_net opusfile \
fluidsynth libslirp speexdsp# openSUSE
sudo zypper install ccache gcc gcc-c++ meson alsa-devel libatomic1 libpng-devel \
libSDL2-devel libSDL2_net-devel opusfile-devel \
fluidsynth-devel libmt32emu-devel libslirp-devel \
speexdsp# macOS
xcode-select --install
brew install ccache meson libpng sdl2 sdl2_net opusfile fluid-synth libslirp speexdsp-
Checkout the main branch:
# commit or stash any personal code changes git checkout main -f -
Pull the latest updates. This is necessary every time you want a new build:
git pull
-
Setup the build. This is a one-time step either after cloning the repo or cleaning your working directories:
meson setup build
The above enables all of DOSBox Staging's functional features. If you're interested in seeing all of Meson's setup options, run:
meson configure. -
Compile the sources. This is necessary every time you want a new build:
meson compile -C build
Your binary is:
build/dosboxThe binary depends on local resources relative to it, so we suggest symlinking to the binary from your PATH, such as into ~/.local/bin/ -- Have fun!
First, you need to setup vcpkg to install build dependencies. Once vcpkg is bootstrapped, open PowerShell and run:
PS:\> .\vcpkg integrate installThis step will ensure that MSVC can use vcpkg to build, find and links all dependencies.
Start Visual Studio and open file: vs\dosbox.sln. Make sure you have x64
selected as the solution platform. Use Ctrl+Shift+B to build all projects.
Note, the first time you build a configuration, dependencies will be built
automatically and stored in the vcpkg_installed directory. This can take
a significant length of time.
Instructions for other build systems and operating systems are documented in BUILD.md. Links to OS-specific instructions: MSYS2, MacPorts, Haiku.
Commits landing in SVN upstream are imported to this repo in a timely manner,
see branch svn/trunk.
svn/*- branches from SVNforks/*- code for various abandoned DOSBox forksvogons/*- community patches posted on the Vogons forum
Git tags matching pattern svn/* are pointing to the commits referenced by SVN
"tag" paths at the time of creation.
Additionally, we attach some optional metadata to the commits in the form of Git notes. To fetch them, run:
git fetch origin "refs/notes/*:refs/notes/*"For some historical context of why this repo exists you can read Vogons thread, (1, 2)