@mavica_again For my own recent DOS work, I've used OpenWatcom. The Windows IDE is really old but it's 32-bit and can run on a modern desktop. That way I can work and compile in Windows, and then test with DOSBox/PCem.
I tried a few times but I could never get DJGPP to work with DOSBox.
@rainwarrior does openwatcom produce IA-16 binaries? the goal here is that i can support XT-class machines, which is why i'm straying away from modern DJGPP toolchains
@rainwarrior yeah basically 8088
djgpp can only do 32-bit protected mode so it can only make binaries that run on 386 and up, and i would like to target older machines than that so it's not a viable option
i might look into it but for now i think turbo C++ is going to work for me
@mavica_again Yeah it definitely has a compiler option for 8086 (/0). I presume that should also work for 8088.
BTW one of the things I like about OpenWatcom is it has some pretty extensive Windows CHM file documentation. Basically everything it had when it used to be a commercial compiler, before it became "open", is still there.