paq8f w/ .DXEs (DJGPPv2, DOS, benchmarking)

[Rugxulo]

Okay, I messed with paq8f a bit. I know it's "old" and "obsolete", as are DJGPP and DOS, but those are the best tools for "real" benchmarking against raw hardware, IMHO. (Plus, it's all I know, and I'm comfortable with it.) DXE is basically a simplistic DLL subset.

Basically, this compile isn't really a full replacement, so technically my silly fastpaq2.asm/.s would be better for real use, but ...

... at least this way you can change the dot_product() or train() routine without recompiling the entire main .EXE. It defaults to NOASM if no .DXE is found. Includes ready-to-use NASM/YASM code for using MMX or SSE2 in dotprod.dxe or train.dxe. No runtime checks, so make sure your cpu supports it!!

I just barely got DXE1 working, and while I'm sure DXE3 (DJGPP 2.04 only) would probably be better (dlopen, dlsym) for using only one .DXE instead of two, at least this way (_dxe_load) works with 2.03p2 also. (Not entirely sure, but it seems you can't mix .DXEs from 2.03p2 and 2.04, though. Not a big deal, esp. since this is a source-only release.) I also didn't bother with the unofficial DJELF fork either (although it supports .so files) although that won't UPX anyways, so ....

In short, this isn't a perfect example, but at least this way I can easily/quickly test my old P166 (or P4 or AMD64x2 using FreeDOS bootdisk) with various compiles of the NOASM stuff (GCC 3.4.4 -march=pentium or -mtune=i686, GCC 3.2.3, 4.0.1, 4.2.3, 4.3.3, 4.4.2, etc) to see which is fastest.

Testers welcome!

[schnaader]

Nice work! I think I'll give it a try with FreeDOS.

By the way, are you aware of Japhet's HX DOS Extender? I think I tried some compressors the last time I used it. AFAIR, the win32 console version of UHArc worked, I think I also tried UPX and some PAQ version successfully, but I can't remember that well, so I might be wrong. If I get FreeDOS and HX to run again, I'll re-check and post results.

[Rugxulo]

By the way, are you aware of Japheth's HX DOS Extender? I think I tried some compressors the last time I used it. AFAIR, the win32 console version of UHArc worked, I think I also tried UPX and some PAQ version successfully, but I can't remember that well, so I might be wrong. If I get FreeDOS and HX to run again, I'll re-check and post results.

Yes, Japheth and I both frequent the BTTR forum. I'm no hardcore user of his stuff, I mostly prefer true DOS, but yes paq8f compiled by OpenWatcom 1.8 for NT target works fine in FreeDOS (see here). UPX has a DOS port, so I use that instead (CWSDPMI supports swapping) on my old machines (Win32 is buggy re: DPMI memory, so I have to use the Win32 one there else it runs out way too soon). UHarc has a DOS version, but it doesn't support LFNs, so yeah, the Win32 + HX combo would be good for anyone needing that. 7za.exe also works (I need to update to 9.10 now, heh) although "7za b" regressed a bit in info reported. And yes, it supports DLLs, but since I'm a n00b re: Win32 programming, I didn't bother here.

[schnaader]

Yes, Japheth and I both frequent the BTTR forum.

Ah, I knew I've seen your nickname somewhere else some time ago

[Intrinsic]

I'm guessing you are the same Rugxulo who compiled Stone Soup for DOS? Well worth checking it out for anyone who likes their Roguelikes.