Porting Free Pascal: what changed

Revision 1 to 2. Removed lines have a minus sign; added lines have a plus sign.

Old	New		Line
1		-	~~This page is the start of a tutorial about how to port Free Pascal to different architectures and operating systems.~~
	1	+	This page is the start of a tutorial about how to port Free Pascal to different architectures and operating systems.
2	2
3	3		## Porting to a new Operating System
4	4
5	5		### Overview
6	6
7		-	~~Porting Free Pascal to a new operating system involves several steps, namely:~~
	7	+	Porting Free Pascal to a new operating system involves several steps, namely:
8	8
9		-	~~1. Add a new target to the compiler~~
10		-	~~2. Take the closest existing RTL as a start, copy it and start implementing~~
	9	+	1. Add a new target to the compiler
	10	+	2. Take the closest existing RTL as a start, copy it and start implementing
11	11
12	12		### Adding a new target
13	13
14		-	~~This task requires making small changes on several files on the compiler. You need to add your target to both the Makefiles, to the fpmake tool that creates the makefiles and the compiler itself.~~
15		-
16		-	~~With your updated fpmake you can then recreate the makefile tree.~~
	14	+	This task requires making small changes on several files on the compiler. You need to add your target to both the Makefiles, to the fpmake tool that creates the makefiles and the compiler itself.
17	15
18		-	Below is a example of how a new target is added. This Patch was responsible for adding SymbianOS target to the compiler. Be careful that this adds a i386-symbian target. If your target is for another architecture of course you should change the files on the directories for your particular architecture.
	16	+	With your updated fpmake you can then recreate the makefile tree.
19	17
20		-	~~Index: compiler/compiler.pas~~
	18	+	Below is a example of how a new target is added. This Patch was responsible for adding SymbianOS target to the compiler. Be careful that this adds a i386-symbian target. If your target is for another architecture of course you should change the files on the directories for your particular architecture.
	19	+	```
	20	+	Index: compiler/compiler.pas
21	21		===================================================================
22		-	~~--- compiler/compiler.pas (revision 6039)~~
23		-	~~+++ compiler/compiler.pas (working copy)~~
	22	+	--- compiler/compiler.pas (revision 6039)
	23	+	+++ compiler/compiler.pas (working copy)
24	24		@@ -107,6 +107,9 @@
25	25		{$ifdef win32}
26	26		,i_win
27	27		{$endif win32}
28	28		+{$ifdef symbian}
29	29		+ ,i_symbian
30	30		+{$endif symbian}
31		-	;
	31	+	;
32	32
33	33		function Compile(const cmd:string):longint;
34	34		Index: compiler/i386/cputarg.pas
35	35		===================================================================
36		-	~~--- compiler/i386/cputarg.pas (revision 6039)~~
37		-	~~+++ compiler/i386/cputarg.pas (working copy)~~
	36	+	--- compiler/i386/cputarg.pas (revision 6039)
	37	+	+++ compiler/i386/cputarg.pas (working copy)
38	38		@@ -71,6 +71,9 @@
39	39		{$ifndef NOTARGETWATCOM}
40	40		,t_watcom
41	41		{$endif}
42	42		+ {$ifndef NOTARGETSYMBIAN}
43	43		+ ,t_symbian
44	44		+ {$endif}
45	45
46	46		{**************************************
47	47		Assemblers
48	48		Index: compiler/systems.pas
49	49		===================================================================
50		-	~~--- compiler/systems.pas (revision 6039)~~
51		-	~~+++ compiler/systems.pas (working copy)~~
	50	+	--- compiler/systems.pas (revision 6039)
	51	+	+++ compiler/systems.pas (working copy)
52	52		@@ -136,7 +136,9 @@
53	53		system_x86_64_embedded, { 55 }
54	54		system_mips_embedded, { 56 }
55	55		system_arm_embedded, { 57 }
56	56		- system_powerpc64_embedded { 58 }
57	57		+ system_powerpc64_embedded, { 58 }
58	58		+ system_i386_symbian, { 59 }
59	59		+ system_arm_symbian { 60 }
60	60		);
61	61
62	62		tasm = (as_none
63	63		===================================================================
64		-	~~--- compiler/utils/ppudump.pp (revision 20515)~~
65		-	~~+++ compiler/utils/ppudump.pp (working copy)~~
	64	+	--- compiler/utils/ppudump.pp (revision 20515)
	65	+	+++ compiler/utils/ppudump.pp (working copy)
66	66		@@ -147,7 +147,8 @@
67	67		{ 67 } 'Linux-MIPSel',
68	68		{ 68 } 'NativeNT-i386',
69	69		- { 69 } 'iPhoneSim-i386'
70	70		+ { 69 } 'iPhoneSim-i386',
71	71		+ { 70 } 'Wii-powerpc'
72	72		);
73	73
74	74		const
75	75		Index: rtl/Makefile.fpc
76	76		===================================================================
77		-	~~--- rtl/Makefile.fpc (revision 6038)~~
78		-	~~+++ rtl/Makefile.fpc (working copy)~~
	77	+	--- rtl/Makefile.fpc (revision 6038)
	78	+	+++ rtl/Makefile.fpc (working copy)
79	79		@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
80	80		dirs_solaris=solaris
81	81		dirs_gba=gba
82	82		dirs_nds=nds
83	83		+dirs_symbian=symbian
84	84
85	85		[install]
86	86		fpcpackage=y
87	87		Index: utils/fpcm/fpcmake.ini
88	88		===================================================================
89		-	~~--- utils/fpcm/fpcmake.ini (revision 6038)~~
90		-	~~+++ utils/fpcm/fpcmake.ini (working copy)~~
	89	+	--- utils/fpcm/fpcmake.ini (revision 6038)
	90	+	+++ utils/fpcm/fpcmake.ini (working copy)
91	91		@@ -908,6 +908,12 @@
92	92		SHORTSUFFIX=gba
93	93		endif
94	94
95	95		+# Symbian OS
96	96		+ifeq ($(OS_TARGET),symbian)
97	97		+SHAREDLIBEXT=.dll
98	98		+SHORTSUFFIX=symbian
99	99		+endif
100	100		+
101	101		else
102	102		# long version for 1.0.x - target specific extensions
103	103
104	104		Index: utils/fpcm/fpcmmain.pp
105	105		===================================================================
106		-	~~--- utils/fpcm/fpcmmain.pp (revision 6038)~~
107		-	~~+++ utils/fpcm/fpcmmain.pp (working copy)~~
	106	+	--- utils/fpcm/fpcmmain.pp (revision 6038)
	107	+	+++ utils/fpcm/fpcmmain.pp (working copy)
108	108		@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
109	109		o_linux,o_go32v2,o_win32,o_os2,o_freebsd,o_beos,o_netbsd,
110	110		o_amiga,o_atari, o_solaris, o_qnx, o_netware, o_openbsd,o_wdosx,
111	111		o_palmos,o_macos,o_darwin,o_emx,o_watcom,o_morphos,o_netwlibc,
112	112		- o_win64,o_wince,o_gba,o_nds,o_embedded
113	113		+ o_win64,o_wince,o_gba,o_nds,o_embedded,o_symbian
114	114		);
115	115
116	116		TTargetSet=array[tcpu,tos] of boolean;
117	117		@@ -88,14 +88,14 @@
118	118		'linux','go32v2','win32','os2','freebsd','beos','netbsd',
119	119		'amiga','atari','solaris', 'qnx', 'netware','openbsd','wdosx',
120	120		'palmos','macos','darwin','emx','watcom','morphos','netwlibc',
121	121		- 'win64','wince','gba','nds','embedded'
122	122		+ 'win64','wince','gba','nds','embedded','symbian'
123	123		);
124	124
125		-	~~OSSuffix : array[TOS] of string=(~~
	125	+	OSSuffix : array[TOS] of string=(
126	126		'_linux','_go32v2','_win32','_os2','_freebsd','_beos','_netbsd',
127	127		'_amiga','_atari','_solaris', '_qnx', '_netware','_openbsd','_wdosx',
128	128		'_palmos','_macos','_darwin','_emx','_watcom','_morphos','_netwlibc',
129	129		- '_win64','_wince','_gba','_nds','_embedded'
130	130		+ '_win64','_wince','_gba','_nds','_embedded','_symbian'
131	131		);
132	132
133	133		{ This table is kept OS,Cpu because it is easier to maintain (PFV) }
134	134		@@ -126,7 +126,8 @@
135	135		{ wince }( true, false, false, false, false, true, false),
136	136		{ gba } ( false, false, false, false, false, true, false),
137	137		{ nds } ( false, false, false, false, false, true, false),
138	138		- { embedded }( true, true, true, true, true, true, true)
139	139		+ { embedded }( true, true, true, true, true, true, true),
140	140		+ { symbian } ( true, false, false, false, false, true, false)
141	141		);
142	142
143	143		type
144		-
145		-	~~You will also need to add a i_target.pas and t_target.pas files to the compiler directory. Just copy an existing file for a similar platform and start working from there.~~
	144	+	```
146	145
147		-	If you want your target to use an internal linker (ELF, COFF, etc.) you need to add your target to that one, too. For the target i386-nativent the following change was done in the COFF output generator:
	146	+	You will also need to add a i_target.pas and t_target.pas files to the compiler directory. Just copy an existing file for a similar platform and start working from there.
148	147
149		-	~~Index: compiler/ogcoff.pas~~
	148	+	If you want your target to use an internal linker (ELF, COFF, etc.) you need to add your target to that one, too. For the target i386-nativent the following change was done in the COFF output generator:
	149	+	```
	150	+	Index: compiler/ogcoff.pas
150	151		===================================================================
151		-	~~--- compiler/ogcoff.pas (Revision 14564)~~
152		-	~~+++ compiler/ogcoff.pas (Revision 14565)~~
	152	+	--- compiler/ogcoff.pas (Revision 14564)
	153	+	+++ compiler/ogcoff.pas (Revision 14565)
153	154		@@ -2906,7 +2918,7 @@
154		-	~~idtxt : 'PECOFF';~~
155		-	~~asmbin : '';~~
156		-	~~asmcmd : '';~~
157		-	~~- supported_targets : [system_i386_win32];~~
158		-	~~+ supported_targets : [system_i386_win32,system_i386_nativent];~~
159		-	~~flags : [af_outputbinary,af_smartlink_sections];~~
160		-	~~labelprefix : '.L';~~
161		-	~~comment : '';~~
162		-
163		-	You might also need to add your target to one of the assemblers for the target platform. E. g. if you're targeting an i386 system you might add your target like the following (the line breaks annotated with {cr} were added to keep the layout of the article intact):
	155	+	idtxt : 'PECOFF';
	156	+	asmbin : '';
	157	+	asmcmd : '';
	158	+	- supported_targets : [system_i386_win32];
	159	+	+ supported_targets : [system_i386_win32,system_i386_nativent];
	160	+	flags : [af_outputbinary,af_smartlink_sections];
	161	+	labelprefix : '.L';
	162	+	comment : '';
	163	+	```
164	164
165		-	~~Index: compiler/x86/agx86att.pas~~
	165	+	You might also need to add your target to one of the assemblers for the target platform. E. g. if you're targeting an i386 system you might add your target like the following (the line breaks annotated with {cr} were added to keep the layout of the article intact):
	166	+	```
	167	+	Index: compiler/x86/agx86att.pas
166	168		===================================================================
167		-	~~--- compiler/x86/agx86att.pas (Revision 15151)~~
168		-	~~+++ compiler/x86/agx86att.pas (Arbeitskopie)~~
	169	+	--- compiler/x86/agx86att.pas (Revision 15151)
	170	+	+++ compiler/x86/agx86att.pas (Arbeitskopie)
169	171		@@ -380,7 +380,8 @@
170		-	~~asmcmd : '--32 -o $OBJ $ASM';~~
171		-	~~supported_targets : [system_i386_GO32V2,system_i386_linux,system_i386_Win32,{cr}~~
	172	+	asmcmd : '--32 -o $OBJ $ASM';
	173	+	supported_targets : [system_i386_GO32V2,system_i386_linux,system_i386_Win32,{cr}
172	174		system_i386_freebsd,system_i386_solaris,system_i386_beos,
173	175		system_i386_netbsd,system_i386_Netware,system_i386_qnx,
174	176		system_i386_wdosx,system_i386_openbsd,{cr}
175	177		- system_i386_netwlibc,system_i386_wince,system_i386_embedded,{cr}
176	178		system_i386_symbian,system_i386_haiku,system_x86_6432_linux];
177	179		+ system_i386_netwlibc,system_i386_wince,system_i386_embedded,{cr}
178	180		system_i386_symbian,system_i386_haiku,system_x86_6432_linux,
179	181		+ system_i386_nativent];
180		-	~~flags : [af_allowdirect,af_needar,af_smartlink_sections,af_supports_dwarf];~~
181		-	~~labelprefix : '.L';~~
182		-	~~comment : '# ';~~
	182	+	flags : [af_allowdirect,af_needar,af_smartlink_sections,af_supports_dwarf];
	183	+	labelprefix : '.L';
	184	+	comment : '# ';
	185	+	```
183	186
184		-	Note: In this case the change is only needed to get the "-al" option of the compiler, which needs the GNU assembler on Windows, working for i386-nativent.
	187	+	_Note_ : In this case the change is only needed to get the "-al" option of the compiler, which needs the GNU assembler on Windows, working for i386-nativent.
185	188
186	189		### Compiling your target
187	190
188		-	Now that you have a target you will want to see if it works and spot compilation problems by compiling the compiler. To do this, open a console, navigate to your fpc subversion source code directory and build the compiler:
189		-
190		-	~~PATH=C:\Path_latest_fpc_stable~~
	191	+	Now that you have a target you will want to see if it works and spot compilation problems by compiling the compiler. To do this, open a console, navigate to your fpc subversion source code directory and build the compiler:
	192	+	```
	193	+	PATH=C:\Path_latest_fpc_stable
191	194		cd compiler
192	195		make arm
193		-
194		-	~~And to build your RTL:~~
	196	+	```
195	197
196		-	~~cd rtl\my_new_os~~
	198	+	And to build your RTL:
	199	+	```
	200	+	cd rtl\my_new_os
197	201		make FPC=c:\fpc_subversion\compiler\ppcarm -XP$FPCTARGET-
	202	+	```
198	203
199		-	~~While trying to fix (or implement) RTL for your new target, information found in [[System unit structure]] may be useful.~~
	204	+	While trying to fix (or implement) RTL for your new target, information found in [[System unit structure]] may be useful.
200	205
201	206		## Porting to a new Architecture
202	207
203	208		### Step 1 - The Binutils
204	209
205		-	~~The first step in porting to a new architecture is getting and understanding how the binutils of the platform work.~~
	210	+	The first step in porting to a new architecture is getting and understanding how the binutils of the platform work.
206	211
207	212		### Step 2 - Code Skeleton
208	213
209		-	You can start porting Free Pascal to a new Architecture by creating a new Lazarus project and a new skeleton for it. You can get the Lazarus project for ARM for example, rename it, lets say to ppcmipsel.lpi, modify it in a text editor to refer to mips directory instead of arm and then modify it in Lazarus in the Compiler Options Dialog in the Others tab and set the compiler directive to -dmipsel instead of -darm.
	214	+	You can start porting Free Pascal to a new Architecture by creating a new Lazarus project and a new skeleton for it. You can get the Lazarus project for ARM for example, rename it, lets say to ppcmipsel.lpi, modify it in a text editor to refer to mips directory instead of arm and then modify it in Lazarus in the Compiler Options Dialog in the Others tab and set the compiler directive to -dmipsel instead of -darm.
210	215
211	216		## See also
212	217
213		-	~~- [[Porting Free Pascal Example]]~~
214		-	- Paul Robinson is doing a step-by-step demonstration of his attempts to create a port for the IBM 370 mainframe (the [[ZSeries]] using the OS/VS1 operating system, explaining how he's checking everything, and what's happening along the way. You can read about how he's coming along at [[ZSeries/Part 1\|Part 1]] of his article. (Note that the article changes as he learns more about how the compiler works.)
215		-	~~- [Structure of the compiler (FPC internals)](https://wiki.freepascal.org/FPC_internals)~~
	218	+	* [[Porting to PlayStation1 Guide]] is a step by step tutorial
	219	+	* [[Porting Free Pascal Example]]
	220	+	* Paul Robinson is doing a step-by-step demonstration of his attempts to create a port for the IBM 370 mainframe (the [[ZSeries]] using the OS/VS1 operating system, explaining how he's checking everything, and what's happening along the way. You can read about how he's coming along at [[ZSeries/Part 1\|Part 1]] of his article. (Note that the article changes as he learns more about how the compiler works.)
	221	+	* [[FPC internals\|Structure of the compiler (FPC internals)]]
216	222
217	223		---
218		-	From the Free Pascal wiki, page "Porting Free Pascal", as it stood on 2020-08-19 after a change by Xhajt03, out of the wiki's dump of 2024-05-26. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's [[Licensing]] page. If you have concerns about this material, [message the admin](/wiki-contact).
219		-	~~Category: FPC internals~~
220		-	~~Category: Tutorials~~
	224	+	From the Free Pascal wiki, page "Porting Free Pascal", as the Internet Archive kept it on 2025-12-28, last changed on 2024-11-10. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's [[Licensing]] page. If you have concerns about this material, [message the admin](/wiki-contact).

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