PHost - Operating Systems

PHost runs on a number of operating systems.

DOS/DJGPP Version

DJGPP is a port of many GNU development tools to DOS. Programs compiled with that compiler run on DOS (using the enclosed DOS extender cwsdpmi.exe), Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT/2000/XP, and OS/2.

For some people, this version does not work very well, we still don't know whether that's our fault, or Windows', or DJGPP's. In this case, try the the Win32 version.

Win32 Version

This version is a native Win32 console application, and runs on Windows 95/98/ME and Windows NT/2000/XP. Unlike the DJGPP version, it does not need the DOS emulation layer. It has been compiled with Borland C++ 5.5.

This version integrates more nicely into Win32 applications because it does not need a Winoldapp or NTVDM process. It also runs under Wine.

Linux/x86 Version

This version was linked statically against libc-5.4.44. Therefore it should run on all systems that support statically-linked ELF binaries. Essentially, that's every Linux/x86 distribution out since '95 or so. Originally, the system was a SuSE 5.1, where this was the native libc; since end of 2003, it's the libc5 gcc included with Debian 3.0.

Known Problems

Error message "ERROR: The game directory '...' does not exist or does not have read and write permissions."

libc5 does not support newer file systems that produce huge inode numbers. Copy the game directory to a tmpfs (/tmp) or use the x64 build.

AUXHOST execution fails with "WARNING: The above program returned with a value of -1" in Docker.

Docker blocks a syscall (sigaction) used by libc5. Either provide a seccomp profile that allows sigaction, or use the x64 build.

Linux/x64 Version

This version was built on varying x64 (amd64, x86_64) systems. Starting from 4.1h, all future builds will be created from a Debian 8.1 sandbox and thus be compatible with Debian and Ubuntu versions after that.

Linux/PowerPC Version

This version was compiled on a Debian 3.0 system and dynamically linked against GNU libc 2.2.5.

Solaris/Sparc Version

The Solaris versions were compiled on varying SunOS versions, and should generally run on all versions.

FreeBSD Version

Most versions for FreeBSD were compiled for FreeBSD 4.x and should run on all FreeBSD 4.x machines. FreeBSD 5.x users need to install compatibility libraries (libc.so.4).

The exact build environment varies. Many versions were build using a cross-compiler on Linux, the current versions are built on a native FreeBSD 4.8 system.