The

command-line A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...

tool exe2bin is a post-compilation utility program available on

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

and other

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

Overview

Early compilers and linkers for the

platform could not produce a

COM file A COM file is a type of simple executable file. On the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX operating systems of the 1970s, .COM was used as a filename extension for text files containing commands to be issued to the operating system (simi ...

executable directly. Instead, the compilers would output an EXE-format file with relocation information. If all 8086 segments were set to be identical in such an EXE file (i.e. the "tiny" memory model was used), then exe2bin could convert it to a COM file. exe2bin could also be used to convert compiled code to make it suitable to be embedded in ROM as part of

BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...

or a

device driver In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and ot ...

Availability

The command was included in MS/DOS versions 1 thru 3.1 as part of a standard distribution. For version 3.2, among the changes were the version included did not permit itself to run on any version except 3.2. For the next version, 3.3, there was no EXE2BIN on the DOS disk. "Instead, IBM sells the program separately, at an extra cost, with the DOS Technical Reference." IBM also added code to check the version. ''PC Magazine'' published a workaround: just patch it to work with 3.2 or higher. One way or the other, it was no longer available for the base price after 3.2; for version 6 it was on what was called the Supplemental Disk. The program was also distributed with many

language compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...

s for MS-DOS in the 1980s, and included with certain versions of

IBM PC DOS IBM PC DOS, an acronym for IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System, is a discontinued disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. It was manufactured and sold by IBM from the early 1980s into the 2000s. Developed by Microsoft, it was also ...

PhysTechSoft PTS-DOS (aka PTS/DOS) is a disk operating system, a DOS clone, developed in Russia by PhysTechSoft and Paragon Technology Systems. History and versions PhysTechSoft was formed in 1991 in Moscow, Russia by graduates and members of MIPT, infor ...

Paragon Technology Systems Paragon Software Group is a German software company that develops hard drive management software, low-level file system drivers and storage technologies. The Smart Handheld Device Division (SHDD) offers multilingual dictionaries, multilingual ha ...

PTS-DOS PTS-DOS (aka PTS/DOS) is a disk operating system, a DOS clone, developed in Russia by PhysTechSoft and Paragon Technology Systems. History and versions PhysTechSoft was formed in 1991 in Moscow, Russia by graduates and members of MIPT, infor ...

Digital Research Digital Research, Inc. (DR or DRI) was a company created by Gary Kildall to market and develop his CP/M operating system and related 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit systems like MP/M, Concurrent DOS, FlexOS, Multiuser DOS, DOS Plus, DR DOS and ...

DR DOS 6.0 DR-DOS (written as DR DOS, without a hyphen, in versions up to and including 6.0) is a disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. Upon its introduction in 1988, it was the first DOS attempting to be compatible with IBM PC DOS and MS-D ...

,DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips
4corn.co.uk and

Datalight Datalight was a privately held software company specializing in power failsafe and high performance software for preserving data integrity in embedded systems. The company was founded in 1983 by Roy Sherrill, and is headquartered in Bothell, Washi ...

ROM-DOS Datalight was a privately held software company specializing in power failsafe and high performance software for preserving data integrity in embedded systems. The company was founded in 1983 by Roy Sherrill, and is headquartered in Bothell, Washi ...

, also include an implementation of the command. The command is also available in

FreeDOS FreeDOS (formerly Free-DOS and PD-DOS) is a free software operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. It intends to provide a complete MS-DOS-compatible environment for running Legacy system, legacy software and supporting embedded system ...

. This implementation is licensed under the

Sybase Open Watcom Public License The Sybase Open Watcom Public Licence is a software license that has been approved by the Open Source Initiative. It is the licence under which the Open Watcom C/C++ compiler is released. The license has not been accepted as "free" under the Deb ...

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

and later versions include exe2bin and other

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

commands (nonnative) for the MS-DOS subsystem to maintain MS-DOS compatibility. The 16-bit MS-DOS subsystem commands are not available on

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...

editions of Windows.

References

External links

Exe2bin , Microsoft DocsOpen source EXE2BIN implementation that comes with MS-DOS v2.0
{{Windows commands External DOS commands IBM PC compatibles Microsoft free software Programming language implementation

Overview

Availability

See also

References

Further reading

External links