| Developer(s) | Microsoft,IBM,DR,Datalight,Novell,PhysTechSoft &Paragon Technology Systems, The FreeDOS team |
|---|---|
| Initial release | May 1982; 42 years ago (1982-05) |
| Written in | MS-DOS:x86 assembly language FreeDOS:C |
| Operating system | MS-DOS,PC DOS,DR DOS,ROM-DOS,PTS-DOS,FreeDOS,Windows |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command |
| License | MS-DOS:MIT FreeDOS:Sybase Open Watcom Public License |
Thecommand-line toolexe2bin is apost-compilation utility program available onMS-DOS and otheroperating systems.[1][2]
EXE2BIN.EXE inIBM PC DOS 1.10Early compilers andlinkers for theMS-DOS platform could not produce aCOM file executable directly. Instead, the compilers would output anEXE-format file with relocation information. If all8086 segments were set to be identical in such an EXE file (i.e. the"tiny" memory model was used), thenexe2bin could convert it to a COM file.[3]exe2bin could also be used to convert compiled code to make it suitable to be embedded inROM as part ofBIOS or adevice driver.
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 werethe version included did not permit itself to run on any version except 3.2.[4] For the next version, 3.3, there was no EXE2BIN on the DOS disk. "Instead, IBM sells the programseparately, at an extra cost, with the DOS Technical Reference." IBM also added code to check the version.PC Magazine published aworkaround: just patch it[5] to work with3.2 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.[6] The program was also distributed with manylanguage compilers for MS-DOS in the 1980s, and included with certain versions ofIBM PC DOS.
PhysTechSoft &Paragon Technology SystemsPTS-DOS,[7]Digital ResearchDR DOS 6.0,[8] andDatalightROM-DOS,[9] also include an implementation of theexe2bin command.
The command is also available inFreeDOS. This implementation is licensed under theSybase Open Watcom Public License.[10]
Windows XP and later versions includeexe2bin and other16-bit commands (nonnative) for theMS-DOS subsystem to maintain MS-DOS compatibility. The 16-bit MS-DOS subsystem commands are not available on64-bit editions of Windows.[11]
