traditional Intel & Microsoft formats...

[artk@congruent.com (Arthur Kreitman)]

>   From: Erich Stefan Boleyn <erich@uruk.org>
>
>   Greetings.
>
>   I'm curious if there is an intention of any on these lists to
>   try to be able to (for the i386 processor series):
>
>     1) assemble (GAS) and manipulate (BFD) traditional Intel/Microsoft
>	16-bit code (OMF/NE formats).
>
>     2) assemble (GAS) and manipulate (BFD) traditional Intel/Microsoft
>	32-bit code (OMF/PE formats).
  
   You should be aware that the "microsoft" formats are being dropped
by microsoft.  All future microsoft 32 bit systems are sort of 
coff based.

   As far as gas is concerned, only minor changes are required to 
support microsoft's coff interperation (we've done it, and will
be integrating the changes into the latest gas release, and contributing
back the changes to the fsf).  

  ar only makes sense if you have ld.  For ld to work with Windows NT
and Windows95 require more changes then you can imagine.  Its at
least several man years of work.  There's the further problem that
much of it must be done by reverse engineering microsoft executables.

   If gnu cared about market impact, Windows95 support would take the
highest priority.  I don't think that the gnu community realizes the 
potential (and the impact) of every pc being a workstation class device
with a sophisticated, multitasking, multithreaded operating system. 
Remember, the windows install base is 70,000,000.