Editing DOSBox

{{Infobox emulator
|title = DOSBox
|logo = DOSBox.png
|logowidth = 265
|version = 0.74-3
|active = Yes
|fate = 
|platform = Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and more
|target = [[Intel CPUs|286 and 386]]
|prog-lang = C++
|developer = [http://www.dosbox.com/crew.php DOSBox Crew]
|website = [http://www.dosbox.com DOSBox.com]
|source = [http://source.dosbox.com/dosboxsvn.tgz tgz]
|license = GNU GPLv2
}}

'''DOSBox''' is an open-source, [[High/Low level emulation|high-level]] [[Intel CPUs|286 and 386 emulator]] written in C++.

==Downloads==
{| cellpadding="4"
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac}}
|'''[http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/SVN_Builds#List_of_SVN_Builds Latest Dev Builds]'''
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac|Sol|RiscOS|OS2|BeOS}}
|'''[http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1 Latest Stable Builds]'''
|}

==Overview==
DOSBox is capable of emulating many older computer games that are otherwise very difficult if not impossible to play on modern operating systems and hardware. It has very high compatibility, as it can be configured to emulate the environment of many machines, with support for various display modes, including CGA, EGA, Hercules, Tandy, and VGA. With some work, it is even possible to install and load old Windows operating systems, such as Windows 3.11 and Windows 95, thus potentially being able to play games made for those platforms.

===Frontends===
Because DOSBox doesn't have a GUI, two projects were made to fulfill that role.

;[http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/ D-Fend Reloaded]
:A great frontend which allows custom per-game configurations to cut back on fiddling with settings just to run specific games well. It also lets you use your own build of DOSBox instead of the one it comes with, so it can be used with forks as well.

;[https://dbgl.org/ DOSBox Game Launcher]
:Another frontend based on Java that is said to be inspired by the D-Fend's.

==Forks==
DOSBox has many forks over the years. This section attempts to list the most notable ones. [http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/SVN_Builds#Enhanced_SVN_builds DOSBox's official wiki] also has a partial list of DOSBox forks. Even more forks are listed in the [https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/wiki/DOSBox-forks DOSBox forks page] of DOSBox Staging's GitHub wiki.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s) 
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|[[libretro|Libretro Core]]
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="8"|PC / x86
|-
|[https://dosbox-staging.github.io/ DOSBox Staging]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://dosbox-staging.github.io/ {{DOSBoxStagingVer}}]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|[https://dosbox-x.com DOSBox-X]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|DOS}}
|[https://dosbox-x.com/ {{DOSBox-XVer}}]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|[https://dosboxece.yesterplay.net/ DOSBox ECE]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[https://dosboxece.yesterplay.net/ SVN]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[https://github.com/schellingb/dosbox-pure DOSBox Pure]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|}}
|[https://github.com/schellingb/dosbox-pure git]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{TBD}}
|}

===Active forks===

{{Infobox emulator
|title = DOSBox-X
|screenshot = DOSBox-X-screenshot-sdl2.png
|screenshotwidth = 250px
|screenshotcaption = The SDL2 UI on Windows 10. DOSBox-X also has versions for SDL1 and MinGW in the installer.
|developer = Jonathan Campbell<br/>(Project maintainer)<br/>Wengier, and others
|version = {{Version|DOSBox-X}}
|platform = Windows, macOS, Linux, DOS
|target = [[Intel CPUs]]<br/>[[PC-98 emulators|NEC PC-98]]
|active = Yes
|website = [https://dosbox-x.com dosbox-x.com]
|license = GNU GPLv2
|source = [https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x GitHub]
}}
;[https://dosbox-x.com/ DOSBox-X]:
DOSBox-X is vastly different from other DOSBox forks in that it aims to be a complete DOS emulation package. It features more flexibility by way of config options and an accompanying frontend to customize the DOS VM further, and beyond games it also supports standard software for DOS, as well as DOS-based Windows including Windows 3.x and 9x/ME (which it should be able to accelerate in the future). The project also has its own [https://dosbox-x.com/wiki wiki] which contains extensive documentation on DOSBox-X, and a summary of notable added features can be seen [https://dosbox-x.com/wiki/DOSBox%E2%80%90X’s-Feature-Highlights here]. The project is also accessible from the [https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x GitHub website].

While DOSBox-X currently supports the [[Intel CPUs|IBM PC/XT/AT]], Tandy, PCjr, and [[PC-98 emulators|NEC PC-98]] the maintainer, Jonathan Campbell, does not plan to add any other MS-DOS system. This limitation is mainly done to prevent bloating of the codebase, keeping it at a manageable level for himself while also staying organized. However, the codebase does contain stubbed source files for [[FM Towns emulators|FM Towns]] emulation in the event that other programmers want to add that functionality.

;[https://dosbox-staging.github.io/ DOSBox Staging]:
DOSBox Staging attempts to "revitalize DOSBox's development process". It bills itself as a "fork to end all forks" but, unlike DOSBox-X, still focuses on DOS games for the most part.

;[https://dosbox-staging.github.io/ DOSBox ECE]:
DOSBox ECE is a DOSBox fork that is based on DOSBox SVN commits but with some additional patches such as MT32, FluidSynth and Voodoo/Glide support.

;[https://github.com/schellingb/dosbox-pure DOSBox Pure]:
DOSBox Pure is a new DOSBox fork specifically built for RetroArch/Libretro. According to its project description it aims for simplicity and ease of use.

===Others===

;[http://home.arcor.de/h-a-l-9000/ DOSBox Mega Build]
:Was an enhanced build of DOSBox focused on serial/networking support. Contains the NE2000 patch, parallel port passthrough, virtual printer, OPL passthrough, and others. However, it hasn't been updated in years, and most of what it added was covered by the actively maintained [[#Active forks |DOSBox-X]] fork.

;[http://ykhwong.x-y.net/ DOSBox SVN Daum]
:Was an enhanced build of DOSBox by ykhwong, with support for Direct3D and HLSL shaders, Glide, Ethernet, virtual printer, and a built-in UI. However, it hasn't been updated in years, and most of what it added was covered by the actively maintained [[#Active forks |DOSBox-X]] fork.

;[http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/win31dosbox.html Win31DOSBox]:
:Win31DOSBox aims to be an easy method of running Windows 3.x games through a customized version of DOSBox-X or DOSBox SVN. Among its many features, it adds an easy setup program and the ability to print from Windows 3.11. The maintainer of Win31DOSBox has since recommended using [[WineVDM]] instead.

:To get started, you first need a copy of either Windows 3.11 or WfW (Windows for Workgroups) 3.11. Once you have that, you need to put in either the 6 (Windows 3.11) or 9 (WfW 3.11) floppy images, or the ISO file, or the MSDN self-extracting .exe. After that, running InstallWin31DOSBox.exe which will automatically install Windows 3.x for you. Once it's finished, check that everything works and then install Video for Windows and Quicktime which is located in the Video folder in Program Manager. It is also recommended to install WinG and Win32s as well.

:There are multiple ways to get software onto the system. For folders and files, you can drag them into the C-DRIVE folder. If you have a physical CD you can just insert it into your CD drive. If it's a CD image you need to mount it using a software like Virtual CloneDrive. If it's a floppy disk image you need to drag the respective images over the Extract to A-Drive Folder.exe program which will extract them to the A-DRIVE folder.

;[http://win9xbox.sourceforge.net/ 9xbox]
:There was some interest in creating a version of DOSBox that would improve compatibility with Windows 95/98/ME. However, it never passed the theoretical stage.
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==References==
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[[Category:Emulators]]
[[Category:Computers' emulators]]
[[Category:Windows emulation software‏‎]]
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]