DJGPP
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 18 c compilers by recommenders
A free DOS-era C compiler, with the Rhide IDE and Allegro library, that many people used as their first compiler and IDE.
A free DOS-era C compiler, with the Rhide IDE and Allegro library, that many people used as their first compiler and IDE.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 87%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
First compiler or IDE for learners
“DJGPP rhide and allegro that was my gateway drug!”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Borland Turbo Basic” “DJGPP (with rhide) was my first IDE, love!”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Watch random code typed out on an MS-DOS IDE” “DJGPP is how I learned to to program.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack” - Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack”
Pairs well with Allegro and Rhide
“DJGPP/Allegro key life experience on my parents Windows machine”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack” “DJGPP rhide and allegro that was my gateway drug!”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Borland Turbo Basic” “DJGPP (with rhide) was my first IDE, love!”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Watch random code typed out on an MS-DOS IDE” - Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack”
Felt futuristic and formative
“DJGPP was spectacularly good back in the day.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack” “It felt like anything was possible!”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “How I developed an Am29000 C compiler and web browser” “It felt futuristic at the time.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack” - Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack”
Free real build tools
“the GCC, OpenWatcom, and DJGPP compilers the FreeDOS folks recommend are additionally free software, which is of real value to some of us”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “Writing FreeDOS Programs in C” “Suddenly I had real build tools, for free”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “How I developed an Am29000 C compiler and web browser”
Other c compilers people recommend
The four most recommended other c compilers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fil-C | 160 | 60 | 73% | 13 | — | Approved |
| Claude's C Compiler | 39 | 83 | 32% | 5 | — | — |
| Visual C++ | 29 | 17 | 63% | 12 | — | — |
| Tiny C Compiler (TCC) | 22 | 3 | 88% | 9 | — | Approved |
| DJGPPThis page | 13 | 2 | 87% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
All 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“DJGPP rhide and allegro that was my gateway drug!”
“Suddenly I had real build tools, for free”
“It felt like anything was possible!”
“DJGPP (with rhide) was my first IDE, love!”
“having access to a proper compiler which could ran on my old PC which only ran DOS, was awesome and amazing”
“alternatives like DJGPP weren't very good”
“got annoyed because it couldn't multi-task”
“DJGPP/Allegro key life experience on my parents Windows machine”
“DJGPP was pivotal for my life.”
“It felt futuristic at the time.”
“DJGPP and Allegro was a great help”
“It was my first C compiler in 1998.”
“DJGPP is how I learned to to program.”
“DJGPP was spectacularly good back in the day.”
“the GCC, OpenWatcom, and DJGPP compilers the FreeDOS folks recommend are additionally free software, which is of real value to some of us”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.