Short:        Modernized libnix C runtime (GCC 6.5.0b)
Author:       Matthias Fleischer, Gunther Nikl, Stefan "Bebbo" Franke
Uploader:     jj201 telia com (Jörgen Johansson)
Type:         dev/cross
Version:      2.1-cross
Requires:     AmigaOS 2.0+, m68k-amigaos-gcc (Bebbo toolchain)
Architecture: m68k-amigaos >= 2.0.
Distribution: Public Domain

DESCRIPTION
This is a maintained and extended version of libnix, a lightweight C runtime
library for AmigaOS/m68k. It is intended for use with the GCC 6.5.0b cross
compiler and provides a small, fast and dependency-free runtime for building
standalone AmigaOS binaries.

The library includes startup code, ANSI C functions, POSIX stubs, AmigaOS
wrappers and math libraries for 68020+ and 68881/2. It produces binaries that
run on Kickstart 2.0 through 3.2 without requiring ixemul or newlib at
runtime.

FEATURES
* AmigaOS-native startup code (ncrt0.o)
* No external runtime dependencies
* Small binary footprint
* Works on OS 2.0?3.2
* Optimized for 68020?68060
* Supports soft-float and hard-float builds
* Compatible with GCC 6.x?11.x

INSTALLATION
To install libnix into your cross-compiler toolchain, run:

  make -f Makefile.gcc6
  make -f Makefile.gcc6 install PREFIX=/opt/amiga

This installs all library variants, startup objects, headers and tools into:

  /opt/amiga/m68k-amigaos/libnix/
  /opt/amiga/m68k-amigaos/lib/
  /opt/amiga/bin/

Manual installation is possible, but not recommended.
You must replicate the directory structure created by:

  make -f Makefile.gcc6 install PREFIX=/opt/amiga

This includes multiple library variants (lib, libb, libm020, libm881, etc.),
startup objects, stubs, and the mkstub tool. See Makefile.gcc6 for details.

Note: This version of libnix requires the m68k-amigaos-gcc cross-compiler.
It does not work with the old Amiga-native gcc 2.95.3 or other legacy
AmigaOS gcc versions.

DIFFERENCES FROM UPSTREAM LIBNIX 2.1
This version contains many changes compared to the original libnix 2.1:

1. Updated for modern GCC versions (6.x?11.x). Adjusted headers, prototypes
   and inline behaviour to match newer compilers.

2. Uses newlib headers during build. This affects only the build process, not
   the runtime behaviour. No newlib components are required at runtime.

3. Improved AmigaOS startup code. Better stack setup, cleaner exit handling,
   improved argc/argv handling and fixes for 68040/68060 cache behaviour.

4. Numerous bug fixes. Corrected undefined behaviour, improved malloc/free,
   fixed math precision issues and improved DOS file I/O handling.

5. Additional AmigaOS wrappers. Safer Exec and DOS helpers, improved handling
   of file locks and BPTRs, and more robust library opening/closing.

6. Updated math libraries. Rebuilt libm020.a and libm881.a with improved
   precision and performance on 68040/68060.

7. Reorganised source tree. Removed obsolete files, modernised Makefiles and
   added GCC-specific build scripts.

LICENSE
This version of libnix is Public Domain. You may use, modify and redistribute
it without restriction.

CONTACT
Original authors:
  Matthias Fleischer
  Gunther Nikl

Modern maintainer:
  Stefan "Bebbo" Franke







  2026-01-14