DISCORD

> Chat client for vintage DOS PCs.

NetISA suite app. v2 ground-up rebuild. 8 channels with unread counts, 128 messages per channel on far-heap storage, multi-line compose, in-message find, PC speaker notifications, CP437 reactions. Builds clean under Open Watcom V2; 8088 is the floor.

Status

2026-04-25. v2 (ground-up rebuild from the v1 prototype). Builds clean under Open Watcom V2 at 37 KB. Source migrated to discord/ at the NetISA repo root.

Features

8 channels with per-channel unread counts.
128 messages per channel on far-heap storage (was 32 in v1).
Multi-line compose via Shift+Enter.
In-message find with Ctrl+F and match highlighting.
8 hash-based author colors.
CP437 reaction display.
Thread reply indicators.
User list overlay (Alt+U).
Help overlay (F1).
VGA palette fade in/out.
PC speaker notifications. Four cue types. F9 toggles.
Scroll bar.
Notification title flash.
Settings persistence via DISCORD.CFG.
Stub backend ships for development without a NetISA card.

Source layout

Lives at discord/ in the NetISA repo.

src/main.c: entry point.
src/discord.c: channel and message state.
src/render_dc.c: rendering.
src/input_dc.c: keyboard handling.
src/audio_dc.c: PC speaker notification cues.
src/config_dc.c: DISCORD.CFG reader/writer.
src/search_dc.c: in-message find.
src/stub_discord.c: stub backend (channel + message fixtures).
../lib/screen.c: shared suite library.

Building

cd discord
wmake           # DISCORD.EXE
wmake clean     # remove build artifacts

Hardware

Floor8088 + 256K + CGA

DOS3.3+

NetworkNetISA TLS path

NotificationsPC Speaker (PIT ch2)

ToolchainOpenWatcom V2

LicenseMIT

The 8088 floor is real: -0 -fpi -ms. DISCORD runs on XT-class hardware with a NetISA card and a PC Speaker. VGA is recommended for the palette fade, but every adapter from CGA up works.

Suite context

One of nine NetISA suite apps. Shared screen lib at /lib/screen.c, shared INT 63h API at /lib/netisa.h. Cmdline conventions match the rest of the suite.

Out of scope

Not actually Discord, the brand. The name is descriptive of the shape: a chat client with channels and threaded messages. The transport is NetISA-flavoured (TLS sessions over the ISA bus to a server-side gateway), not the Discord protocol.