Borland C++ 2.0 Compiler Source Reconstructed

As the successor to Turbo C++, Borland C++ was a staple of professional IDEs for C and C++ development, starting with the initial 2.0 release in 1991. Being a commercial project, the original source code for the toolchains were not made available by Borland.

Reconstruction Process

Thanks to the efforts of Abedegno, we now have what is claimed to be a byte-perfect recreation of the source code, meaning the binaries compiled using the toolchain are identical to the original toolchain.

The process of creating the source from the original toolchain binaries is detailed in a separate document, including the use of Abedegno's Claude Code-based Exhume tool to assist in the effort.

Historical Significance

Having the source code for BC++ 2.0 available is most useful for projects dealing with DOS-based software from the same era, as well as for purely historic interest. When BC++ 2.0 was released, the C programming language had only just been standardized as C89, while C++'s initial standard in 1998 was still years away.