Running a ROM on an everdrive is one thing, but running a ROM
directly is another: my hacked up sega.bin didn't have a proper
checksum, so the ROM didn't run.
This new tool transforms a binary into a properly-headered ROM.
Has been tested on an actual SMS.
The idea is to consider assemblers as "runtime" apps instead of
placing them in the "bootstrap" section of the blocks. These apps
will be used for much more than bootstrapping.
Moved its documentation to doc/asm.txt and made its code blocks
more compact.
Previously, recipes that began spitting binary contents before
loading block 282 would end up with VARIABLE code in their binary,
thus breaking them. We fix this by making this loading process
2-part.
Will change to IF, .. THEN, but I need a way to easily reverse a
BR op. But from this commit, the translation of sms/kbd/ps2ctl.asm
is complete! perfect binary match!
Not much of a gain in terms of usability (a bit of a loss in fact, things are
a bit slow and glitchy), but it's a necessary move if we want to use upcoming
grid-enabled userspace apps, such as a visual text editor.
That's my mega-commit you've all been waiting for.
The code for the shell share more routines with userspace apps than with kernel
units, because, well, its behavior is that of a userspace app, not a device
driver.
This created a weird situation with libraries and jump tables. Some routine
belonging to the `kernel/` directory felt weird there.
And then comes `apps/basic`, which will likely share even more code with the
shell. I was seeing myself creating huge jump tables to reuse code from the
shell. It didn't feel right.
Moreover, we'll probably want basic-like apps to optionnally replace the shell.
So here I am with this huge change in the project structure. I didn't test all
recipes on hardware yet, I will do later. I might have broken some...
But now, the structure feels better and the line between what belongs to
`kernel` and what belongs to `apps` feels clearer.
Instead of expecting a `USER_CODE` symbol to be set, we expect `.org` to be
set in all userspace glue code. This gives us more flexibility with regards to
how we manage that.
Moreover, instead of making `USER_RAMSTART` mandatory, we make it default to
the end of the binary, which is adequate in a majority of cases.
Will be useful for my upcoming mega-commit... :)
Most of register fiddling routines (which is now the only thing contained
in care.asm) are used by almost all userspace apps, often in inner loops.
That makes the penalty of using jump tables for those a bit too high.
Moreover, it burdens jump tables needlessly.
Because this unit is very small (now that string routines are out), it makes
sense to always include it in binaries.
Virgil Dupras