Week in Review - June 13, 2009

[crc]

Another week of active development.

The highlights:

- Build Process
- Toka now built using the homegrown build tool
- Instructions for building on NetBSD added to the docs
- Merged the various image conversion scripts into one

- C Implementation
- no longer relies on global variables
- Mat's extended vm moved to a separate directory
- libretro added; this is an embeddable implementation of the VM

- Java implementation
- No longer dies with an error when retroImage can't be found
- No longer requires a shell script to launch
- Refuses to run under Windows
- Javadoc comments

- JavaScript implementation
- Use port 1024 for system interaction instead of 9998

- .NET implementation
- Added --endian flag

- Added MIDP port from Martin
- Minor changes to display layout
- Add missing capabilities
- Support for latest retroImage

- Extras
- Editor now separate from extend.retro
- Moved to bin/extras

- retroImage
- Reduced memory usage for kernel to 5k cells (down from 8k cells)

This is all in the repository and development snapshots.

[meino....@gmx.de]

Hi Charles,

I want to use retro-forth an my atmel at912rm9200 board.
Do you know of any successfull attempt to port retro-forth to this
MPU?

Kind regards,
Meino Cramer




--
Please don't send me any Word- or Powerpoint-Attachments
unless it's absolutely neccessary. - Send simply Text.
See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
In a world without fences and walls nobody needs gates and windows.

[Charles Childers]

Hi Meino,

I'm unaware of any attempts to get Retro running on any atmel boards at this time.

-- crc

[meino....@gmx.de]

Hi Charles,

thank you for your fast response ! :O)

mcc

Charles Childers <charles....@gmail.com> [09-06-13 18:44]:

[nigol]

Charles,
I'm very pleased, you'd included my piece of code to yours superb
work. I have recently made some changes to MIDP version - added
posibility to read code into image from external file (stored in JAR
archive) and something, that I called Bootstrap (something like --with
parameter in console version, but much more primitive), allowing to
compile some external code. Along side this I adapted yours block
editor for limited MIDP devices, which is included in my bootstrap
file. In future I'm planning add some code to handle MIDP forms
through ports, but for now I'm busy with some paid work.
So if you're interested, I can send you my changes. Sadly, I'm not
familiar with Git, therefore email would be the better choice for me.
Or I can upload my version on my hosting and provide link for
download.

Martin

[Charles Childers]

Martin's updates have been mrged in.

-- crc

-------------------------------------

[Mat]

Hi,

" - C Implementation
- no longer relies on global variables "

A quick and little update for the extended vm:
At current I merge my attempt for a native code compiler to Ngaro and
change the extended vm method of threading to some replicated switch
method (which isn't dependent on gcc's first-class label extension and
ANSI conform). Should I avoid to declare global variables for future
work (for some reason I don't imagine) ?

[Charles Childers]

Mat,

Feel free to continue using globals in your implementation. (I'm looking forward to merging in any updates you have as soon as they're ready...)

The reason for removing the globals in mine was a step towards making it easier to embed Retro into other applications. (see vm/libretro in the development snapshots or repository).

-- crc

[Helmar Wodtke]

Hi crc, mat,

there are no real "globals" ;) Where the small point of view of the
processor is, there is everything you call "global" or "local". Making
something "global" or "local" is a point of design. I personally think
that "globals" are not a bad thing, if you know what you are doing.
Especially with a VM.

Hey well, I seem to Iook as a little bit uninterested at the moment ;)
But do not let the situation fool you. My mother is currently in
hospital and I'm not as fast in doing things. This is not the only
reason, I'm doing ***too much*** right now...

Regards,
-Helmar *just thinks that Retro is a cool thing at all*