[sebhc] Emulator progress & Hardware Q's

[Mark Garlanger]

Dave Dunfield wrote:
> Hi Guys,
> 
> I've been poking away at my H8 simulator - busy with other tasks so it
> has gone slowly, however I'm going to try and allocate more time to it
> over the next couple of weeks and try to get a first edition out.
> 

Hi Dave,

So what platform are you making this for?  Any reason that you are starting
your own instead of working off one of the existing ones? It seems like working
one an existing project would be more productive. A few of us on the list have
talked about working/extending David Wallace's emulator. I know I don't have
alot of time to work on it, but if we could focus on one project alot more
would get accomplished.


Have you decided on a license for it? Picking an existing open source license 
makes it easier for others to contribute to the project, and if you drop the 
project someone will be able to take over without having to decipher what you 
exactly meant. 

David Wallace's emulator has the following statement on his web page, I didn't
see anything but a copyright notice in the code:
 
  License and Copyright Information 
  I thought about doing some take-off on the Gnu Public License. But let's be real: this code isn't a product that's ever going to make me or anybody else rich. So let's just say that I mean it when I say "Copyright" -- I wrote the damn thing. I get the credit. I keep control of the code. You get to use it if you want. Just play nice: if you mess with the code, continue to acknowledge the author. 


So what does that exactly mean? Sounds alot like a BSD-Style license, but not
quite. If I 'mess' with the code, where do I need to acknowledge the author? In
the code, in the documentation, displayed in the about box, splash screen 
when the program starts, or somewhere else... What does 'I keep control of 
the code.' mean? Am I allowed to use the code to start a new project? Do I 
have to give the changes back to the author, am I allowed to sell it?
Not using a standard license just leaves so many questions up in the air.
Giving the code one of the standard opensource licenses allows people to
know what it means.


> Progress so far:
>  - I have the 8080 emulation engine working and debugged (from my Altair
>    simulator).
> 
>  - I have the basic framework for the simulator in place, which allows me
>    to switch between full terminal display, split panel/terminal display,
>    and full-screen debug modes. Most of this is also derived from my Altair
>    simulator.
> 
>  - I have the H8 front panel display implemented, with all LED segments,
>    status lights, and Key hiliting.
> 
>  - I have 8251 UART emulation code working (also from my Altair) including
>    redirect to emulated terminal (video/keyboard), or to PC serial port.
> 
>  - All that really remains to get the basic H8 simulator running is to
>    "hook up" the front panel, and fixup the terminal emulator to correctly
>    implement H19 codes - after that, I want to add the disk controller,
>    and it should be able to boot!
> 
> I have a few questions regarding the H8 hardware, that I did not find
> readily answered in the documentation. Perhaps someone can help clairify
> these points, or at least provide pointers to reference material which
> can help:
> 

> 
> #2 - Can someone send me or point me to a reference for detailed info
>      on the H19 terminal so that I can correctly implement the various
>      control codes? (I don't have an H19)

Take a look at the archives, a few weeks ago I uploaded the operational
manual for the H19. It has all the codes.  Also the manaul for the H9 
terminal if you would like to start with that. The current tape software 
doesn't appear to support the H19 esc codes anyway.

#4 - ROMs are also in the archive.