LZ: RE: On-calc compiler


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LZ: RE: On-calc compiler



On Friday, June 27, 1997 5:32 AM, Watkins[SMTP:kruzw@cris.com] wrote:
> I know this has been discussed before, but now that the expander is a reality,
> I thought we may want to discuss it again.  Now I'm not extremely knowledgable
> when it comes to assembly programming, but I have some ideas on how we could
> make it work.  Can someone give me some help here...
> 

Yes, we could use the OPCODES.85S from my debugger...  It's got just about every opcode in it.  This could also be stored on and accessed from the expander, since it never changes.  The editor could be the regular TI-BASIC editor, since it is quite good, and it is the most space-efficient.  The actual reader actually wouldn't be *too* big, we would just need a place to store names of labels... we could use whatever free memory is left for that...  I definitely think this is possible.

> All that's on the calc is the shell, the expander software (or a sized down
> developer version), a calc version of TASM or some other assembler, and
> something to make it into a string.  (I have no idea how big all of this would
> be so please inform me if I'm way off.)  Then, you just edit a normal program,
> but you write in asm, not basic.  When you're ready to test it, you run the
> expander software and send it to the expander in the last block (i.e block 255
> or whatever).  Then it's compiled and run.  If it freezes your calc, you can
> get a backup from a friend, who has the expander software (not necessarily
> because he has an expander, just the software for you).  Then you can pull the
> compiler and source off teh expander and try again.  This is why a developer
> version of the expander software would be nice.  It could assign certain
> blocks
> for certain things, and just get those every time so you don't have to hunt
> through.

Well... I don't know about the storing on the calculator, because, as Will said, it eventually ruins the calculator, but the non-changing things (the compiler) could be removed before running the program, and reloaded afterwards...
	Sam
-- 
Sam Davies <sdavies@mail.trilogy.net>