EEHEEHEE lotta good work on this today, I'm trying to build it up to the point of execing an /etc/init that reads a file to a lil hello world!!
acourse't I'm still in the weeds on all the stack swapping multiprocessing low level muck, arghh hate this parta this kinda stuff -- but i've gotten SO FAR hehehe gonna head back to it tomorry
(I'm now on the init branch if y'all wanna check progress on the codeberg >:3)
trying to be on here more often (again lol)
Back on my BS with my project to make a portable version of Unix V6 (from 1975) with a self-hosted pre-K&R C compiler, that could be released on anything that can at least simulate the memory model
Gonna start on a custom VM written in #Rust, but then port to the #C64 and probably also #ALtair8800!!
You can check out the progress on the kernel branch here: https://codeberg.org/popeyeotaku/popix/src/branch/kernel
Right now the compiler's almost done, with a bootstrapper compiler written in Rust. I'm about to start booting and bugfixing the kernel as soon as I extend the VM a tad
Still gotta gut the kernel by another several K, and write self-hosted assembler/linker package, and port userland. Also gonna write a custom YACC that uses less RAM
but it's coming along swimmingly!!!
I'd beened stalling on my #AncientUnix #Popix project, but it just got a big shot in the arm
I jus realized my #AncientC compiler had a bug where any initialized array came out twice as big as it was susposed to, fixing it has cut all my programs compiled in it by several K 😅😅
I was so worried about how on Eart' I was gonna slim everthin down enuf, now I don't gotta worry about any of that
I'm still hacking away on my #AncientUnix #Popix port, and it's wild how you really can just go look up the source of something to check its behavior or add something you need!
more importink #POPIX #ANCIENTUNIX NOW CLEARS THE BOOT PROCESS
(still not executing the user program but that hokey crap!!!)
NOTHER BUG HECKT IN #AncientUnix #Popix
hey, did you know if I want to drop the stack by `size` bytes, i shouldn't use the `sp=*pc*-size`, that might produce some memory bugs
PFFFFT it turns out me #AncientUnix #Popix bug was caused on accouna me #AncientC #C6T compiler didn't handle multi-dim arrays correck 🙃 thas all fix't now tho 💪💪
here's hopin for the next bug to be nicer as I recompile
boy i'd sure love it if this mysterious and otherworldly bug wud resolve isself thas wot #popix #ancientUnix
I'm getting a weird thin wit some pointer write going haywire that i gotta track down today, but I'm so excittid hehehe #popix #ancientUnix
I'll probably get thisk VM thin an mosta its userland together an releasked afore I make big headway on the 8bit ports, it shudint be TOO mucht work once't the kernel works
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(the TRAPk2's are clock ticks) THIS IS FAR ENOUGH IN THE BOOT PROCESS ITS STARTED SETTING UP THE ROOT DRIVE #popix #ancientunix
oh wait shit, i kin jus print debug messages inside the #Popix kernel now hehe >:3
#ANCIENTUNIX UPDAKE!!!
it hangs affer thisk point but me #Popix port of Unix V6 is now gettink *pretty* far inter the boot process!! :D AAAA
im not saying it'll run very fast, an not all platforms will have proper multitasking --
but the big diffince between #Popix an nother #AncientUnix ports or 8bit unix clones, is the self-hostid compiler!
u get wanna these thins but theys not a lot to do on it, cuz it caint run modern unix sof'ware *an they's no internal dev environmink*
unix (esp afore it got so complicitatid) is a pretty smooth dev environmink, issa great bit to hav available
The #C6T #AncientC compiler has a dirt simple backend which't shud be pretty easy to port to a buncha CPU's, perfornanss aside
An' the #Popix #AncientUnix kernel has v lil in the way of system dependint routines -- the biggesk hurdle is figgerin up how yer gonna handle the stack whin getting into an out of the kernel. Once't thas finich't, they's jus' a baker's dozing small utiliky routines, an yer I/O drivers -- an yer set!!
well the last few days may have been hell, BUT i distracktid meself by working on me #AncientUnix #Popix #AncientC #C6T projecks!!!
For those who don't know, I'm porting Unix V6 from 1975 to 8-bit platforms like the C64 and Altair 8800.
To do thisk, I wrote a self-hosting 8-bit compiler for the pre-K&R version of C that Unix6 uses.
Thas actually finiched! An I puts together most of the kernel, and hav it testable on the Altair... but acourse't debugging it is a ***** and a half, so to heck wit it
The past couple days, I work't up a modern VM made espeshially for the C6T language, and just now got most of *its* kernel together.
Tomorry I'm gonner put together the last bits on the VM to interack wit the hosk environmink, get a tesk user program, an try bootin up the kernel!!
(the igea being the modern VM will be a *lot* easier to debug the kernel on hehe)
goddddd i dunno how y'all Z80 folks do it, i stg the bugs that've been hecking me on me #ancientUnix #popix port are THE DIVISION ROUTINE!! *never* had thisk trubble on 6502
i'm not actually on a Z80, the intel 8080 insted, but my garsh i dont like how me code looks on it, and right now it seems to be grabbink a return address insteda argymint sumwhere cuz its overwriting the code it returns to 🙃 (assuming ALL memory yaint partially borked)
Late night work on me #ancientUnix #popix port for #altair8800 , rewrote the interrupt system to work in #simh 😎sockem up 😎😎
Won't tesk it til tomorry, but lookout 😎
sighh i shud rewrit me #ancientUnix #Popix port to jus use the flat rst7 interrupt. it uses the #altair8800 vector interrupt board right now cuz I assumed simh wud susport it like the altairclone -- but nope.
I've beened back an fort' on wat to do, cuz bugfixing in simh is gonna be a *tad* easier than on a front panel
Anyone got essperience debugging software in #simh got adviss for me?
Or relatidly, anyone whose essperienced at debugging software on a #blinkenlights panel got adviss for me?
(why yes, I have gottid to the point in me #ancientUnix #popix projeck that I gotta start actually booting the thing)
grr i oughter writ up me #ancientUnix #popix #6502 assembler jus so i kin use it to writ normalous code
modern IDE's like VSCODE makink it weirdly hard to switch outta 4-character-tabsize is so frustratink in me ASM work, an also i'd like sumpin simpler than ca65 >:(
(me existink 8080 assembler is setup to be easy to adapt to new archytectures, esp. 8 an 16bit ones, but i'd have to writ up tables for all the opcodes an addr modes ðŸ˜ðŸ˜)
