Re: [avr-gcc-list] Testers needed

[Richard Urwin]

On Monday 20 Sep 2004 2:11 am, Douglas Dotson wrote:
> How portable is this to other platforms?

It would be fairly easy to port to other small AVRs. Other processors 
require more extensive coding, but only in a couple of modules.
The AVR1200 doesn't have LPM, has no RAM, and the vectors are currently 
fixed to 4. That's all probably going to be relaxed soon.

> More comments below.
>
> Doug
>
> --- Richard Urwin <address@hidden> wrote:
> > I have just released version 1.0.4 of Micro Autocode
> > and I could do with
> > any feedback you people could give me. I've written
> > one full-sized
> > project using it, but there's a limit to what one
> > man can do.
> >
> > http://microautocode.sourceforge.net
>
> I'd be happy to give a look!
>
> > Currently it compiles code for the AVR1200, and is
> > designed to work
> > under the radar of gcc, on those controllers C is
> > unsuitable for.
>
> What is an AVR1200 ?
Atmel AVR1200, one of the first AVR micros; no RAM; no UART; no ADC; 
three level deep hardware stack; compatible with the 2313 and Tiny2313.

> > The limitations of very small microcontrollers:
> > small or non-existent
> > RAM and very limited hardware stack, makes them
> > unsuitable for running
> > code produced with all current high-level languages.
>
> "all" is a pretty bold term.

There's probably a TinyC, and other similar stuff. But any HLL expects 
to have RAM and a decent stack. To get it to run on the very small 
micros you have to break the language. Autocode works on those without 
being broken - some would say because it's broken from the start - but 
it is really a lower level language than those others, and in fact I 
have adjusted it to fit right against the hardware.

> > Why not let it free you from
> > assembler just like it
> > freed your grandfather from machine-code?
>
> My grandfather worked in an oil refinery. Doubt if he
> used machine code much :)

It was widely used for the time. People used to mail their programs in 
on (5 bit) paper tape and get their results back the same way.

-- 
Richard Urwin