macemu/cxmon/README

  cxmon, Version 3.2
  A command-line file manipulation tool and disassembler

  Copyright (C) 1997-2007 Christian Bauer, Marc Hellwig
  GNU binutils disassemblers Copyright (C) 1988, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 1998
    Free Software Foundation, Inc.


License
-------

cxmon is available under the terms of the GNU General Public License. See the
file "COPYING" that is included in the distribution for details.


Overview
--------

cxmon is an interactive command-driven file manipulation tool that is
inspired by the "Amiga Monitor" by Timo Rossi. It has commands and features
similar to a machine code monitor/debugger, but it lacks any functions for
running/tracing code. There are, however, built-in PowerPC, 680x0, 80x86,
x86-64, 6502 and Z80 disassemblers and special support for disassembling
MacOS code. By default, cxmon operates on a fixed-size (but adjustable)
memory buffer with adresses starting at 0.


Installation
------------

Please consult the file "INSTALL" for installation instructions.


Usage
-----

cxmon can be started from the Shell or from the Tracker (BeOS), but command
line history doesn't work when started from the Tracker.

Options:
  -m  enables symbolic MacOS A-Trap and low memory globals display in the
      680x0 disassembler
  -r  makes cxmon operate in real (virtual) memory space instead of an
      allocated buffer

If no additional command line arguments are given, cxmon enters interactive
mode. Otherwise, all remaining arguments are interpreted and executed as cxmon
commands.

The default buffer size is 1MB.

The cxmon command prompt looks like this:

  [00000000]->

The number in brackets is the value of "." (the "current address", see the
section on expressions). You can get a short command overview by entering
"h".

Commands that create a longer output can be interrupted with Ctrl-C.

To quit cxmon, enter the command "x".


Constants, variables and expressions
------------------------------------

The default number base is hexadecimal. Decimal numbers must be prefixed with
"_". Hexadecimal numbers may also be prefixed with "$" for clarity. Numbers
can also be entered as ASCII characters enclosed in single quotes (e.g. 'BAPP'
is the same as $42415050). All numbers are 32-bit values (one word).

With the "set" command, variables can be defined that hold 32-bit integer
values. A variable is referred to by its name. Variable names may be arbitrary
combinations of digits and letters (they may also start with a digit) that
are not also valid hexadecimal numbers. Names are case-sensitive.

cxmon accepts expressions in all places where you have to specify a number.
The following operators are available and have the same meaning and
precedence as in the C programming language:

  ~   complement
  +   unary plus
  -   unary minus
  *   multiplication
  /   integer division
  %   modulo
  +   addition
  -   subtraction
  <<  shift left
  >>  shift right
  &   bitwise AND
  ^   bitwise exclusive OR
  |   bitwise inclusive OR

Parentheses may be used to change the evaluation order of sub-expressions.

There are two special symbols that can be used in expressions:

  .   represents the "current address" (the value of "." is also displayed in
      the command prompt). What exactly the current address is, depends on the
      command last executed. The display commands set "." to the address after
      the last address displayed, the "hunt" commands sets "." to the address
      of the first found occurence of the search string, etc.
  :   is used by the "apply" ("y") command and holds the value of the byte/
      half-word/word at the current address.

The "modify" (":"), "fill" ("f") and "hunt" ("h") commands require you to
specify a byte string. Byte strings consist of an arbitrary number of byte
values and ASCII strings separated by commas. Examples:

  "string"
  12,34,56,78,9a,bc,de,f0
  "this",0a,"is a string",0a,"with","newlines",_10


The buffer
----------

Those cxmon commands that operate on "memory" operate on a buffer allocated
by cxmon whose size is adjustable with the "@" command. The default buffer
size is 1MB. The buffer is an array of bytes where each byte has a 32-bit
integer address. Addresses start at 0 and are taken modulo the buffer size
(i.e. for the default 1MB buffer, addresses 0 and 100000 refer to the same
byte).

The buffer is the working area of cxmon where you load files into, manipulate
them, and write files back from. Arbitraty portions of the buffer may be used
as scratch space.


Commands
--------

The following commands are available in cxmon ('[]' marks a parameter than
can be left out):


  x                        Quit cxmon

quits cxmon and returns to the shell.


  h                        Show help text

displays a short overview of commands.


  ??                       Show list of commands

displays a short list of available commands.


  ver                      Show version

shows the version number of cxmon.


  ? expression             Calculate expression

displays the value of the given expression in hex, decimal, and ASCII
characters. If the value is negative, it is displayed as a signed and unsigned
number.


  @ [size]                 Reallocate buffer

changes the size of the buffer to the given number of bytes while preserving
the contents of the buffer. If the "size" argument is omitted, the current
buffer size is displayed.


  i [start [end]]          ASCII memory dump

displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" as ASCII
characters. Entering "i" without arguments is equivalent to "i .". The value
of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  b [start [end]]          Binary memory dump

displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" in a binary
format. Entering "b" without arguments is equivalent to "b .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  m [start [end]]          Hex/ASCII memory dump

displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" as hex
words and ASCII characters. Entering "m" without arguments is equivalent to
"m .". The value of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d [start [end]]          Disassemble PowerPC code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d" without arguments is equivalent to "d .". The value of "." is
set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d65 [start [end]]        Disassemble 6502 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d65" without arguments is equivalent to "d65 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d68 [start [end]]        Disassemble 680x0 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d68" without arguments is equivalent to "d68 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d80 [start [end]]        Disassemble Z80 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d80" without arguments is equivalent to "d80 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d86 [start [end]]        Disassemble 80x86 (32-bit) code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d86" without arguments is equivalent to "d86 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d8086 [start [end]]      Disassemble 80x86 (16-bit) code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d8086" without arguments is equivalent to "d8086 .". The value
of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d8664 [start [end]]      Disassemble x86-64 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d8086" without arguments is equivalent to "d8086 .". The value
of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  : start string           Modify memory

puts the specified byte string at the address "start" into the buffer. The
value of "." is set to the address after the last address modified.


  f start end string       Fill memory

fill the buffer in the range from "start" to (and including) "end" with the
given byte string.


  y[b|h|w] start end expr  Apply expression to memory

works like the "fill" ("f") command, but it doesn't fill with a byte string
but with the value of an expression that is re-evaluated for each buffer
location to be filled. The command comes in three flavors: "y"/"yb" works on
bytes (8-bit), "yh" on half-words (16-bit) and "yw" on words (32-bit). The
value of "." is the current address to be modified,  the value of ":" holds
the contents of this address before modification.

Examples:
  yw 0 fff :<<8    shifts all words in the address range 0..fff to the left
                   by 8 bits (you can use this to convert bitmap data from
                   ARGB to RGBA format, for example)
  y 0 1234 ~:      inverts all bytes in the address range 0..1234
  yh 2 ff 20000/.  creates a table of the fractional parts of the reciprocals
                   of 1..7f


  t start end dest         Transfer memory

transfers the buffer contents from "start" to (and including) "end" to "dest".
Source and destination may overlap.


  c start end dest         Compare memory

compares the buffer contents in the range from "start" to (and including)
"end" with the contents at "dest". The addresses of all different bytes and
the total number of differences (decimal) are printed.


  h start end string       Search for byte string

searches for the given byte string in the buffer starting at "start" up to
(and including) "end". The addresses and the total number of occurrences are
displayed. The value of "." is set to the address of the first occurrence. 


  \ "command"              Execute shell command

executes the given shell command which must be enclosed in quotes.


  ls [args]                List directory contents

works as the shell command "ls".


  rm [args]                Remove file(s)

works as the shell command "rm".


  cp [args]                Copy file(s)

works as the shell command "cp".


  mv [args]                Move file(s)

works as the shell command "mv".


  cd directory             Change current directory

works as the shell command "cd". The name of the directory doesn't have to be
enclosed in quotes.


  o ["file"]               Redirect output

When a file name is specified, all following output is redirected to this
file. The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains
no spaces. Entering "o" without parameters closes the file and directs the
output into the terminal window again.


  [ start "file"           Load data from file

loads the contents of the specified file into the buffer starting from address
"start". The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains
no spaces. The value of "." is set to the address after the last address
affected by the load.


  ] start size "file"      Save data to file

writes "size" number of bytes of the buffer from "start" to the specified file.
The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains no spaces.


  set [var[=value]]        Set/clear/show variables

If no arguments are given, all currently defined variables are displayed.
Otherwise, the value of "var" is set to the specified value. If "=value"
is omitted, the variable "var" is cleared.


  cv                       Clear all variables

clears all currently defined variables.


Examples
--------

Here are some simple examples for what is possible with cxmon.

Join "file1" and "file2" to "file3":

  [ 0 "file1"
  [ . "file2"
  ] 0 . "file3"

Remove the first 24 bytes (e.g. an unneeded header) of a file:

  [ 0 "file"
  ] 18 .-18 "file"

Load the cxmon executable and search for PowerPC "nop" commands:

  [ 0 "cxmon"
  h 0 . 60,00,00,00

Create a modified version of cxmon so that the prompt has " $" instead of
"->":

  [ 0 "cxmon"
  set size=.
  h 0 . "->"
  : . " $"
  ] 0 size "cxmon1"

Convert a binary file which contains 16-bit numbers in little-endian format
to big-endian format (or vice-versa):

  [ 0 "file"
  yh 0 .-1 :>>8|:<<8  
  ] 0 . "file"

Load a BeBox boot ROM image and start disassembling the system reset handler:

  [ 0 "bootnub.image"
  d 100


Using cxmon in your own programs
--------------------------------

cxmon provides a simple interface for integration in other programs. It can,
for example, be used as a monitor/debugger for an emulator (it is used in
Basilisk II in this way).

Here's how to do it (all functions are defined in the mon.h header file):

 1. Link all the cxmon object files, except main.o, to your program.
 2. In your program, call mon_init() before using any other cxmon functions.
 3. After calling mon_init(), set the mon_read_byte and mon_write_byte
    function pointers to the routines used for accessing memory.
 4. You can use mon_add_command() to add new commands to cxmon by specifying
    the command name, function and help text. From within your command
    function, you can use mon_get_token() and mon_expression() to parse the
    arguments and the mon_read/write_*() functions to access memory.
 5. To enter cxmon, call the mon() function like this:

      char *args[3] = {"mon", "-r", NULL};
      mon(2, args);

 6. If you're done with cxmon, call mon_exit().


History
-------

Please consult the file "ChangeLog" for the release history.


Christian Bauer
www.cebix.net

Marc Hellwig
<Marc.Hellwig@uni-mainz.de>