4.4 KiB
TODO for SixtyPical
Save values to other-than-the-stack
Allow
save a to temp_a {
...
}
Which uses some other storage location instead of the stack. A local static would be a good candidate for such.
Analyze call within blocks?
What happens if you call another routine from inside a with interrupts off block?
What happens if you call another routine from inside a save block?
What happens if you call another routine from inside a point into block?
What happens if you call another routine from inside a for block?
Remember that any of these may have a goto ... and they may have a second
instance of the same block (e.g. with interrupts off nested within
with interrupts off shouldn't be allowed to turn them back on after the
inner block has finished -- even if there is no call.)
These holes need to be plugged.
Reset pointer in point into blocks
We have point into blocks, but maybe the action when entering such a
block shouldn't always be to set the given pointer to the start of the given table.
That is, sometimes we would like to start at some fixed offset. And sometimes we want to (re)set the pointer, without closing and starting a new block.
Pointers associated globally with a table
We have point into blocks, but we would also like to sometimes pass a pointer
around to different routines, and have them all "know" what table it operates on.
We could associate every pointer variable with a specific table variable, in its declaration. This makes some things simple, and would allow us to know what table a pointer is supposed to point into, even if that pointer was passed into our routine.
One drawback is that it would limit each pointer to be used only on one table. Since a pointer basically represents a zero-page location, and since those are a relatively scarce resource, we would prefer if a single pointer could be used to point into different tables at different times.
These can co-exist with general, non-specific-table-linked pointer variables.
Local non-statics
Somewhat related to the above, it should be possible to declare a local storage location which is not static.
In this case, it would be considered uninitialized each time the routine was entered.
So, you do not have a guarantee that it has a valid value. But you are guaranteed that no other routine can read or modify it.
It also enables a trick: if there are two routines A and B, and A never calls B (even indirectly), and B never calls A (even indirectly), then their locals can be allocated at the same space.
A local could also be given an explicit address. In this case, two locals in different routines could be given the same address, and as long as the condition in the above paragraph holds, that's okay. (If it doesn't, the analyzer should detect it.)
This would permit local pointers, which would be one way of addressing the "same pointer to different tables" problem.
Copy byte to/from table
Do we want a copy bytevar, table + x instruction? We don't currently have one.
You have to ld a, st a. I think maybe we should have one.
Analyze memory usage
If you define two variables that occupy the same address, an analysis error ought to be raised. (But there should also be a way to annotate this as intentional. Intentionally making two tables overlap could be valuable. However, the analysis will probably completely miss this fact.)
Character literals
For goodness sake, let the programmer say 'A' instead of 65.
Character set mapping
Not all computers think 'A' should be 65. Allow the character set to be
mapped. Probably copy what Ophis does.
Tail-call optimization
If a block ends in a call can that be converted to end in a goto? Why not? I think it can,
if the block is in tail position. The constraints should iron out the same both ways.
As long as the routine has consistent type context every place it exits, that should be fine.
"Include" directives
Search a searchlist of include paths. And use them to make libraries of routines.
One such library routine might be an interrupt routine type for various architectures.
Since "the supervisor" has stored values on the stack, we should be able to trash them
with impunity, in such a routine.
Line numbers in analysis error messages
For analysis errors, there is a line number, but it's the line of the routine after the routine in which the analysis error occurred. Fix this.