1
0
mirror of https://github.com/catseye/SixtyPical.git synced 2024-11-26 14:49:15 +00:00
SixtyPical/README.markdown
2017-12-07 11:18:58 +00:00

79 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown

SixtyPical
==========
SixtyPical is a very low-level programming language, similar to 6502 assembly,
with static analysis through abstract interpretation.
In practice, this means it catches things like
* you forgot to clear carry before adding something to the accumulator
* a subroutine that you call trashes a register you thought was preserved
* you tried to write the address of something that was not a routine, to
a jump vector
and suchlike. It also provides some convenient operations and abstractions
based on common machine-language programming idioms, such as
* copying values from one register to another (via a third register when
there are no underlying instructions that directly support it)
* explicit tail calls
* indirect subroutine calls
The reference implementation can execute, analyze, and compile SixtyPical
programs to 6502 machine code.
SixtyPical is a work in progress. The current released version of SixtyPical
is 0.9-PRE (not released yet.)
Documentation
-------------
* [Design Goals](doc/Design%20Goals.md)
* [SixtyPical specification](doc/SixtyPical.md)
* [SixtyPical revision history](HISTORY.md)
* [Literate test suite for SixtyPical syntax](tests/SixtyPical%20Syntax.md)
* [Literate test suite for SixtyPical execution](tests/SixtyPical%20Execution.md)
* [Literate test suite for SixtyPical analysis](tests/SixtyPical%20Analysis.md)
* [Literate test suite for SixtyPical compilation](tests/SixtyPical%20Compilation.md)
* [6502 Opcodes used/not used in SixtyPical](doc/6502%20Opcodes.md)
TODO
----
### Add 16 bit values.
I guess this means making `add` a bit more like `copy`.
And then: add to pointer. (Not necessarily range-checked yet though.)
And then write a little demo "game" where you can move a block around the screen with
the joystick.
### `word table` and `vector table` types
### `low` and `high` address operators
To turn `word` type into `byte`.
### save registers on stack
This preserves them, so semantically, they can be used even though they
are trashed inside the block.
### And at some point...
* `copy x, [ptr] + y`
* Maybe even `copy [ptra] + y, [ptrb] + y`, which can be compiled to indirect LDA then indirect STA!
* Check that the buffer being read or written to through pointer, appears in approporiate inputs or outputs set.
* initialized `byte table` memory locations
* always analyze before executing or compiling, unless told not to
* `trash` instruction.
* `interrupt` routines.
* 6502-mnemonic aliases (`sec`, `clc`)
* other handy aliases (`eq` for `z`, etc.)
* have `copy` instruction able to copy a constant to a user-def mem loc, etc.
* add absolute addressing in shl/shr, absolute-indexed for add, sub, etc.
* check and disallow recursion.
* automatic tail-call optimization (could be tricky, w/constraints?)
* re-order routines and optimize tail-calls to fallthroughs