prop languages and compilers and even operating systems

whiteoxe

I hope you have patience [noparse]:)[/noparse]

I read lots and find understandingon some complex thiggs hard to follw. does the prop have an OS ? like liux or widows. Is that a requirement of being able to write a programming language for it. Soo if thats correct can lots of programming languages be written for the prop, like Windows has heaps of programming languages.

Can prop enthusiasts keep writing different languages that will run on the prop ?

Can spin be bypassed completely for a language that appeals to some. , or is spin manadory to program the prop.

I just dont get it. Maybe spin is embedded into the prop ?

Thanks for reading.

Mike Green

1) The Prop does not have an OS like Linux or Windows. There are several systems for the Prop that are like the very early operating systems like CP/M or Windows 3.1. These early operating systems just consisted of a command interpreter and a simple file system along with a very basic set of I/O drivers. Sphinx is somewhat like this in that it consists of a set of I/O drivers and a simple command interpreter that can handle a TV display, keyboard, and SD card (for file storage). It also includes some basic utility programs and a Spin compiler / assembler. There are also various emulators that run on the Prop. Furthest along is the Z80 emulator that can run CP/M at speeds comparable to older real Z80s, but this requires external SRAM to really work. You can run small test programs with only the Prop's 32K, but most CP/M programs need 64K of external SRAM.

2) Yes, people can write other compilers, assemblers, and interpreters for the Prop. There are significant memory limitations (32K) that limit what might be doable, but all sorts of programs were written for CP/M with only 64K. Bill Henning's virtual memory library will help this.

3) Spin is not mandatory outside of a short preamble that has to be present to get a program running. That's how the existing C compilers work. On the other hand, the Spin interpreter is permanently part of the Prop's ROM and is very efficient, both in terms of memory usage and, given that it's an interpreter, in terms of execution speed.

Leon

Full-blown operating systems aren't used very much for embedded applications, although a smaller Real-Time OS or RTOS is sometimes used, even with small 8-bit MCUs.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Leon Heller
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM

whiteoxe

Thank you for those answers. Helpful to me in my understanding. Even if i don't get all that was said it was enough for me to have a better idea of what goes on re: the prop.