Propeller instruction-set licence

ogoudron

What is the Propeller instruction-set licence ?
Can i use this instruction-set in a software project like emulator or virtual machine ?

Sorry for my english.

Bests regards, Olivier Goudron.

jmg

Some simple tests: Will you make money from this, and will that impact, or enhance, Parallax's sales ?

Emulators and virtual machines can only help chip sales, so are not likely to worry Parallax, but there was also a case a few years ago, where Ericsson(iirc) was sued by Atmel, after they pulled an AVR into one of their ASICs.
That was directly overlapping Atmel's business.

ogoudron

Yes, i agree with you but now i understand that my question was about the process of opening the hardware at Parallax.

I see that some references boards are labelled "Open hardware reference design".
Does this opening process include the instruction set (not the real hardware implementation, just the instruction-set) ?

If yes, my VM will use this instruction set. If no, my VM will be more abstract and i will provide a thin emulation layer on top of the real Parallax hardware.
I do not plan to steal Parallax sales. I ask this question because i don't want a kill switch in my business.

If the answer is NO i will understand it and agree with it. It's just a question.

Heater.

What is to license?

The things that could stop you doing this are copyright, patent and trademark. Plus throw in any problems you may have with trade secrets.

Trade secrets we can dismiss as long as you are sticking to published information.
Patents we can probably dismiss as I have never heard that Parallax has any patents on anything to do with the Prop, or anything else for that matter.
Copyright might be an issue, but I was under the impression that it is not possible to copyright an instruction set.
Trademarks are an issue, using terms like "Parallax" and/or "Propeller" and/or "Spin" in conjunction with your product, be it a software emulator or real chip implementation, may be construed as misleading.

Now here is a kicker. The Prop runs the Spin language by means of a byte code interpreter built into ROM and run from a COG. Including that interpreter in your emulation/chip is a clear copyright problem. Similarly for the other content of the Propeller ROM especially the font tables.

Still, what do I know, it's best to ask Parallax directly.

P.S. There is already a Propeller emulator or two knocking around at least one of them is encouraged by Parallax.

ogoudron

Heater, thank for your very instructive reply.

I will come back with something to show and i will ask to Parallax directly.

Bests regards.