native instruction manual for chip SX48AC

cmc

Where can I find·the native instruction manual for chip·SX48AC.
This is just out·of curiosity,I would also like to know what it takes to design a micro controller such
as SX48AC.
Can anybody suggest any good books which specifically deal with this topic.I am working in software industry for quite sometime.I wanted to understand the deep down on at the hardware level just as my hobby. I have basic understanding how a microprocessor works.

Can I say· "If I write a compiler myself (does not matter which highlevel language) which converts highlevel
language to native SX48AC instructions , I understood about 50% of what SX48AC is doing"

Do you guys·build SX48AC at parallax or do you order these chips from some other vendor?
I have reached· saturation·point at·writing software,it's no more interesting to·me.
I want to·feel the pain of how to design a chip which can understand the 1's and 0's and does what we want. I dont want to see the chip as "blackbox".
I have an understanding of basic electronics such as gates,flipflops,clock control units,decoders etc.
Can anybody help?
I appreciate your time,
Thanks,

Paul Baker

http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/sx/SxUsersManualV31.pdf·instruction set starts on page 55.

The SX line of microprocessors are produced by Ubicom, Parallax is the only authorized distributor of the chips.

Page 21 of the document gives a block view the SX chip, the specifics of design beyond this level are proprietary and as such are unavailable. At the heart of all microprocessors is the Arithmetic Logic Unit or ALU, this is typically a good place to start trying to learn the specifics.

If you want to understand the general theory of design of the blocks illustrated in Figure 2.1 (including the ALU), I suggest picking up a book. You can pick up something from amazon but you risk the possibility of choosing something that is too trivial or too complex. You'll want something that has a title along the lines of "Introduction to Microprocessor Design", but if it says "system" in the title, it will likely treat much of the processor as a black box, because its more concerned with using a microprocessor and designing a system around it. My best suggestion is to goto your local university bookstore and look in any books that have a title similar to the·title I mentioned, look through the first couple of chapters, if you can follow along what they are talking about, its a good choice. You can then buy the book, or try to find a cheaper copy online, or you can also wait until the semester ends and buy a used copy.

cmc

Thank you for your reply

Which chip is doing the translation of java byte code into native instructions (which SX48AC chip can understand).

Paul Baker

Byte code translation is done by Parallax's JVM which is software running on the SX48, it fetches the byte code from memory then executes a section of code based on that fetched byte code. It too is proprietary and Parallax won't part with it unless you enter a liscensing agreement with them, assuming they are willing to do so (They will enter a liscensing agreement for the Stamp's BASIC byte code, but that has been out for many years. Thier JVM is new and they may not be prepared to enter liscensing agreements with thier JVM yet). As you can guess this means giving them money for the privledge to look at thier code, plus signing a non-compete clause and the like. Actually they may only be willing to show you what the byte codes are, not how they execute them.

If you want more general info on how JVM's are constructed there are some internet resources:

http://www.eeglossary.com/jvm.htm

http://www.linuxdevices.com/products/PD8658640976.html

http://www.techonline.com/community/home/20283

http://www.kaffe.org/