[Coco] NoICE debugging for the Coco

[Robert Gault]

Boisy posted a message not too long ago about a powerful debugging system 
which runs on a PC and permits you to monitor what is happening on a Coco. 
Here is more information on this software which is obtainable from John 
Hartman at www.noicedebugger.com  .

At the time Boisy posted his message, the debugger could handle 6809 
opcodes and would work with OS-9 using a kernel driver written by Boisy. I, 
John, and Boisy have enhanced the NoICE debugger so that it will also 
handle 6309 opcodes. John Hartman is planning to release version 8.5 in a 
month or so which will contain support for both the 6809 and 6309 CPUs. 
There will also be software that runs on the Coco under Disk Basic ( a 
monitor ) which sends information to the PC via an RS-232 pack. The kernel 
driver for OS-9 (also requiring the RS-232 pack) will be available from 
Boisy (NitrOS-9 project) for 6809 and 6309 systems. There are no plans for 
the debugger to correctly display OS9 F$ and OS9 I$ system calls but it 
will still be a great tool for trouble shooting Coco software development.

This system will display register contents, disassemble code, dump memory, 
step through a program, and much more.

The icing on the cake is that the package for the 6809/6309 will be free. 
This CPU has been a favorite for John who has spent a good part of his 
career programming systems using it. That is why licensing for these CPUs 
(NoICE supports many others) will be free.