[Coco] DW3 WireBug mode

[Brett Gordon]

Why can't a Wire-Bug client be a loadable program separate from HDB ?  Does
it have to be on ROM ?   I believe HDB now has some extra memory pointers
to the low-level drivewire routines located just above the DSKCON
pointers.  It should be simple to add wirebug, even using basic.  I don't
think HDBDOS uses the swi interrupts for anything, either.  This should
make a simple  monitor pretty easy to make (and small).

On on DW server side however... Aarron would have to do some pretty major
crap to add a disassembler and a UI for the interface.

counter-point:  With MESS and JV emulators both having a debuging mode,
doesn't this render a wire-bug redundant ?

Brett



On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 4:14 PM, Tormod Volden <lists.tormod at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 5:14 AM, Robert Gault wrote:
> > Mark Marlette wrote:
> >> This would require that HDB-DOS go to 16K, as I recall there was about 8
> >> bytes left free in the current version.
> >>
> >> There are reason why Boisy never broke the 16K barrier, which of course
> he
> >> knew how to do in a heartbeat. I just don't know them ATM.
> >>
> >> So unless the code is compact or something is removed.......not a lot of
> >> space left.
> >
> > There is a small amount of space that could be used for extra routines
> if we
> > were willing to give up the FlexiKey code. Probably it would not free up
> > enough space though.
> >
> > Using a 16K ROM is not that difficult and ADOS3 is an example. It
> certainly
> > would take very careful coding on a Coco3 since Basic code resides in the
> > second 8K.
>
> If keeping it to 8K has some merit: For a DW-only version one could
> sacrifice the real floppy disk support, I think that would free up 365
> bytes (the original DSKCON routine). Still not a lot and I don't know
> how much WireBug would need. However it would be plenty for adding
> some extra RAM hooks. Then a small wirebug server could be loaded into
> RAM when needed and hooked up. The sacrificed floppy disk support
> could also be loaded into RAM for the odd occasion.
>
> Tormod
>
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-- 
Brett M. Gordon,
beretta42 at gmail.com