[Coco] DECB -> Pi2/3

[Kip Koon]

Hi James, 
Your idea sounds intriguing.  Go for it!  

Kip Koon
computerdoc at sc.rr.com
http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/User:Computerdoc


-----Original Message-----
From: Coco [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of James Ross
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2017 12:36 AM
To: CoCoList Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Subject: [Coco] DECB -> Pi2/3

I’ve wondered recently, specifically w/ the Pi2/3, it seems many people in the CoCo community have one, would there be an appetite for a project that ports the CoCo’s 6809 DECB code directly to the Pi’s native ARM code.  

What made me think of this was Dave Philipsen comment on boot times of the Linux distro on a Pi:

> If the Pi only had to do what a CoCo does it could boot even faster than a CoCo.

The idea is to have a device that is instant on, running on bare-metal, sitting there w/ the flashing cursor ready to run Disk Extended Color Basic (DECB)  at full Pi2/3 speed – not emulated.  You could have two modes: one where the CoCo’s hardware (peeks/pokes) is emulated and an Enhanced Mode with all the modern capabilities of the Pi's I/O's … etc … Must have's would be a full screen editor, structured basic mode w/o line #’s (Basic09'ish?) ...  

The problem I see w/ the Pi running bare-metal code, you would not have the luxury of the OS drivers to talk to the Pi’s hardware. And that could be the real show-stopper due to the learning curve of the hardware.  I wonder just how trimmed down you could get the Linux Kernel + just the essential Pi drivers (screen/sound/USB/IO/etc) -- but then does it lose it's appeal if you're still having to boot Linux?  

Does the idea fit the nostalgic hobby (retro-ish) criteria? Anyway, not even sure if I would interested in using such a device, or if it’s the challenge of the project that sounds fun! LOL! :)  It's just an idea I have thought of recently.

James

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