On Nov 26, 2007, at 2:10 PM, Roy J. Tellason wrote:
> I have a
programmer designed by Steve Ciarcia from BYTE - It uses an
> 8051AH-Basic (The 8051 with basic embedded) as the controller - and
> still works a treat - to this day. - Standalone board, interface via
> serial. It was fun to see peoples faces when you shipped a ^C down
> the
> serial line, and dropped through to a READY prompt.
I have one of those too. And then you could type LIST and get a
listing of
what was in there. But I never did make much sense out of what I saw
then...
Since those days, I've collected a bit of info on that chip off the
'net,
though I haven't digested it yet.
I know that chip (both the 8052 and the BASIC interpreter that
shipped with that version of it) quite well. I've ported the BASIC to
more modern mcs51 implementations like the Philips 89C66x family, and
I've added functionality and fixed a few things. I've not released my
code but am considering it. The original code is unbelievably
tight...it FILLS the 8KB ROM space on the 8052, and gains density by
doing crazy stuff like jumping backward to access the RET instruction
from a previous subroutine, etc. Not very readable,
but very, very
dense. Part of my effort was spent un-densifying it for clarity and
ease of maintenance. It's a very good BASIC interpreter in my opinion.
Before doing all that stuff, though, I spent a good bit of time
hacking with it burned into 8752 chips. The hex files and manual (as
PDF) used to be readily available online, but if anyone wants them, I
can provide them. I can also supply 8752 chips with the BASIC
interpreter burned into them for a nominal fee.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL