microsoft/BASIC-M6502Archived
BASIC M6502
BASIC-M6502 is a BASIC language implementation for 8-bit microprocessors. It provides an execution environment that allows programs written in a high-level, English-like language to run on 6502 hardware, featuring support for mathematical functions and floating-point arithmetic.
The project is designed for cross-platform hardware porting, using conditional compilation and macros to adapt a single codebase across different retrocomputing systems. It utilizes hardware abstraction layers to manage character-based input and output routines.
The system includes embedded memory management with dynamic allocation and mark-and-sweep garbage collection for strings and variables. It also provides primitives for string and array manipulation and employs software emulation for floating-point operations.
Features
- 6502 Hardware Programming - Provides a high-level language environment to write and execute programs on 6502 microprocessor hardware.
- Conditional Compilation Directives - Uses preprocessor directives to include or exclude code blocks based on the target hardware platform configuration.
- Hardware Porting - Adapts a single codebase to run on various 6502-based computer systems through conditional compilation and macros.
- Dynamic Memory Allocation - Allocates storage for variables and performs garbage collection on strings to maintain efficient memory utilization.
- Embedded Memory Management - Handles dynamic memory allocation and garbage collection for strings and variables within low-resource embedded environments.
- BASIC Language Implementations - Implements a functional BASIC interpreter supporting mathematical functions and floating-point arithmetic on 8-bit systems.
- Bytecode Interpreters - Implements a bytecode interpreter to reduce memory footprint and increase execution speed on 8-bit hardware.
- Single Codebase Targets - Maintains a single codebase that can be adapted for different 6502-based computer systems through conditional compilation.
- BASIC Runtimes - Runs programs written in an English-like BASIC language, including support for floating-point math on 8-bit microprocessors.
- Floating Point Emulators - Implements complex mathematical operations and decimal arithmetic via software routines for processors lacking native FPU hardware.
- Retrocomputing - Provides a development environment for building and running legacy-style software on early home computers and 8-bit hardware.
- Hardware I/O Abstractions - Abstracts character input and output through interchangeable subroutines tailored to specific hardware communication ports.
- Dynamic Memory Allocation - Implements mechanisms for allocating and reallocating memory dynamically and performing real-time garbage collection in constrained systems.
- Pure Computation I/O Abstractions - Provides abstraction layers that separate the BASIC interpreter's computation from hardware-specific character I/O routines.
- Macro-Based Generation - Generates hardware-specific machine code by expanding high-level macros into optimized assembly instructions.
- Mark-and-Sweep Garbage Collectors - Reclaims memory by identifying unreachable string objects and consolidating fragmented free space using a mark-and-sweep algorithm.
- Low-Level Machine Code Optimizations - Produces efficient assembly code tailored for specific hardware platforms using a macro system and conditional compilation.
