[Vm-dev] [Cog] Ubuntu unity issues

Jeremy Kajikawa jeremy.kajikawa at gmail.com
Mon Apr 16 15:14:26 UTC 2012


Has anyone looked at doing a "clean", no prior art Interpreter for
Squeak or anything else based on the raw opcode values for Smalltalk
itself?

I'm currently looking to do this (I also have a partial VM mechanism
written up which is opcode value ignorant with the capability to be
adapted really easily)

so if anyone has the time or patience to work with me in explaining
how the opcodes are numerically formatted in memory?

And please don't say to recompile VMMaker for the new target
(seriously... NOT an option)...

anyway... I'm asking here since I will need to know some of the VM
Image formatting when stored-to-disk or in-core-memory so that I can
at least find the right place to start Interpreting with the
possibility of later acceleration options being put in.

I'm currently part-way through writing up my existing VM mechanisms
for the target system and dependent usage of POSIX/pThreads/ Darwin or
WinNN kernels is not an option.

The host processors are a PowerPC + FPGA combination, with the FPGA
being subject to whatever program is loaded to it.

I am not binding the VM implimentation to a single target,  as it is
agnostic and seriously does not care what it is Interpreting or
Converting for use.

Currently the original version of the code was written for a purely
Interpretive implimentation in Motorola 68020+ host assembler and I am
currently re-writing the whole project for release in C as the initial
proof of concept was acceptably far enough to have a complete CPU
Emulation and only requiring a System to Simulate.

I've already discussed this on the OpenCobalt skype chat on occasion
and would like to find a listing of CPU style "opcode = value" along
with formatting information.

I am somewhat dogmatically minded about technical details,  so I am
unlikely to wade through buckets of documentation about Smalltalk as a
language and how to use it if it is not answering the question about
what I am looking up.

Is there any such technical reference like this similar to the 680x0 /
80x86 / PPC and other processor manuals where the Assembler opcodes
can be numerically described using a singular formatted for each
processor?

If I need Smalltalk to generate such a listing then that also is a
non-starter (without the information I can not create the basic tools
to perform the actions needed).

Hopefully someone will understand what I am asking for?


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