Alternative library and kernel for add-in development on fx-9860G and fx-CG50 under Linux.
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core, tmu: add gint_switch(), return to menu, and improve timer code
* Add the gint_switch() function which executes user-provided code from
  the system (CASIOWIN) context.
* Added interrupt masks to the core context (should have been there long
  ago).
* Added the gint_osmenu() function that switches out of gint to invoke
  GetKeyWait() and inject KEY_CTRL_MENU to trigger the main menu. This
  uses many CASIOWIN syscalls, but we don't care because gint is unloaded.
  Trickery is used to catch the key following the return in the add-in
  and/or display a new application frame before GetKeyWait() even finishes
  after coming back. This is only available on fx9860g for now.
* Removed any public syscall definition to clear up interfaces.
* Patched the DMA interruption problem in a weird way on fxcg50, a
  driver function will be used to do that properly eventually.
* Changed the driver model to save driver contexts in preallocated
  spaces instead of on the stack for overall less risk.
* Enabled return-to-menu with the MENU key on fx9860g in getkey().
* Changed the keyboard driver to emit releases before presses, as a
  return-to-menu acts as a press+release of different keys in a single
  driver frame, which confuses getkey().
* Fixed a really stupid bug in memcpy() that made the function really
  not work.

Improvements in the timer driver:

* Expose ETMU modules as SH7705_TMU and SH7305_TMU in <gint/mpu/tmu.h>.
* Remove the timer_t structures, using SH*_ETMU and SH*_TMU instead.
  Only interrupt gate entries are left hardcoded.
* Discovered that not only every write to the TCNT or TCR of an ETMU
  takes about 1/32k of a second (hinting at registers being powered by
  the same clock as the timer), but every write occuring while a previous
  write is pending is *lost*. This led to terrible bugs when switching
  ETMU contexts too fast in gint_switch().
* Removed an internal timer_address() function.
* Overall simplified the handling of timers and the initialization step.
2020-05-10 14:03:41 +02:00
include core, tmu: add gint_switch(), return to menu, and improve timer code 2020-05-10 14:03:41 +02:00
make code review and display driver changes 2020-02-23 16:05:25 +01:00
src core, tmu: add gint_switch(), return to menu, and improve timer code 2020-05-10 14:03:41 +02:00
.gitignore way too much, including bopti/topti, timers, and more. 2019-02-21 21:00:26 +01:00
configure use sh-elf by default when building 2019-11-13 19:31:37 +01:00
fx9860g.ld code review and display driver changes 2020-02-23 16:05:25 +01:00
fxcg50.ld code review and display driver changes 2020-02-23 16:05:25 +01:00
Makefile core, tmu: add gint_switch(), return to menu, and improve timer code 2020-05-10 14:03:41 +02:00
README.md use sh-elf by default when building 2019-11-13 19:31:37 +01:00
TODO core, tmu: add gint_switch(), return to menu, and improve timer code 2020-05-10 14:03:41 +02:00

gint project

gint (pronounce 'guin') is a development system for Casio fx-9860G II and fx-CG 50 calculators. It provides a mostly free-standing runtime and is used to develop add-ins under Linux, along with specialized GCC toolchains and the fxSDK.

gint is a modular kernel that implements its own drivers for the calculator's hardware, overriding the operating system and its syscalls. It is a drop-in replacement from fxlib, with which it is mostly incompatible. gint exposes a new, richer API to manipulate the hardware and take advantage of the full capabilities of the machine.

This is free software: you may use it for any purpose, share it, and modify it as long as you share your changes. Credit is not required, but please let me know!

Programming interface

Because of its free-standing design, gint's API provides direct and efficient access to the low-level MPU features, among which:

  • Multi-key management with event systems suitable for games
  • Hardware timers with sub-millisecond and sub-microsecond resolution
  • Fast screen drivers with DMAC on fx-CG 50
  • Efficient and user-extendable interrupt management

The library also offers powerful higher-level features:

  • An enhanced version of the system's GetKey() and GetKeyWait()
  • A gray engine that works by rapidly swapping monochrome images on fx-9860G II
  • Blazingly fast drawing functions when working with the fxSDK (image rendering is 10 times faster than MonochromeLib)
  • Integrated font management with the fxSDK
  • Integration with a Newlib port by Memallox (WIP)

Building and installing gint

You can choose to build gint for fx-9860G II (monochrome calculators, aka Graph 85 family), fx-CG 50 (color calculators, aka Prizm or Graph 90 family), or both. There are a few dependencies:

  • A suitable GCC toolchain in the PATH. You can absolutely not build gint with your system compiler!
    • The tutorial on Planète Casio builds an sh-elf that works everywhere
    • For fx-9860G II, sh3eb-elf is strongly advised
    • For fx-CG 50, sh4eb-elf (with -m4-nofpu) is slightly better but sh3eb-elf is completely fine
  • The fxSDK installed and available in the PATH. You will need fxconv to build gint, and if you intend to develop add-ins for fx-9860G II, you probably want fxg1a as well. All these tools are built by default.

fx-CG 50 developers probably want a g3a wrapper as well; the reference implementation is tari's mkg3a. This is only necessary when creating g3a files, not to use gint.

The build process is detailed below for both platforms, the principle is the same. You can build both targets at the same time by reading the two sections.

By default gint will be installed in the appropriate compiler folder, which is $PREFIX/ for libraries and linker scripts, and $PREFIX/include/gint/ for headers, where PREFIX is obtained by running ${toolchain}-gcc --print-search-dirs and reading the line that starts with install:. You can change this with the --prefix configure option.

Building for fx-9860G II

Create a build directory and configure in it:

% mkdir build.fx && cd build.fx
% ../configure --target=fx9860g

Then build the source and install the library files to the selected directory. You might need root access if you selected a target directory owned by root with --prefix, or if you built your compiler as root.

% make
% make install

Building for fx-CG 50

Create a build directory and configure in it. The default toolchain is sh4eb-elf, if you wish to build with sh3eb-elf, you need to add a command-line option --toolchain=sh3eb-elf.

% mkdir build.cg && cd build.cg
% ../configure --target=fxcg50

Then build the source and install the library files to the selected directory.

% make
% make install

Using gint

To use gint as your runtime environment, the bare minimum is:

  • Build with -ffreestanding;
  • Link with -T fx9860g.ld and -lgint-fx on fx-9860G;
  • Link with -T fxcg50.ld and -lgint-cg on fx-CG 50.

If you don't have a standard library such as Memallox's port of newlib, you also need -nostdlib. I typically use -m3 -mb or -m4-nofpu -mb to specify the platform, but that may not even be necessary.

Typically you might want to do this with the fxSDK, which hides most of the details and makes it easy to roll add-ins.