- SP-10 (8bit computer)
- 08 Apr 2013 08:11:12 am
- Last edited by Spyro543 on 11 Apr 2013 08:06:16 pm; edited 2 times in total
I'm making an 8-bit computer. It won't be like your average computer; no screen or keyboard. Instead it has 8 switches and 3 buttons for input, and 16 LEDs for output. 8 LEDs show the current address you are looking at, and the next 8 show the data in the address. The computer has 256 bytes of RAM. Since the programs are stored in RAM, and the only way to store data is to edit RAM, the program can re-program itself There are no registers, instead everything is done with direct RAM addresses. To edit RAM, you put in an address in the 8 switches then hit the ADDR button, which changes the currently open address to the one on the switches. You can press the STORE button to store the number on the switches into the currently open address. The RUN button starts the program from the currently viewed address. I'm not finished with this, I'm still writing the programming, but I do actually have everything breadboarded. It will all be run with a PIC18F46K20 processor. I know it's a bit overkill to use a powerful processor, but it's nice to have four 8-pin ports. So far I've been running the processor with some basic programs just to make sure it works (LED blinky, count in binary).
So I have a question for you all: since the programs are stored in RAM, when you turn off the computer, everything in RAM is lost. The PIC processor I am using has an internal EEPROM. When the computer shuts off, should I auto- backup the RAM to the EEPROM, and then load the EEPROM contents into RAM when the computer is turned back on? Or not? Or maybe do it some other way?
Here is the planned assembly language for the SP-10 computer; try writing neat programs! When I have the system finished, I will run your guys' programs and make videos of them!
In this table, X and Y just represent arguments.
The (updated) table is here: http://withg.org/spyro543/sp10/index.htm
Youtube Video:
So I have a question for you all: since the programs are stored in RAM, when you turn off the computer, everything in RAM is lost. The PIC processor I am using has an internal EEPROM. When the computer shuts off, should I auto- backup the RAM to the EEPROM, and then load the EEPROM contents into RAM when the computer is turned back on? Or not? Or maybe do it some other way?
Here is the planned assembly language for the SP-10 computer; try writing neat programs! When I have the system finished, I will run your guys' programs and make videos of them!
In this table, X and Y just represent arguments.
The (updated) table is here: http://withg.org/spyro543/sp10/index.htm
Youtube Video: