Date: 11-22-86(01:35)Number: 4363 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: RAY DUNCAN Read: (N/A) Subj: NOVIX CHIP Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Today I received an interesting Novix Chip single board computer from Klaus Flesch of Forth Systeme Angelika Flesch in West Germany. It is built on a single Eurocard and requires only +5 volts. It includes the Forth ROM, static RAM, serial port controller, etc. Fully assembled and tested, ready to plug in, it costs only $300. This is a price breakthrough for people wanting to experiment with the Novix chip! This is a professionally designed and built board and you don't have to waste weeks fiddling with it to get it to work --- just hook up five volts, run a ribbon cable to your IBM PC serial port, put the little terminal program that comes on an MS-DOS disk into your IBM PC, and program away! For those of you who are interested, you can call Klaus Flesch direct at Country code 49 7651 1665 You can dial direct as follows (if you have AT&T) 011 49 7651 1665 Or you can write to Klaus at Forth Systeme Angelika Flesch Postfach 1226 D-7820 Titisee-Neustadt WEST GERMANY They can UPS RED a board to you and get it to you in 3 or 4 days from Europe, though the shipping will cost you about $40. Date: 11-22-86 (13:32) Number: 4374 To: RAY DUNCAN Refer#: 4363 From: PAUL GRAY Read: YES Subj: NOVIX CHIP Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Can I assume then that it would operate on most any computer with RS232? Where does disk storage go off the Novix machine or the terminal machine? --- Paul Date: 11-23-86 (02:19) Number: 4386 To: PAUL GRAY Refer#: 4374 From: RAY DUNCAN Read: YES Subj: NOVIX CHIP Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE No disk storage, this is a single board computer but you can download source to it over the serial line. I imagine you could hook up any terminal at all to it, the PC is just handy for editing source code locally and then downloading it to the Novix board. Date: 11-23-86 (15:11) Number: 4399 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: JOE BROWN Read: (N/A) Subj: MORE ON NC4000 Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE I have received volumes 1 and 2 of "More on NC4000" by Ting. The first volume is about 25 pages and is composed of copies of various threads from the NC4000 users group bulletin board. Most of the items are dated before Jan. 1986. There is some information concerning the bit patterns of various instructions, but most of the information is also given in Tings other work ( Footsteps in an Empty Valley ). The second volume is about 3 times longer, and has more applications type information. There is a decompiler and various memory decoding schemes. On the whole, it is worth the $12.00. ( Volume 1 was $10.00 ) Date: 11-23-86 (15:23) Number: 4400 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: JOE BROWN Read: (N/A) Subj: NOVIX CASE Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE The following code is about the least complicated addition of the CASE construct to the cmForth vocabulary. It is based on the Eaker Case statement, but there is no compiler security. ( this is true of the other control words ( if, else,... ) in cmForth. This screen should be added after screen 30, and needs the compiler words COMPILER : CASE 0 : ( LEAVE FENCE ON STACK ) HEX : OF 8E50 , ( OVER ) COMPILE = \ IF 8E10 , ; : BITOF 8E50 , ( OVER ) 8210 , \ IF 8E10 , ; OCTAL : ENDOF \ BEGIN 130000 , SWAP \ THEN ; HEX : ENDCASE COMPILE DROP BEGIN ?DUP WHILE \ THEN REPEAT ; DECIMAL FORTH Notes : The above works, but I can't type ( should be ; not : after 0 in CASE ). BITOF is used to test for specific bits being on. The hex word 8210 is the code for AND. The symbol '\' is a synonym for [compile] and is defined in my version of cmForth, although it isn't shown in the Ting books. Other codes used are 8E10 = drop and octal 130000 is the unconditional branch ( for ELSE ). The actual target location of the branch is fixed up in the loop which is part of the ENDCASE word. I am about 90 % finished doing a decompiler which goes through the entire vocabulary. If there is any interest, I can provide copies of the code or figure out some way to upload it. I have found that decompiling the results of the 'smart compiler` is a sure way to get impressed with both the NC4000 and the amount of elegence which can be crammed into 2k words of code. Date: 11-25-86 (21:46) Number: 4436 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: JOE BROWN Read: (N/A) Subj: NOVIX WORDS Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Jerry, I'm not sure where this should go. Let me know if there is a better place. The following is a definition of 'WORDS' for the Novix nc4000 ( in particular, with the cmForth delivered with the forthkit. ) There is a version given in Ting's book, but it uses the delivered value of WIDTH = 2, and prints the width of the word followed by the first two characters. I have changed WIDTH to 8 ( which as I've said before, doesn't cost too much memory), and was interested in the locations rather than word length. In addition, the following formats the words in columns. In mu system, the following screens are loaded without the smart compiler, so shifts are done with / rather than the times. SCR 2 VARIABLE NPLINE : FORTH 1 CONTEXT ! ; : COMPILER 2 CONTEXT ! ; ( GIVES NAMES TO THE VOCAB THREADS ) : N0 CR 0 NPLINE ! ; : N+ 1 NPLINE +! NPLINE @ 3 > IF N0 THEN ; ( FOR COLUMN COUNT ) : CMIT 127 AND >R 31 127 I WITHIN IF R> ELSE R> DROP 46 THEN EMIT ; ( FOR NON-ASCII CHARACTERS ) : NTYPE ( ADDR W -- ) ( PRINT NAME WITH MAX OF W CHARACTERS ) >R DUP 6 U.R SPACE 2* DUP C@ 31 AND I MIN DUP R> SWAP - SPACES 1 - FOR 1 + DUP C@ CMIT NEXT DROP ; ( SCR 3 ) : .ID ( A -- A' ) ( TAKES LINK ADDR, PRINTS NAME LEAVING NEW LINK ADDR ) 1 @+ 8 NTYPE 4 SPACES ; ( @+ TAKES AN ADDRESS AND OFFSET, LEAVES (ADDRESS) ADDRESS+1 ) : WORDS N0 CONTEXT DUP @ - @ BEGIN .ID N+ DUP @ 0= UNTIL DROP ; Notes: The two vocabulary threads are pointed to by the two words before the location of CONTEXT. Thus, the phrase " CONTEXT DUP @ - @ " gets the contents of the CONTEXT thread. The word "WORDS" is called by vocab WORDS where "vocab" is either FORTH or COMPILER. Date: 11-27-86 (23:23) Number: 4455 To: RAY DUNCAN Refer#: 4363 From: SYSOP Read: YES Subj: NOVIX CHIP Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Ray, any chance of you becoming Klaus Flesch's US distributer for their Novix board? It sounds a lot easier to make work than Chuck's Computer Cowboy's kit and the price is right! I'd be very interested in a copy if it were available without hassling overseas distribution. Date: 12-02-86 (00:33) Number: 4484 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: DANIEL MILLER Read: (N/A) Subj: NOVIX 6000 Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE I uploaded a file called NC6000 whch is composed of crude notes from chip designer Bob Murphy and co designer John Ribble both now with the spinoff company QSD. They have been contracted to develop the NC6000. I also have the NOVIX preliminary data sheet descriYing the instructions and o>code format and register file. Cantact me if you need more specifics. Date: 12-02-86 (03:32) Number: 4493 To: SYSOP Refer#: 4455 From: RAY DUNCAN Read: YES Subj: NOVIX CHIP Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Yes we are interested in being a distributor for Klaus Flesch's board, but probably won't do it until we have a Metacompiler target ready for the Novix chip. We don't want to get into the hardware business unless we can support it with our own software tools... But if you want a single board from Klaus I can certainly get it for you, just call us up & place an order or give me the word... no problem at all. Date: 02-08-87(22:34)Number: 5420 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: SYSOP Read: (N/A) Subj: NOVIX STUFF Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE I thought I'd save Dan Miller the trouble and upload some of his recent comments on the Novix chip from BIX: ========================== forth/news #162, from dmiller, 629 chars, Fri Dec 26 18:39:50 1986 -------------------------- TITLE: computer cowboys Chuck has upgraded the forthkit. It now is called fk3 and has a Eurocard connector on one end and sports a Maxim rs-232 chip. The maxim chip is interesting since from a 5v input it generates its own +-10 volt standard rs-232 line voltages as well as buffering the input and output. The memory space is also larger with 32k on board. ( if you piggyback memory chips like in the ibm at you can get 256 k on board) You can still put it in your pocket! bixmail me if you need addr or number. I have one ordered and being assembled now by a friend in California and would be happy to answer any questions.