z80_monitor/README.md

# Z80 UART monitor

This project provides a resident BIOS, an interactive monitor, and ROM-resident
applications for a Z80 system with a UART/CTC card at I/O base `20`.

At reset, a small ROM bootstrap copies only the BIOS and monitor into the top
16 KiB at `C000`. Before copying, it writes `06` to banking port `00`: ROM
remains enabled, banking is enabled, and `C000-FFFF` maps to the upper physical
16 KiB. The BIOS then initializes interrupt mode 2 and the UART and starts the
monitor. Applications remain in ROM and execute in place while calling the
stable BIOS jump table in high RAM. Tiny BASIC is the first such application,
linked at ROM address `1000`.

Connect a terminal at **2400 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit**.
Commands are case-insensitive and all numeric arguments are hexadecimal; an
optional `0x` prefix is accepted.

| Command | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `D 8000` | Dump 40 bytes starting at address 8000 |
| `D 8000 20` | Dump 20 bytes starting at address 8000 |
| `C 8000 BFFF` | Compute the 16-bit additive checksum of an inclusive range |
| `W 8000 3E 41 D3 25 C9` | Write bytes starting at address 8000 |
| `I 20` | Read I/O port 20 |
| `O 20 57` | Write 57 to I/O port 20 |
| `G 8000` | Execute code at address 8000 |
| `G 1000` | Start the ROM-resident Z80 Tiny BASIC interpreter |
| `B` or `BASIC` | Shortcut for `G 1000` |
| `HELP` | Show the command summary |

`G` transfers control with a return address on the stack, so code ending in
`RET` returns to the monitor. Code that changes the stack pointer, interrupt
mode, or UART/CTC setup must restore it before returning.

`C` adds every byte from the start through the end address, inclusive, and
prints the low 16 bits of the sum as four hexadecimal digits. The end address
must be greater than or equal to the start address.

Build the ROM and programmer-format images with:

```sh
make
```

## Uploading Intel HEX files

`program_ihex.py` can write an Intel HEX file to memory through the running
monitor. It sends data in small blocks with `W`, checks every block with `C`,
and retries a failed write or checksum before giving up. It requires Python 3
and [pySerial](https://pyserial.readthedocs.io/).

```sh
python3 -m pip install pyserial
python3 program_ihex.py /dev/ttyUSB0 program.hex
```

The default connection is 2400 baud, the default block size is 16 bytes, and
three retries are allowed after the initial attempt. For example:

```sh
python3 program_ihex.py /dev/ttyUSB0 program.hex --retries 5 --block-size 24
```

Use a Windows port such as `COM3` in place of `/dev/ttyUSB0`. Run
`python3 program_ihex.py --help` for all options. The monitor must be sitting at
its `>` prompt before starting the upload. Only data records present in the HEX
file are written; gaps are left unchanged. The HEX addresses must refer to
writable memory and must not overwrite the running monitor at `C000-FFFF`.

The outputs are:

- `build/metal/monitor.bin`: complete 32 KiB ROM image
- `build/metal/monitor.prog.bin`: compact image ending at the last occupied byte
- `build/tinybasic/tinybasic.bin`: standalone relocated Tiny BASIC payload

The current compact image is 6,157 bytes. Its ROM layout is:

- `0000-007F`: reset/copy bootstrap
- `0080-0FEA`: packed BIOS+monitor image copied to RAM at `C000-CF6A`
- `0FEB-0FFF`: unused space reserved for the resident image to grow
- `1000-180C`: Tiny BASIC, executed directly from ROM
- `180D-7FFF`: unused space available for additional ROM content

The resident image starts at `C000`, its IM 2 vector table is at `C040`, and
linked code starts at `C080`. The bootstrap obtains the resident copy length
from a linker symbol, so it tracks BIOS and monitor changes automatically.

The resulting RAM layout is:

- `8000-AFFF`: Tiny BASIC workspace and BASIC program text
- `B000-B077`: Tiny BASIC variables and input buffer
- `B078-BFFF`: Tiny BASIC stack space
- `C000-CF6A`: resident BIOS, vectors, services, and monitor
- `CF6B-EFFF`: free space for resident-image growth
- `F000-FFFF`: BIOS globals, UART buffers, and monitor stack

The BIOS and monitor continue to work if low ROM is disabled. ROM-resident
applications naturally require ROM to remain mapped while they execute.

The banking latch bits used by the bootstrap are bit 0 `ROM_DISABLE`, bit 1
`BANK_SELECT`, and bit 2 `BANK_ENABLE`. Its initial value `06` leaves ROM on and
selects the lower physical 48 KiB plus the upper physical 16 KiB. Writing `07`
later disables ROM without changing that split mapping. Writing `05` selects
the complete upper physical 64 KiB; the monitor remains available because its
`C000-FFFF` image was placed in that upper bank during boot.

## BIOS interface

Assembly applications include `include/bios.inc` and call these fixed entries:

| Address | Service | Interface |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `C050` | `BIOS_PUTC` | Write character in `A` |
| `C053` | `BIOS_TRY_GETC` | Return character in `A`, or zero |
| `C056` | `BIOS_GETC` | Wait for and return a character in `A` |
| `C059` | `BIOS_IO_OUT` | Write `L` to port `A` |
| `C05C` | `BIOS_IO_IN` | Read port `A`, returning the value in `A` |
| `C05F` | `BIOS_DELAY_MS` | Delay approximately `HL` milliseconds |
| `C062` | `BIOS_MONITOR` | Warm-start the monitor; does not return |
| `C065` | `BIOS_BANK` | `A=0`: split lower 48K/upper 16K; otherwise select upper 64K |
| `C068` | `BIOS_ROM_DISABLE` | Disable ROM while retaining the selected RAM mapping |

The service wrappers preserve working registers except for documented return
values. The monitor uses the corresponding C API declared in `bios.h`.

The banking latch at port `00` is write-only, so the BIOS keeps a persistent
shadow byte initialized to `06` by the copied resident image. `BIOS_BANK`
always leaves banking enabled and changes only the bank selection while
retaining the shadowed ROM-disable bit and auxiliary-output bits.
`BIOS_ROM_DISABLE` sets the ROM-disable bit and is idempotent. Code should not
write port `00` through `BIOS_IO_OUT` or the monitor's `O` command after using
these services, because such writes bypass the BIOS shadow state.

The equivalent C API is `bios_bank(uint8_t bank)` and
`bios_rom_disable(void)`. A ROM-resident caller cannot return normally after
selecting the complete upper 64 KiB or disabling ROM, because its return
address is no longer mapped; it must arrange its continuation in RAM.

Project organization:

- `boot.asm`: ROM bootstrap, high vectors, BIOS jump table, and assembly glue
- `bios.c` / `bios.h`: UART, buffers, interrupts, and resident BIOS API
- `monitor.c`: command interpreter implemented on the BIOS API
- `apps/tinybasic.asm`: first ROM-resident application
- `apps/README.md`: ROM application memory and integration contract
- `include/bios.inc`: stable assembly interface for ROM applications

## Tiny BASIC

Tiny BASIC is built from `apps/tinybasic.asm`. The port replaces fixed low-page
`RST` calls with relocatable calls and uses a marker-based command table so it
can be linked at a nonzero ROM address.

Tiny BASIC is linked at and runs directly from ROM address `1000`. Start it from
the monitor with:

```text
B
```

`BASIC` and `G 1000` are equivalent alternatives.

Tiny BASIC calls the BIOS at `C050` for output and `C053` for non-blocking
input. Tiny BASIC keeps interrupts enabled so it can share the BIOS-configured
interrupt-driven UART.

Line editing accepts either `BS` (`08`) or `DEL` (`7F`) for backspace and emits
`BS SPACE BS` so ANSI-style terminals erase the character visually. Ctrl-U
clears the complete input line.

During execution, Ctrl-O toggles output suppression without stopping the BASIC
program. Press Ctrl-O again to resume output. Ctrl-C stops execution and
returns to the Tiny BASIC prompt.

Tiny BASIC resets the stack pointer when it starts, so it does not currently
return through the monitor's `G` call. Reset the machine to return to the
monitor. The first currently unused ROM byte is `180D`; `1900` is a convenient
aligned starting point for another ROM payload.