Description

Ever had the experience of a 8 bit system, having max. 64k memory, using assembler to write effective small programs?
This system is an experimental 8 bit, 16 color computer, with a processer similar to Z80, that (on my laptop using linux with NO opengl support) achieves up to 1.2 Million instructions per second and 50 Hz. screen refresh rate.
It has a builtin assembler to load assembler programs.
There is a rudimentary rom that implements some basic functions like line input, or a system clock.
Also there is a snake game, (depending on that rom), as a reference and for fun!
Take a look. There will be some bugs (the hard reset is often a hard blue screen, [the assembler parser does not give correct line references in case of errors] (FIXED!!)), but the system is a stable one.
Take a look, give me your reply!
When having ideas for better performance, let me know!



The actual version is 1.7 (change notes see below).

First steps:
- start achtBit.sh on linux or achtBit.bat on windows
- you can now type in what you want, and will get an accurate echo (wow!)

to run snake:
- select "File - Open"
- in the "achtBit"-folder select the folder "snake"
- select "snake.asm" and load it
- the game will autostart

to write your own asm-program:
- select the views you need
- in the assembler view, type in "4000" as the start adress (where the ram starts),
or "2000" inside the ROM-area
- beside it you can type machine code in assembler
- you can find a list of rom-routines (more exactly the labels of "achtBit_rom.asm")
in the file "achtBit_rom_label.asm" (that is the file loaded when using
".import achtBit_rom" in your own ".asm"-file (see "snake.asm" for reference)

Have fun!

AchtBit Release Notes:

1.7- achtbit.jar
add the possibity to adjust the sound tempo in beats per
minute (bpm)
- instructions.pdf:
updated the ports
- snake.asm: added sounds and music
- achtBit_rom.asm: "sound_parser_abc:" plays songs in the
"abc"-Format.
- irishTunes.asm (new): some irish tunes in abc-Format that can be
played by "sound_parser_abc:"

1.6- achtBit.jar:
added a sound port (see assembler.pdf for usage)
- assembler.pdf, instructions.pdf:
updated due to sound implementation
1.5- helloworld.asm:
well... I was missing it!
- assembler.pdf:
inserted the helloworld-source and some tables for better understanding
1.4- achtBit_rom:
added comments
- assembler.pdf
created a reference doc for the builtin assembler
1.3- achtbit:
now the assembler displays error messages with correct
line numbers and the corresponding filename.
the filemenu now just says "Load" and "Save"
1.2- snake:
keys again - now both game keys and arrows work
added a short help screen
1.1- snake_menu.asm:
changed the keys to Arrow-Up,
Arrow-Down and Enter
- snake_level.asm
addet level no. 7
1.0- Initial Release

The complete source of achtBit is available under the
GLP 3 at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/achtbit