[comp.sys.handhelds] More about Saturn Mnemonics

grahamf@hparc0.HP.COM (Graham Fraser) (12/21/90)

Some time ago I asked:

GF> Why are people re-inventing the wheel and developing their own
GF> sets of Saturn mnemonics ???

This question sparked a couple of interesting responses:

> An individual who would complain about another set of mnemonics
> which serves to facilitate the use of the Saturn language to more
> people,  should reexamine their position on the issue.

An interesting comment,  but I was not complaining.  It was a fair
question that I thought might initiate some valid discussion on the point.
As a long-time HP calculator enthusiast,  I have a great deal of respect
to those who share their efforts and discoveries with the rest of the
user community.  Alonzo,  and others,  have made considerable 
contributions,  and I am certainly not complaining about that !!

Someone mentioned that there are assemblers (user developed) 
available that use Alonzo's mnemonics.  But since the HP mnemonics 
were fully documented and available before Alonzo's,  my original
question still stands.



----------

About HP Mnemonics:

> How would I get a list of these and their opcodes, etc ?
> mcgrant@portia.stanford.edu

> Some people speak like all I have to write off to educalc or hp
> for them.
> tim  sca@en.ecn.purdue.edu

Well that is about all that you need to do to get the HP Saturn
Mnemonics.  The part# is HP00071-90068  HP71 Internal Design
Specifications (IDS) Volume 1.  EduCalc had this item on their 
pricelist (but it is not in the current catalog).  HP would be
able to advise you regarding availability  -  its on the
Australian HP pricelist (but not held in stock).

The HP71 IDS Vol 1 chapter 16 is titled "HP-71 ASSEMBLER 
INSTRUCTION SET".  This chapter provides details of the mnemonics
provided by the assembler used by the HP 71 software development team.
The mnemonics described here are the same mnemonics used for the 
following calculators:
	HP71  10  14  17  19  20  21  22  32  42  28  &  48
Some CPUs have more instructions than the others,  but there is not
much difference.

In Ch16,  each mnemonic is completely described.  The best way to
explain this is with an example from the IDS:

________________________________________________________________________

?A=B   fs  -  Test for A equal to B
---------
fs = A				opcode:  8A0yy
				cycles:  13 + d (GO/RTNYES)
					  6 + d (NO)

fs = (P,WP,XS,X,S,M,B,W)	opcode:  9a0yy
				cycles:  13 + d (GO/RTNYES)
					  6 + d (NO)

Test whether the fs field of A is equal to the fs field of B.  Must
be followed by a GOYES or RTNYES mnemonic.  yy is determined by the
following RTNYES or GOYES.  Ajusts Carry.
________________________________________________________________________

There are 160+ pages in the chapter describing the HP 71 Saturn mnemonics.


> Would HP really help if we used their mnemonics?  I doubt it
> this would probably be a taboo subject with them.  If they
> were going to help,  they could have released some tools.

I am sure that you would see a few more contributions from HP if
their mnemonics were used.  Essentially the HP team that "lives 
and breathes" HP mnemonics,  does not have the time to learn a 
whole new set,  and their machines are setup to test and run HP
mnemonics.

From my contact with the people from HP,  both in Australia and in
Corvallis,  they appear to be more open than most other companies.
I am sure that HP has a desire to release more information,  but HP
is a company with a good reputation.  So,  even if they were to release
some information under NOMAS  -  NO MAnufacturer Support  -  they
probably feel that they have a moral obligation to meet a specified
standard before anything can be released.

The HP Calculator R&D Labs are a small lab within a small division of 
HP.  As such,  their resources  -  manpower and $$$$$  -  is limited.
Most of those resources have been devoted to the HP48SX.  I feel sure
that now the HP48 has been out for some time,  some of those 
resources may be directed to providing tools for program developers.
(but I suppose that there is always another cat in the bag occupying
those resources).

For instance,  I know that a new Program Development Link utility 
program for the PC has just been added to the corporate pricelist.
The new utility,  also known as PC LINK II,  is a useful tool for
HP 48SX user code programmers.  I believe that the Program 
Development Link will be available (USA) towards the end of January/
early February.  Watch this space for details !!!!!!!

Perhaps the release of PDL is the first of a series of
developmental tools for HP48 programmers  -  I hope so!

One final note:  I would like to stress that I am not employed by
HP,  and that these notes do not reflect the opinions of HP.

In the meantime,

Happy 48SXmas.


Coconut => HalNut => Titan => Paladin => Orlando => Charlemagne => ?????

slsw2@cc.usu.edu (12/28/90)

In article <2470005@hparc0.HP.COM>, grahamf@hparc0.HP.COM (Graham Fraser) writes:
> Some time ago I asked:
> 
> GF> Why are people re-inventing the wheel and developing their own
> GF> sets of Saturn mnemonics ???
>       ... It was a fair
> question that I thought might initiate some valid discussion on the point.
>       ... But since the HP mnemonics 
> were fully documented and available before Alonzo's,  my original
> question still stands.

I never answered your first post, but I am one of the veritable plethora
of people inventing mnemonics for the Saturn Assembly Language.

In my case the reason I invented my own is, quite simply, to come up with a
set that it was easy to coax M80 (Microsoft's macro assembler for CP/M) to
assemble.
-- 
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Roger Ivie

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