SIMPLEX - Part 2 - Running SIMPL Code out of External RAM

Running SIMPL Code out of External RAM

In part 1 I looked at the bulk access to the RAM chip using streaming mode - which takes about 3uS to access a byte.  With single byte access, there is the significant overhead of setting up the read instruction and the 24 bit address - making an access about 100uS.

For this reason, I propose a block access mode which loads in a block of 32 bytes into the SIMPL input buffer and executes the code at full speed from there.

Reading in 32 bytes in streaming mode will take around 100uS and then the code will execute at full speed out of internal RAM.

Writing some Commands

A   Assemble
B   Block Read
C   Compile
D   Decimal Dump
E    Execute (Read and Go combined)
F    File
G   Go
H   Hex Dump

We need a simple routine to load a block from RAM - based on the existing bulk read.

I use the  B command to signify a Block Read - and it takes a integer block number and loads the block into a temporary internal RAM buffer called block_array[]

Once the data is in the block_array buffer, it's a simple case of pointing the interpreter at the start of that buffer and letting it execute the code.

To initiate this process, I use the G  (Go) command.

The great thing about SIMPL is that the commands can be concatenated along a line  so to load and run Block 0 you just need to type  0BG.  You can then string these together so that multiple blocks are executed one after another  0BG1BG3BG2G  etc

We could now dispense with the BG construct, and just call it E for Execute.

SIMPL has grown a lot today - and even as I author it, there's a lot of new information and excitement to take in.  It's been a long but rewarding day getting the external RAM to work with SIMPL.

The latest code - with the ability to run code out of SRAM is on this github gist

In the next part, I look at data entry into the RAM and making a simple line editor.