retroforth/vm/nga-c-native-x86/README.md

RETRO/NATIVE

This directory contains some experiments in building a RETRO system to run directly on hardware. As a stepping stone, it also includes some builds which require a host kernel, but no standard C library.

Initial Objectives:

• Reuse as much of the existing VM implementation (in C) as possible.
• Don't require a full blown kernel & userland to run
• Work with a completely standard RETRO image
• Minimally viable system: the basic listener (REPL)
• Work on 32-bit x86 systems

Future Goals:

• Support for more processors

  • x86-64
  • ARM (32-bit)
  • ARM (64-bit)
  • RISC-V
  • MIPS M4K (PIC32)

Current Status:

• Working builds w/minimal host dependencies:

  • FreeBSD (32-bit, x86)
  • FreeBSD (64-bit, x86)
  • Linux (32-bit, x86)
  • Native (32-bit, x86, multiboot)