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Introduction
Porting tools
PortAsm
Z8K to PowerPC
PortAsm FAQ
PortAsm Pricing
PortAsm Support
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PortAsm/Z8K for PowerPC is a source-code translator which
converts Zilog Z8000 assembly-language code into efficient, optimized, and
maintainable PowerPC assembly-language. It provides a fast, easy and
reliable way to port Z8000 assembler to the PowerPC architecture,
avoiding the need for a lengthy and difficult re-write, which can
introduce new bugs into a mature body of source code. It can be used
either for applications written wholly in assembler, or for
translating the assembler portions of applications written partly in
Z8K assembler and partly in a high-level language such as C or
Pascal.
PortAsm/Z8K analyzes the original source code, and separates the
semantic meaning of Z8000 instructions or sequences of instructions
from irrelevant side effects such as condition code updates which are
not needed. After expanding macros and tokenizing the source file,
PortAsm/Z8K:
- Examines the Z8000 instructions in detail, analyzing content
and program flow.
- Maps Z8000 registers on to PowerPC registers, optimizing over
blocks of code.
- Replaces sequences of Z8000 instructions with efficient
PowerPC equivalents.
- Reproduces only the required behaviour of the Z8000 code,
eliminating irrelevant side-effects as much as possible.
- Adapts the code to fit into the target runtime environment.
- Outputs a translated PowerPC source file, optionally retaining
comments.
- Optionally outputs additional debugging directives.
Features
- Powerful, easy-to-use source-code analyzer and optimizing code
generator.
- Produces easy-to-read PowerPC assembler source code that uses
the original symbolic labels and variable names.
- Retains the original Z8000 code in the output file as
comments, making the translation process transparent and aiding
debugging (the original comments may also be retained).
- Users can include hand-written PowerPC assembler in the
original Z8000 source, which with conditional assembly directives
makes it easy to maintain a single source base for both Z8000 and
PowerPC targets.
- Powerful code generation optimizations can be selectively
enabled/disabled.
- Integrates into the standard build process for easy code
maintenance after the initial port.
- Supports source-level debugging, using the original Z8000 code
as source, making debugging very simple even for users who have
little PowerPC assembler knowledge.
Supported PowerPC target assemblers
- IBM 'as'
- Metaware/Tasking 'asppc'
- Diab Data 'das'
- Gnu 'gas'
- Metrowerks CodeWarrior (hosted under the CodeWarrior IDE)
- Mentor Graphics Microtec 'asmppc'
- WindRiver Tornado (Gnu gas)
Supported Runtime Environments
- EABI/ELF standard for embedded applications (with DWARF
debugging)
- XCOFF-format (AIX, MacOS, and PowerOpen compatible)
- SVR4/ELF PowerPC standard
Supported Hosts
- Sun SPARC under Solaris
- Linux (x86)
- Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP (Console applocation)
- IBM RISC System/6000 under AIX
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