Magic‐1 Emulator Project Status Analysis - retrotruestory/M1DEV GitHub Wiki

Magic-1 Emulator Project Status Analysis

Based on the code I've reviewed so far, here's an assessment of your Magic-1 emulator project:

Implemented Components

  1. CPU Core:

    • Basic CPU operations (execute, step, start, stop, halt)
    • Microcode execution framework
    • Beginning of instruction execution logic

  2. Memory Management:

    • Memory read/write operations
    • ROM loading capability
    • I/O memory mapping

  3. I/O Devices:

    • UART implementation (mostly complete)
    • IDE controller framework with register interface
    • RTC device placeholder

  4. Tools:

    • Disk image creation utility (fully implemented)
    • FAT16 filesystem support

  5. Main Application:

    • Command-line argument handling
    • GUI/headless mode options
    • Basic emulator initialization

Components In Progress

  1. Instruction Set:

    • Not all Z80-like instructions are implemented
    • Microcode implementation incomplete

  2. Debugger Support:

    • Breakpoint manager missing
    • Disassembler incomplete

  3. Emulation Loop:

    • Threading foundation exists but execution loop incomplete
    • Missing CPU throttling for accurate timing

  4. Disk Controller:

    • IDE interface started but command handling incomplete
    • Partition analysis exists but not fully integrated

Missing Components

  1. GUI Implementation:

    • Main window classes need implementation
    • Debug views (registers, memory, disassembly) missing
    • Console I/O interface incomplete

  2. Test Suite:

    • Systematic tests for instruction execution
    • Test ROMs for various functions

  3. Documentation:

    • User guide
    • Developer documentation
    • Inline code comments could be improved

Recommendations for Next Steps

Based on what I've seen, I recommend focusing on these areas to get the emulator to a working state:

  1. Complete the CPU instruction set implementation

    • Prioritize the core instructions needed to run test programs
    • Implement microcode for complex instructions

  2. Finish the emulation thread loop

    • Add proper timing/throttling
    • Implement clean pausing/resuming

  3. Complete the MainWindow UI implementation

    • Focus on necessary views: registers, memory, disassembly, console
    • Implement start/stop/step/reset functionality

  4. Create a simple test ROM

    • Develop a test program that exercises all implemented instructions
    • Add console I/O tests to verify UART functionality

Would you like me to focus on implementing any of these specific components next?