Added a source code file date check when reading DWARF information
[clinton/Virtual-Jaguar-Rx.git] / docs / vj_HistoryNotes.txt
1 Release 5 (TBA)
2 ---------------
3 0) Added a date creation stamp in the application command line information
4 - This date already appears in the Release 4 executable but was not referenced in his history note
5 1) Added a specific breakpoint for the M68K illegal instruction exception
6 -- Alert box will display a message and then the code will stop
7 2) Added a specific breakpoint for the M68K address error exception
8 -- Alert box will display a message and then the code will stop
9 3) Added a HW registers browser window and set a tab for the Blitter
10 4) Added detection for the unsigned/signed short type
11 -- Will allow the return of a short type variable's value
12 5) Added a specific breakpoint for the M68K Unimplemented instruction, and Exception not referenced exceptions
13 6) Fix potential emulator freeze after an exception has occured
14 7) Fix a random crash when reading the source lines information
15 8) Added ELF & DWARF .debug* types
16 9) Added ELF section types check and new error messages
17 10) Modified the call stack layout window and added source filename from the called source line
18 11) Added a source tab in the main window for step into tracing
19 12) Added the step over for source level tracing
20 13) Project has switched to libdwarf 20200114 library 64bits for VS 2017
21 14) Set text conversion to Qt/HTML format for the M68K tracing window
22 15) Added a source code file date check when reading DWARF information
23 -- Will avoid source code mismatching with the ELF executable
24
25 Release 4a (15th August 2019)
26 -----------------------------
27 Git commit: f04df4f185ed4f3cfc805d0f61b3c019a108ae2c
28 -
29 0) Fix specific breakpoint for ROM cartridge or unknown memory location writing
30
31 Release 4 (10th August 2019)
32 ----------------------------
33 Git commit: 9b25d85d1ea4a9476b83476bcec65e05464f68da
34 -
35 0) The zoom value setting has been fixed in the registry
36 1) Debugger mode now shares the same alpine rom path setting
37 2) Local variables window displays register name now
38 3) Switch to Zlib 1.2.11 static library 64bits for VS 2017
39 4) Switch to SDL 1.2.15 static library 64bits for VS 2017
40 5) Local variables window displays values from function's parameters
41 6) Fixed the typedef's name display in Local and Watch variables window
42 7) Breakpoint may now occur in case of a ROM cartridge writing
43 -- ROM cartridge writing detection follow the alpine "allow writes to cartridge rom"'s flag check
44 -- Alert box will display a message with possibility to pass or not the breakpoint only if this is related to a 8 or 16 bits ROM access
45 8) Local variables window detects now if a variable is used or not by the code
46 9) The address provided in the debugger memory windows is now verified to prevent crash
47 -- Wrong address will be displayed in red
48 10) UI changes
49 -- Added new icons for the exit and status features
50 -- Modified icons for the SP (Stack) browser
51 -- Unified icons sizes depend on their usage (drop down menu and main menu)
52 -- Underline the active M68K line in the disassembly window
53 -- Allow the up/down navigation on the SP (Stack) browser
54 -- Restart function cleans-up the SP (Stack) browser and the heap allocator system
55 -- Fixed the up navigation on the memory window
56 11) Added some log information for the emulator initialisations
57 12) Breakpoint will happen in case of writing at unknown memory location
58 -- Alert box will display a message and then the code will stop
59 13) Added the DRAM size in the emulator status window
60 14) Debugger sources code clean-up
61 15) Added a call stack feature
62 16) Follow platform requirement to prevent source file reading issue
63 17) UI modifications
64 -- Modified icon for the memory window to make a distinction with the memory browser
65 -- The all watch, and Exception Vector Table windows, can be closed using keyboard
66 -- Renamed the debugger dedicated icons to make a distinction
67 -- Added the call stack window
68 18) Fixed a crash in the all watch window after loading a new binary without ELF/DWARF information
69 -- Previously used ELF/DWARF information was still accessible
70 19) Fixed slash/backslash issue, in the Alpine tab, to follow platform requirement
71 20) Heap allocation window uses the DRAM size limit option and detect if heap allocation shares space with SP (Stack)
72 21) Added a Jaguar model and BIOS configuration tab
73 22) Jaguar model and BIOS configuration integration
74 23) Added LEB128 decoding functions
75 -- It is used for the DWARF decoding information
76 24) Debugger support improvement
77 -- DWARF support for the enum type (partial), structure and subroutine type
78 -- Debugger can report variable's unsigned char value
79 25) UI modifications
80 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the heap allocation window
81 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the local variables window
82 -- Added better information display for the exception vectors table window, and added some missing vectors
83 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the call stack window
84 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the all watches window
85 26) Added screenshot feature
86 -- Not accessible in debugger mode
87 -- Added screenshot editable path in the general tab, and a key binding
88 27) Minor misspellings fixes
89 28) DWARF source code directory path clean-up
90 29) Added a source code files list viewer
91 -- List comes from the DWARF information
92 30) Check potential variables missing/incomplete description found in the DWARF information
93 -- No crash involved but can help to reduce such as variables duplicate or the blank ones
94 31) Added a sorting filter in the all watches window
95 32) Improve source code file reading to avoid additional text/bytes reading
96 33) Help & content texts updates
97 34) Fixed a crash legacy issue when emulator launches in Alpine mode without a valid rom
98 35) Added the support for the used lines source's DWARF structure
99 -- Mostly used to handle missing subprogram's lines information, and missing CU's low/high PC
100 36) Added the Rx version's contact in the help text
101 37) Added search paths in case of missing DWARF directories information
102 -- Used to look for the file(s)
103 38) Setup CU's low/high PC in case of the DWARF structures doesn't have it
104 -- Used mostly to allow display the source assembled with vasm
105 39) Added function name support from ELF structure
106 40) Added the return address information in the call stack
107 41) Added multiple breakpoints feature, and their key bindings, for functions only
108 42) Added timer initialisation for the SDL setup
109 43) Added a cartridge view menu
110 -- Added a window to display my own directory and his files list
111 44) Debugger sources code clean-up
112 45) Fix a crash when emulator, in non-debugger mode, opens the breakpoint UIs at launch
113 46) Fix crash with potential missing DWARF structure tag's type name
114 47) Added ELF sections check so a potential unknown section will stop, or not stop, the decoding
115 48) Project has switched to Qt 5.12.0 library 64bits for VS 2017
116 49) Added a Save Dump As... feature to save a memory zone to a file
117 50) The -d command line option, dedicated to the debugger, has been renamed to avoid duplication with the dsp one
118 -- -d has been renamed by -D because another -d was also used for the dsp command line option
119 51) Removed the sorting filter in the all watches window
120 52) Fix the support of the DRAM size limit option in the heap allocation window
121 53) Set cartridge view menu for debugger mode only
122 54) Prevent crash in case of call stack is out of range
123
124 Release 3 (13th November 2017)
125 ------------------------------
126 Git commit: b1b673a3b0d19e3c2c45b6590b773b11e45bced7
127 -
128 0) Fixed the windows respawning in the next emulator launch within --alpine or --debugger options
129 1) Added an Exception Vector Table window
130 2) Modified the About window to update the credits list in a more appropriate way
131 -- Updated the emulator application credits line
132 3) Added 'Rx' word to the emulator name
133 4) Fixed a crash when reading the DWARF information in the case of the DWARF2 format has not been used
134 5) Added ui, alpine and debugger groups in the settings
135 6) Added the possibility to erase settings
136 7) Added the --es-all, --es-ui, --es-alpine and --es-debugger options to erase specific settings
137 8) Added a key bindings tab and adapted the configuration dialog tabs
138 -- User can modify the key bindings where appropriate
139 -- Key bindings UI is displayed based on the option used (--debugger, -- alpine)
140 9) Fixed a crash, in Release mode, when the HW labels setting is turn on
141 10) Solved an interference between the HW labels setting and the one used by the debugger
142 -- The setting is now only the reference used
143 11) Fixed the SP (Stack) browser UI potential missing data
144 12) Create a directory for EEPROMs (based on the EEPROMs setting) if it doesn't already exist
145 13) Keep the scrollbar position in accordance of the M68K PC pointer
146 -- UI displays the source without the need to move down/up the scrollbar
147 14) Fixed a crash when DWARF information report a source line number exceeding the number of lines present in a source file
148 -- This may come from the linker vlink
149 15) Improved the .heap section detection to avoid a detection error
150 -- Depend vlink version, .heap section may have an Alloc flag
151 16) Fixed a crash when DWARF information does references to missing source code files
152 17) Added a local variables window
153 18) Project has switched to Visual Studio 2017 and Qt 5.9.1 library
154
155 Release 2 (3rd September 2017)
156 ------------------------------
157 0) Added some error detections when reading the ELF executable file
158 1) Added all hardware labels (based on the document scans from the Version 2.4 - June 7, 1995)
159 2) "Step Over" code function for BSR/JSR functions
160 3) Added the .debug_ranges detection to avoid a detection error
161 4) DWARF support
162 -- TAG: Compilation Unit, Subprogram, Variables, Types
163 -- Line numbers, symbols, functions
164 5) Added an All Watch window for non-local variables
165 6) Added a heap allocator window based on my own memory allocation functions
166 7) Added additional 4 memory windows with address input based on hexa, decimal or symbol name
167 8) Windows refreshing executed only if windows is visible
168 9) Added a restart function
169 -- Restart only the 68000 program counter to his original set
170 10) Modified the icons color backgound for the "Step In" and "Step Over" functions
171 11) Updated the About window to update the credits list
172 12) 64 bits Release executable
173 13) Fixed (hacking) the display of the SP (Stack) browser
174 14) Set the emulator in Halt mode when launched in alpine debug mode without a loaded rom
175 -- Otherwise the 68000 program counter will have a 0 value and will execute the code at this address
176 15) Added some information in the --help/-h/-? option
177 16) --debugger option no longer force the log file
178 17) Added a --dram-max option to extend the DRAM size to 8MB
179 18) Added the "enter" key support when setting the BPM (Breapoint)
180 19) Save the windows positions, size and visibilities (show or hide) status
181 -- Such windows will automatically respawn in the next emulator launch
182
183 Release 1 (12th February 2017)
184 ------------------------------
185 0) BPM (Breapoint) now stop at the designated address and no longer stop after executing the code
186 1) Clean-up the tracing / no-tracing flags for better U.I understanding
187 2) Added SP (Stack) browser
188 3) User can change now the number of lines of disassembly displayed in the tracing window
189 4) User can turn on/off the op-codes associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
190 5) Added an emulator status window (GPU status, M68K debugger and tracking status)
191 6) Added a GPU disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
192 7) Added a DSP disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
193 8) Added possibility to change refresh rate of browsers when emulation is launched
194 9) Display partial hardware labels (Internal Memory and Graphics sub-system address space) in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
195 -- Display first the hardware labels (based from the Jag V8 dev. PDF) and then the ones possibly found in the ELF debug symbol
196 10) Minor U.I cosmetic changes
197 11) User can turn on/off the hardware labels associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
198 -- It doesn't apply to the hardware labels possibly found in the ELF debug symbol
199
200 Release 0 (5th January 2017)
201 ----------------------------
202 0) New option --debugger
203 1) ELF format support
204 2) ELF debug symbol support
205 3) "Step Into" code function
206 4) Menus layout dedicated to the debugger
207 5) Added a dedicated main window for tracing (M68K)
208 6) Added a Debugger tab in the config tab
209 7) Visual Studio 2015 project support
210 8) libelf-0.8.13 library support
211 9) 64 bits debug executable only
212
213
214 Known issues
215 ============
216 1) Video output is not displayed due to my OpenGL / Qt5 5.5.1 integration with VS 2015 but solved when using the Qt 5.9.1 package for VS 2017
217 2) The BPM (Breapoint) remains stuck on his address when user wants to continue the code execution
218 -- Need to trace over the BPM or unset the BPM
219 -- The issue can be prevented if the code doesn't set IRQ, otherwise the IRQ will need to be traced to get back control
220 3) DWARF 2 support
221 -- With GCC: the code must be compiled with the -gdwarf-2 option
222 4) The Local and Watch variables window may display not available type information or empty information
223 -- Such missing information may be included in future release
224 -- The 'const' type may not be reported correctly in the DWARF information
225 5) The 2MB mirroring is no longer applied in case of --dram-max option usage
226 6) Stack must reflect the --dram-max option usage otherwise the stack may be corrupted
227 -- The application needs to set the SP (Stack) in accordance
228 7) The Exception Vector Table window displays only 65 vectors
229 -- Missing vectors may be added in future release
230 8) User needs to manualy check if the Atari Jaguar executable match his source code files
231 -- Otherwise, source code and assembly may not match or leads to instabilities
232 9) The emulator needs to be restarted in case of the following actions occur
233 -- Key bindings changes
234 -- BIOS selection changes and without new executable load
235 10) In the case of a ROM cartridge writing, and with occuring breakpoint, the PC pointer will point at the next instruction and not at the instruction causing the breakpoint
236 11) Emulator will crash in case of wrong address value provided in the memory browser
237 12) The RAM access log is limited to the 2MB
238 13) In various occasions, global variables may be duplicated or without name in the DWARF information
239 -- It may come from the Vlink linker and/or GCC 7.1.0 or 8.2.0 compilation with -gdwarf-2 option
240 14) Source code disply only assembled code from vasm with option -dwarf
241 15) After a new breakpoint set, the breakpoint list window is not refreshed
242 -- User must perform an operation, such code tracing, to see the breakpoints list update
243 16) Some ASCII characters may be not displayed correctly
244 -- Probably depend how the text is displayed, this is related to the Qt/HTML encoding done when reading DWARF file
245 17) Potential legacy crash when leaving emulator in pause mode for a long period of time
246 -- Need much investigation
247
248 Cosmetic / UX issues
249 ====================
250 1) The SP (Stack) icon color backgound doesn't look similar with the other ones
251 2) The SP (Stack) browser size always open at a forced size no matter if the size has been changed
252 3) Not every features have associated key bindings
253
254 Legacy issues/hints
255 ===================
256 1) Emulator seems to have easter egg(s)
257 -- The option --yarrr displays a single message and end the application
258 -- Pressing F8, while in the main window, will create an extra message in the log file
259 2) The --alpine option force the log file but it can be override if --no-log option is set after the --alpine option
260
261 Project information
262 ===================
263 1) Code based on the Shamus Hammons source code available via Gethub by the 12th September 2017 (2.1.3 Final)
264 2) Visual Studio 2017 project support for 64 bits
265 3) libelf 0.8.13 library 64bits for VS 2017
266 4) libdwarf 20200114 library 64bits for VS 2017
267 5) Qt 5.12.0 library 64bits for VS 2017
268 6) Zlib 1.2.11 library 64bits for VS 2017
269 7) SDL 1.2.15 library 64bits for VS 2017
270 8) The original make files have been modified to follow the requirements and modifications
271 9) The 'Rx' word has been added to the emulator name to make distinction with the official version
272 10) The project is set at https://github.com/djipi/Virtual-Jaguar-Rx
273 11) GPLv3 file document has been renamed as LICENSE, to fit better the GitHub requirements
274 -- Text / License terms are the same
275 14) The x86 configuration has been removed in the VS 2017 project
276
277
278 Download statistics
279 -------------------
280 jaguar64eu : 15 downloads for the Release 0 on the 12th Feb, 2017
281 jaguar64eu : 18 downloads for the Release 1 on the 21st May, 2017
282 No downloads statistics available for the Release 2
283 No downloads statistics available for the Release 3