docs/vj_ReleaseNotes.txt

   1 Release 4 (TBD)
   2 ---------------
   3 0) The zoom value setting has been fixed in the registry
   4 1) Debugger mode now shares the same alpine rom path setting
   5 2) Local variables window displays register name now
   6 3) Switch to Zlib 1.2.11 library 64bits for VS 2017
   7 4) Switch to SDL 1.2.15 static library 64bits for VS 2017
   8 5) Local variables window displays values from function's parameters
   9 6) Fixed the typedef's name display in Local and Watch variables window
  10 7) ROM cartridge writing detection follow the alpine "allow writes to cartridge rom"'s flag check
  11 -- Breakpoint can now occur in the case of a ROM cartridge writing
  12 -- 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
  13 8) Local variables window detects now if a variable is used or not by the code
  14
  15 Release 3 (13th November 2017)
  16 ------------------------------
  17 0) Fixed the windows respawning in the next emulator launch within --alpine or --debugger options
  18 1) Added an Exception Vector Table browser window
  19 2) Modified the About window to update the credits list in a more appropriate way
  20 -- Updated the emulator application credits line
  21 3) Added 'Rx' word to the emulator name
  22 4) Fixed a crash when reading the DWARF information in the case of the DWARF2 format has not been used
  23 5) Added ui, alpine and debugger groups in the settings
  24 6) Added the possibility to erase settings
  25 7) Added the --es-all, --es-ui, --es-alpine and --es-debugger options to erase specific settings
  26 8) Added a keybindings tab and adapted the configuration dialog tabs
  27 -- User can modify the keybindings where appropriate
  28 -- Keybindings UI is displayed based on the option used (--debugger, -- alpine)
  29 9) Fixed a crash, in Release mode, when the HW labels setting is turn on
  30 10) Solved an interference between the HW labels setting and the one used by the debugger
  31 -- The setting is now only the reference used
  32 11) Fixed the SP (Stack) window UI potential missing data
  33 12) Create a directory for EEPROMs (based on the EEPROMs setting) if it doesn't already exist
  34 13) Keep the scrollbar position in accordance of the M68K PC pointer
  35 -- UI displays the source without the need to move down/up the scrollbar
  36 14) Fixed a crash when DWARF information report a source line number exceeding the number of lines present in a source file
  37 -- This may come from the linker vlink
  38 15) Improved the .heap section detection to avoid a detection error
  39 -- Depend vlink version, .heap section may have an Alloc flag
  40 16) Fixed a crash when DWARF information does references to missing source code files
  41 17) Added a Local browser window for local variables
  42 18) Project has switched to Visual Studio 2017 and QT 5.9.1 library
  43
  44 Release 2 (3rd September 2017)
  45 ------------------------------
  46 0) Added some error detections when reading the ELF executable file
  47 1) Added all hardware labels (based on the document scans from the Version 2.4 - June 7, 1995)
  48 2) "Step Over" code function for BSR/JSR functions
  49 3) Added the .debug_ranges detection to avoid a detection error
  50 4) DWARF support
  51 -- TAG: Compilation Unit, Subprogram, Variables, Types
  52 -- Line numbers, symbols, functions
  53 5) Added an All Watch browser window for non-local variables
  54 6) Added a heap allocator browser window based on my own memory allocation functions
  55 7) Added additional 4 memory browser windows with address input based on hexa, decimal or symbol name
  56 8) Windows refreshing executed only if windows is visible
  57 9) Added a restart function
  58 -- Restart only the 68000 program counter to his original set
  59 10) Modified the icons color backgound for the "Step In" and "Step Over" functions
  60 11) Updated the About window to update the credits list
  61 12) 64 bits Release executable
  62 13) Fixed (hacking) the display of the SP (Stack) memory browser
  63 14) Set the emulator in Halt mode when launched in alpine debug mode without a loaded rom
  64 -- Otherwise the 68000 program counter will have a 0 value and will execute the code at this address
  65 15) Added some information in the --help/-h/-? option
  66 16) --debugger option no longer force the log file
  67 17) Added a --dram-max option to extend the DRAM size to 8MB
  68 18) Added the "enter" key support when setting the BPM (Breapoint)
  69 19) Save the windows positions, size and visibilities (show or hide) status
  70 -- Such windows will automatically respawn in the next emulator launch
  71
  72 Release 1 (12th February 2017)
  73 ------------------------------
  74 0) BPM (Breapoint) now stop at the designated address and no longer stop after executing the code
  75 1) Clean-up the tracing / no-tracing flags for better U.I understanding
  76 2) Added SP (Stack) memory browser
  77 3) User can change now the number of lines of disassembly displayed in the tracing window
  78 4) User can turn on/off the op-codes associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
  79 5) Added an emulator status window (GPU status, M68K debugger and tracking status)
  80 6) Added a GPU disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
  81 7) Added a DSP disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
  82 8) Added possibility to change refresh rate of browser windows when emulation is launched
  83 9) Display partial hardware labels (Internal Memory and Graphics sub-system address space) in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
  84 -- Display first the hardware labels (based from the Jag V8 dev. PDF) and then the ones possibly found in the ELF debug symbol
  85 10) Minor U.I cosmetic changes
  86 11) User can turn on/off the hardware labels associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
  87 -- It doesn't apply to the hardware labels possibly found in the ELF debug symbol
  88
  89 Release 0 (5th January 2017)
  90 ----------------------------
  91 0) New option --debugger
  92 1) ELF format support
  93 2) ELF debug symbol support
  94 3) "Step Into" code function
  95 4) Menus layout dedicated to the debugger
  96 5) Added a dedicated main window for tracing (M68K)
  97 6) Added a Debugger tab in the config tab
  98 7) Visual Studio 2015 project support
  99 8) libelf-0.8.13 library support
 100 9) 64 bits debug executable only
 101
 102
 103 Known issues
 104 ============
 105 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
 106 2) The BPM (Breapoint) remains stuck on his address when user wants to continue the code execution
 107 -- Need to trace over the BPM or unset the BPM
 108 -- The issue can be prevented if the code doesn't set IRQ, otherwise the IRQ will need to be traced to get back control
 109 3) To support DWARF 2 with GCC, the code must be compiled with the -gdwarf-2 option
 110 4) The Local and Watch variables list may display not available (N/A) type information
 111 -- Such missing information may be included in future release
 112 5) The 2MB mirroring is no longer applied in case of --dram-max option usage
 113 6) Stack must reflect the --dram-max option usage otherwise the stack may be corrupted
 114 -- The application needs to set the SP (Stack) in accordance
 115 7) The Exception Vector Table broswer window displays only 65 vectors
 116 -- Missing vectors may be added in future release
 117 8) User needs to manualy check if the Atari Jaguar executable match his source code files
 118 -- Otherwise, source code and assembly may not match or leads to instabilities
 119 9) The emulator needs to be restarted in case of keybindings changes
 120 10) In the case of a ROM cartridge writing, and an occuring breakpoint, the PC pointer will point at the next instruction and not at the instruction causing the breakpoint
 121
 122 Cosmetic / UX issues
 123 ====================
 124 1) The SP (Stack) icon color backgound doesn't look similar with the other ones
 125 2) The emulator status option has no icon
 126 3) The SP (Stack) window size always open at a forced size no matter if the size has been changed
 127 4) Not every features have associated keybindings
 128
 129 Legacy issues/hints
 130 ===================
 131 1) Emulator seems to have easter egg(s)
 132 -- The option --yarrr displays a single message and end the application
 133 -- Pressing F8, while in the main window, will create an extra message in the log file
 134 2) The --alpine option force the log file but it can be override if --no-log option is set after the --alpine option
 135
 136 Project information
 137 ===================
 138 1) Code based on the Shamus Hammons source code available via Gethub by the 12th September 2017 (2.1.3 Final)
 139 2) Visual Studio 2015/2017 project support for 64 bits
 140 3) libelf 0.8.13 library 64bits for VS 2015/2017
 141 4) libdwarf 1.41 library 64bits for VS 2015, cygwin64 and Msys2/MinGW64
 142 5) QT 5.5.1 library 64bits for VS 2015
 143 6) QT 5.9.1 library 64bits for VS 2017
 144 7) Zlib 1.2.8 library 64bits for VS 2015
 145 7) Zlib 1.2.11 library 64bits for VS 2017
 146 8) SDL 1.2.15 library 64bits for VS 2015/2017
 147 9) The original make files have been modified to follow the requirements and modifications
 148 10) The 'Rx' word has been added to the emulator name to make distinction with the official version
 149 11) The project source is set at https://github.com/djipi/Virtual-Jaguar-Rx
 150 12) GPLv3 file document has been renamed as LICENSE, to fit better the GitHub requirements
 151 -- Text / License terms are the same
 152
 153
 154 Download statistics
 155 -------------------
 156 jaguar64eu : 15 downloads for the Release 0 on the 12th Feb, 2017
 157 jaguar64eu : 18 downloads for the Release 1 on the 21st May, 2017
 158 No downloads statistics available for the Release 2
 159 No downloads statistics available for the Release 3