87d145b2b5345a08fb58edb97209167ea0a43b47
[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
6 Release 4a (15th August 2019)
7 -----------------------------
8 Git commit: f04df4f185ed4f3cfc805d0f61b3c019a108ae2c
9 -
10 0) Fix specific breakpoint for ROM cartridge or unknown memory location writing
11
12 Release 4 (10th August 2019)
13 ----------------------------
14 Git commit: 9b25d85d1ea4a9476b83476bcec65e05464f68da
15 -
16 0) The zoom value setting has been fixed in the registry
17 1) Debugger mode now shares the same alpine rom path setting
18 2) Local variables window displays register name now
19 3) Switch to Zlib 1.2.11 static library 64bits for VS 2017
20 4) Switch to SDL 1.2.15 static library 64bits for VS 2017
21 5) Local variables window displays values from function's parameters
22 6) Fixed the typedef's name display in Local and Watch variables window
23 7) Breakpoint may now occur in case of a ROM cartridge writing
24 -- ROM cartridge writing detection follow the alpine "allow writes to cartridge rom"'s flag check
25 -- 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
26 8) Local variables window detects now if a variable is used or not by the code
27 9) The address provided in the debugger memory windows is now verified to prevent crash
28 -- Wrong address will be displayed in red
29 10) UI changes
30 -- Added new icons for the exit and status features
31 -- Modified icons for the SP (Stack) browser
32 -- Unified icons sizes depend on their usage (drop down menu and main menu)
33 -- Underline the active M68K line in the disassembly window
34 -- Allow the up/down navigation on the SP (Stack) browser
35 -- Restart function cleans-up the SP (Stack) browser and the heap allocator system
36 -- Fixed the up navigation on the memory window
37 11) Added some log information for the emulator initialisations
38 12) Breakpoint will happen in case of writing at unknown memory location
39 -- Alert box will display a message and then the code will stop
40 13) Added the DRAM size in the emulator status window
41 14) Debugger sources code clean-up
42 15) Added a call stack feature
43 16) Follow platform requirement to prevent source file reading issue
44 17) UI modifications
45 -- Modified icon for the memory window to make a distinction with the memory browser
46 -- The all watch, and Exception Vector Table windows, can be closed using keyboard
47 -- Renamed the debugger dedicated icons to make a distinction
48 -- Added the call stack window
49 18) Fixed a crash in the all watch window after loading a new binary without ELF/DWARF information
50 -- Previously used ELF/DWARF information was still accessible
51 19) Fixed slash/backslash issue, in the Alpine tab, to follow platform requirement
52 20) Heap allocation window uses the DRAM size limit option and detect if heap allocation shares space with SP (Stack)
53 21) Added a Jaguar model and BIOS configuration tab
54 22) Jaguar model and BIOS configuration integration
55 23) Added LEB128 decoding functions
56 -- It is used for the DWARF decoding information
57 24) Debugger support improvement
58 -- DWARF support for the enum type (partial), structure and subroutine type
59 -- Debugger can report variable's unsigned char value
60 25) UI modifications
61 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the heap allocation window
62 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the local variables window
63 -- Added better information display for the exception vectors table window, and added some missing vectors
64 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the call stack window
65 -- Added a status bar, better status report & information display for the all watches window
66 26) Added screenshot feature
67 -- Not accessible in debugger mode
68 -- Added screenshot editable path in the general tab, and a key binding
69 27) Minor misspellings fixes
70 28) DWARF source code directory path clean-up
71 29) Added a source code files list viewer
72 -- List comes from the DWARF information
73 30) Check potential variables missing/incomplete description found in the DWARF information
74 -- No crash involved but can help to reduce such as variables duplicate or the blank ones
75 31) Added a sorting filter in the all watches window
76 32) Improve source code file reading to avoid additional text/bytes reading
77 33) Help & content texts updates
78 34) Fixed a crash legacy issue when emulator launches in Alpine mode without a valid rom
79 35) Added the support for the used lines source's DWARF structure
80 -- Mostly used to handle missing subprogram's lines information, and missing CU's low/high PC
81 36) Added the Rx version's contact in the help text
82 37) Added search paths in case of missing DWARF directories information
83 -- Used to look for the file(s)
84 38) Setup CU's low/high PC in case of the DWARF structures doesn't have it
85 -- Used mostly to allow display the source assembled with vasm
86 39) Added function name support from ELF structure
87 40) Added the return address information in the call stack
88 41) Added multiple breakpoints feature, and their key bindings, for functions only
89 42) Added timer initialisation for the SDL setup
90 43) Added a cartridge view menu
91 -- Added a window to display my own directory and his files list
92 44) Debugger sources code clean-up
93 45) Fix a crash when emulator, in non-debugger mode, opens the breakpoint UIs at launch
94 46) Fix crash with potential missing DWARF structure tag's type name
95 47) Added ELF sections check so a potential unknown section will stop, or not stop, the decoding
96 48) Project has switched to QT 5.12.0 library 64bits for VS 2017
97 49) Added a Save Dump As... feature to save a memory zone to a file
98 50) The -d command line option, dedicated to the debugger, has been renamed to avoid duplication with the dsp one
99 -- -d has been renamed by -D because another -d was also used for the dsp command line option
100 51) Removed the sorting filter in the all watches window
101 52) Fix the support of the DRAM size limit option in the heap allocation window
102 53) Set cartridge view menu for debugger mode only
103 54) Prevent crash in case of call stack is out of range
104
105 Release 3 (13th November 2017)
106 ------------------------------
107 Git commit: b1b673a3b0d19e3c2c45b6590b773b11e45bced7
108 -
109 0) Fixed the windows respawning in the next emulator launch within --alpine or --debugger options
110 1) Added an Exception Vector Table window
111 2) Modified the About window to update the credits list in a more appropriate way
112 -- Updated the emulator application credits line
113 3) Added 'Rx' word to the emulator name
114 4) Fixed a crash when reading the DWARF information in the case of the DWARF2 format has not been used
115 5) Added ui, alpine and debugger groups in the settings
116 6) Added the possibility to erase settings
117 7) Added the --es-all, --es-ui, --es-alpine and --es-debugger options to erase specific settings
118 8) Added a key bindings tab and adapted the configuration dialog tabs
119 -- User can modify the key bindings where appropriate
120 -- Key bindings UI is displayed based on the option used (--debugger, -- alpine)
121 9) Fixed a crash, in Release mode, when the HW labels setting is turn on
122 10) Solved an interference between the HW labels setting and the one used by the debugger
123 -- The setting is now only the reference used
124 11) Fixed the SP (Stack) browser UI potential missing data
125 12) Create a directory for EEPROMs (based on the EEPROMs setting) if it doesn't already exist
126 13) Keep the scrollbar position in accordance of the M68K PC pointer
127 -- UI displays the source without the need to move down/up the scrollbar
128 14) Fixed a crash when DWARF information report a source line number exceeding the number of lines present in a source file
129 -- This may come from the linker vlink
130 15) Improved the .heap section detection to avoid a detection error
131 -- Depend vlink version, .heap section may have an Alloc flag
132 16) Fixed a crash when DWARF information does references to missing source code files
133 17) Added a local variables window
134 18) Project has switched to Visual Studio 2017 and QT 5.9.1 library
135
136 Release 2 (3rd September 2017)
137 ------------------------------
138 0) Added some error detections when reading the ELF executable file
139 1) Added all hardware labels (based on the document scans from the Version 2.4 - June 7, 1995)
140 2) "Step Over" code function for BSR/JSR functions
141 3) Added the .debug_ranges detection to avoid a detection error
142 4) DWARF support
143 -- TAG: Compilation Unit, Subprogram, Variables, Types
144 -- Line numbers, symbols, functions
145 5) Added an All Watch window for non-local variables
146 6) Added a heap allocator window based on my own memory allocation functions
147 7) Added additional 4 memory windows with address input based on hexa, decimal or symbol name
148 8) Windows refreshing executed only if windows is visible
149 9) Added a restart function
150 -- Restart only the 68000 program counter to his original set
151 10) Modified the icons color backgound for the "Step In" and "Step Over" functions
152 11) Updated the About window to update the credits list
153 12) 64 bits Release executable
154 13) Fixed (hacking) the display of the SP (Stack) browser
155 14) Set the emulator in Halt mode when launched in alpine debug mode without a loaded rom
156 -- Otherwise the 68000 program counter will have a 0 value and will execute the code at this address
157 15) Added some information in the --help/-h/-? option
158 16) --debugger option no longer force the log file
159 17) Added a --dram-max option to extend the DRAM size to 8MB
160 18) Added the "enter" key support when setting the BPM (Breapoint)
161 19) Save the windows positions, size and visibilities (show or hide) status
162 -- Such windows will automatically respawn in the next emulator launch
163
164 Release 1 (12th February 2017)
165 ------------------------------
166 0) BPM (Breapoint) now stop at the designated address and no longer stop after executing the code
167 1) Clean-up the tracing / no-tracing flags for better U.I understanding
168 2) Added SP (Stack) browser
169 3) User can change now the number of lines of disassembly displayed in the tracing window
170 4) User can turn on/off the op-codes associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
171 5) Added an emulator status window (GPU status, M68K debugger and tracking status)
172 6) Added a GPU disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
173 7) Added a DSP disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
174 8) Added possibility to change refresh rate of browsers when emulation is launched
175 9) Display partial hardware labels (Internal Memory and Graphics sub-system address space) in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
176 -- Display first the hardware labels (based from the Jag V8 dev. PDF) and then the ones possibly found in the ELF debug symbol
177 10) Minor U.I cosmetic changes
178 11) User can turn on/off the hardware labels associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
179 -- It doesn't apply to the hardware labels possibly found in the ELF debug symbol
180
181 Release 0 (5th January 2017)
182 ----------------------------
183 0) New option --debugger
184 1) ELF format support
185 2) ELF debug symbol support
186 3) "Step Into" code function
187 4) Menus layout dedicated to the debugger
188 5) Added a dedicated main window for tracing (M68K)
189 6) Added a Debugger tab in the config tab
190 7) Visual Studio 2015 project support
191 8) libelf-0.8.13 library support
192 9) 64 bits debug executable only
193
194
195 Known issues
196 ============
197 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
198 2) The BPM (Breapoint) remains stuck on his address when user wants to continue the code execution
199 -- Need to trace over the BPM or unset the BPM
200 -- The issue can be prevented if the code doesn't set IRQ, otherwise the IRQ will need to be traced to get back control
201 3) DWARF 2 support
202 -- With GCC: the code must be compiled with the -gdwarf-2 option
203 4) The Local and Watch variables window may display not available type information or empty information
204 -- Such missing information may be included in future release
205 -- The 'const' type may not be reported correctly in the DWARF information
206 5) The 2MB mirroring is no longer applied in case of --dram-max option usage
207 6) Stack must reflect the --dram-max option usage otherwise the stack may be corrupted
208 -- The application needs to set the SP (Stack) in accordance
209 7) The Exception Vector Table window displays only 65 vectors
210 -- Missing vectors may be added in future release
211 8) User needs to manualy check if the Atari Jaguar executable match his source code files
212 -- Otherwise, source code and assembly may not match or leads to instabilities
213 9) The emulator needs to be restarted in case of the following actions occur
214 -- Key bindings changes
215 -- BIOS selection changes and without new executable load
216 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
217 11) Emulator will crash in case of wrong address value provided in the memory browser
218 12) The RAM access log is limited to the 2MB
219 13) In various occasions, global variables may be duplicated or without name in the DWARF information
220 -- It may come from the Vlink linker and/or GCC 7.1.0 or 8.2.0 compilation with -gdwarf-2 option
221 14) Source code disply only assembled code from vasm with option -dwarf
222 15) After a new breakpoint set, the breakpoint list window is not refreshed
223 -- User must perform an operation, such code tracing, to see the breakpoints list update
224 16) Some ASCII characters may be not displayed correctly
225 -- It depend how the text is displayed, this is related to the QT/HTML encoding done when reading DWARF file
226 17) Potential legacy crash when leaving emulator in pause mode for a long period of time
227
228 Cosmetic / UX issues
229 ====================
230 1) The SP (Stack) icon color backgound doesn't look similar with the other ones
231 2) The SP (Stack) browser size always open at a forced size no matter if the size has been changed
232 3) Not every features have associated key bindings
233
234 Legacy issues/hints
235 ===================
236 1) Emulator seems to have easter egg(s)
237 -- The option --yarrr displays a single message and end the application
238 -- Pressing F8, while in the main window, will create an extra message in the log file
239 2) The --alpine option force the log file but it can be override if --no-log option is set after the --alpine option
240
241 Project information
242 ===================
243 1) Code based on the Shamus Hammons source code available via Gethub by the 12th September 2017 (2.1.3 Final)
244 2) Visual Studio 2015/2017 project support for 64 bits
245 3) libelf 0.8.13 library 64bits for VS 2015/2017
246 4) libdwarf 1.41 library 64bits for VS 2015, cygwin64 and Msys2/MinGW64
247 5) QT 5.5.1 library 64bits for VS 2015
248 6) QT 5.12.0 library 64bits for VS 2017
249 7) Zlib 1.2.8 library 64bits for VS 2015
250 8) Zlib 1.2.11 library 64bits for VS 2017
251 9) SDL 1.2.15 library 64bits for VS 2015/2017
252 10) The original make files have been modified to follow the requirements and modifications
253 11) The 'Rx' word has been added to the emulator name to make distinction with the official version
254 12) The project is set at https://github.com/djipi/Virtual-Jaguar-Rx
255 13) GPLv3 file document has been renamed as LICENSE, to fit better the GitHub requirements
256 -- Text / License terms are the same
257
258
259 Download statistics
260 -------------------
261 jaguar64eu : 15 downloads for the Release 0 on the 12th Feb, 2017
262 jaguar64eu : 18 downloads for the Release 1 on the 21st May, 2017
263 No downloads statistics available for the Release 2
264 No downloads statistics available for the Release 3