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