Demo Video of a2usbdsk in a Apple II build and deployment pipeline

The build pipeline is an update of Jeremy Rand’s Apple2BuildPipline based on Quinn Dunki’s project of the same name. Using this allowed me to stop reinventing the wheel and focus on finishing coding my a2usbdsk tool. Definitely check those projects!

Retro redux: a2usbdsk Release

RetroChallenge 2017/10 is way over and I got sidetracked about half-way through. Way too much IRL stuff got in the way. However, I have had a little bit of time recently to try and finish off my project. Upon reviewing my A2-SPI-DSK tool, I noticed some problems in my code. It was causing some serious issues with getting it to compile and work correctly. I guess that’s one of the issues with trying to write that much code in a month.

Anyway I’ve had some time recently to get things working, and completed the a2usbdsk v1.5 tool (Download). It now works perfectly to get a virtual disk to a real Apple II via USB. In addition, I added support for a second drive. I was so happy to see it boot a disk again! It is still read-only, but I have some ideas for that issue.

So, if you are developing Apple II software, you can write it in Xcode with cc65, then when you build it, just add a line to your makefile like: /usr/local/bin/a2usbdsk -1 $(PGM).dsk

This will mount the disk image and make it available to your Apple II over USB via the A2-USB-DSK. The A2-USB-DSK is easy to build using the schematics below and a CJMCU-232H FT232H module available on eBay for less than $10. Total build including the other ICs and a proto-board should be in the $20 range.

I created a branch of Jeremy Rand's Apple2BuildPipeline project to showcase how it works in a real project. Hopefully I can get a video up in the next few days.

DSKalyzer doubts

Hmm,I have been playing with DSKalyzer, and as great and as powerful as it appears to be for organizing your disk images, I don't think it can create a new one. That is sort of important for making a clean build for a new program. AppleCommander can do that nicely though. I may just stick with AppleCommander in my a2bdp Apple 2 build/deployment pipeline for now. It will make my project a little easier, too.

Some AII-SPI-USB problems resolved

I was having some serious issues getting my AII-SPI-USB command line tool (for transferring disk images to the UM232H) working on my newer MacBook. I tried rebuilding it, then rebuilding libftdi, and libusb, and libmpsse. I finally got things working and Xcode asked me to update my build settings. Then, of course, nothing would work again. The primary problem was "duplicate symbol" errors that were suddenly popping up. Some edits to libmpsse, and some changes to my code, and I finally was able to re-build it. I think I should staticly link the libraries I need for the tool, since most users won't have the will power to compile libftdi, or libusb to use it.

I need a new name for the program too. AII-SPI-USB is not a very posixy name for a command line tool. Maybe a2usbdsk.

It's ironic that one of the benefits of programming for retro computers is that the hardware or operating systems almost never change. Do it once, and it works forever! Not so for modern hardware, even the modern hardware interacting with the retro computer.

More AII-SPI-DSK problems

Found my AII-SPI-DSK adapter on the breadboard. Unfortunately, the counter was harvested off of it for some other project. Now I need to track down a 74LS161 ic...

AII-SPI-DSK problems

I downloaded my AII-SPI-DSK program and tried to get it running without success. First FTDI library version errors, then a file not found error. I need to get the adapter out and try again. Unfortunately, it is packed away since I am moving this month. But I think I should be able to dig it out today.

Trying Existing Virtual Build Pipeline

To get started building an Apple II program, I used some existing resources to make sure my installation of cc65 compiler is configured correctly. Two resources:

• Mac GUI: Compiling Apple II Programs in C with cc65 and Mac OS X
• BlondieHacks: Apple ][ Development on OS X

The BLONDIEHACKS web site conveniently provides an example Apple II build Xcode project to start from. Unfortunately, I had some build errors. The solution is to edit the example's Makefile to specify cc65 assembly configuration: @PATH=$(PATH):/usr/local/bin; $(CL65) -t apple2enh -C apple2enh-asm.cfg -l$(PGM).lst --start-addr $(ADDR) $(PGM).s

Yay! Seizure inducing flashing X's in Virtual II Apple II emulator (the example code is really supposed to do that).

So, the example build process now works with an emulator. Now to incorporate DSKalyzer and a real Apple II.

A2BP .011

Minor update. It is pretty cool to watch this thing run from a clean install. Lots of scrolling text!

• adds help, clean
• sets apple2 as the default system for cc65 samples
• more variables

make is very picky about white spaces. If you copy from browser, it may convert the tabs to multiple spaces. I will set up a download link, once I am happy with everything. # # Makefile # A2BP .011 # # This downloads and installs the pieces for the A2BP # toolchain, build pipeline, and deployment pipeline # for the Apple II on OSX. # # Created by Eric Pooch on 10/05/17. # https://apple-crapple.blogspot.com # # Usage: # make all # sudo make install # PGM=a2bp help : $(info Instructions: Place makefile in a folder with no spaces in path.) $(info then type:) $(info make all) $(info [packages will be downloaded, expanded, and compiled]) $(info sudo make install) $(info [packages will be installed, overwriting existing]) $(PGM) : cc65 dskalyzer USB_AII_Disk_Emulator install-$(PGM) : cc65 dskalyzer USB_AII_Disk_Emulator make --directory=cc65 install MAKE="make PREFIX=/usr/local SYS=apple2" ditto dskalyzer /usr/local/bin/ ditto USB_AII_Disk_Emulator/AII-SPI-DSK /usr/local/bin/ USB_AII_Disk_Emulator.tgz : curl -L -O https://sites.google.com/site/maclcdproc/downloads/USB_AII_Disk_Emulator.tgz USB_AII_Disk_Emulator : USB_AII_Disk_Emulator.tgz tar zxvf USB_AII_Disk_Emulator.tgz dskalyzer-macos-amd64.zip : curl -L -O https://github.com/paleotronic/dskalyzer/releases/download/v0.1.3/dskalyzer-macos-amd64.zip dskalyzer : dskalyzer-macos-amd64.zip tar zxvf dskalyzer-macos-amd64.zip # dskalyzer is older than the archive, so update touch dskalyzer cc65 : git clone https://github.com/cc65/cc65.git make all --directory=cc65 all: $(PGM) install: install-$(PGM) clean: rm -rf cc65 rm -f dskalyzer-macos-amd64.zip rm -f dskalyzer rm -f LICENSE rm -f *md rm -f USB_AII_Disk_Emulator.tgz rm -rf USB_AII_Disk_Emulator So, now that I built my build/deployment environment. It's time to write a program!

A2BP - The OSX to Apple II build and deployment pipeline

I spent some time last night getting all of the pieces assembled for my OSX to Apple II toolchain and build / deployment pipeline ("A2BP"). The plan is to cross-compile using Xcode and cc65, send to disk image using dskalyzer, then load the disk image and transfer to the Apple II using my USB_AII_Disk_Emulator. ANSI C code to running on Apple II hardware with the press of a button! My initial thought was to create a makefile for my first "Hello World" program. But I thought it would be helpful to create a make file for A2BP first. I'm sure that I am grossly abusing make with this thing, but it is pretty helpful. So, here is my first shot at it, after the break:

RetroChallenge 2017/10 Entry

I have so many projects in my head, but I haven't had any time to work on them lately. I have a lot of IRL stuff going on, so I want to keep my RetroChallenge entry very simple. I have wanted to get the 6502 cross-assembler cc65 up and running on my MacBook so I can do some Apple II programming in ANSI C. But, I would really like to get a great build pipe-line up and running before I really start programming. BlondieHacks has a good build pipeline that I can use as a starting point. But I want to make some modifications to better suit my needs:

• Use the recently released DSKalyzer as my disk image creation tool, rather than AppleCommander.
• Use my own USB to SPI to Disk II adapter to immediately test my builds on real hardware.

This should allow me to test any software on real hardware as part of the makefile build process. So, goals are:

1. Set up automatic build and deployment pipeline from Mac OSX to real Apple II hardware.
2. "Hello World" on Apple II

Disk II Drive to USB Adapter

My CJMCU FT232H Module arrived today! Less than $10 for a FTDI FT232H break-out board / USB to SPI adapter. Really excited as it makes my AII-SPI-DSK even cheaper. In addition, I started thinking about an adapter that will allow me to rip Apple II disks right from a Disk II 5.25" drive! I haven't tested anything yet, but it should be fairly easy to implement. It is basically backwards data flow from my previous adapter.