Embedded Basic Interpreter

Howdy Y'all :
I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
ability.
In the base layers of the software I have the basic control blocks running
in compiled C, with setup, referencing and monitoring via registers accessed
via MODBUS links.
What I would like to do is :
1 - Include a BASIC interpreter in my core code. This would be sourced in
generic C and ported to my compiler
2 - Extend the BASIC dialect to have non-standard keywords that I will map
onto API functions in my base code (get and set functions to provide lvalues
and accept assignments). I would somehow throw exceptions at the interpreter
if it made illegal assignments to the control layer
Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
the value of "Controller Variable N"
Thanks
Gary

Gary Pace wrote:
> Howdy Y'all :
> I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
> ability.
> In the base layers of the software I have the basic control blocks running
> in compiled C, with setup, referencing and monitoring via registers accessed
> via MODBUS links.
> What I would like to do is :
> 1 - Include a BASIC interpreter in my core code. This would be sourced in
> generic C and ported to my compiler
> 2 - Extend the BASIC dialect to have non-standard keywords that I will map
> onto API functions in my base code (get and set functions to provide lvalues
> and accept assignments). I would somehow throw exceptions at the interpreter
> if it made illegal assignments to the control layer
> Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
> of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
> code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
> memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
> the value of "Controller Variable N"



While not Basic, Tcl may be a good fit. It's OSS and easily extensible.

Gary Pace wrote:
> Howdy Y'all :
> I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
> ability.
> In the base layers of the software I have the basic control blocks running
> in compiled C, with setup, referencing and monitoring via registers accessed
> via MODBUS links.
> What I would like to do is :
> 1 - Include a BASIC interpreter in my core code. This would be sourced in
> generic C and ported to my compiler
> 2 - Extend the BASIC dialect to have non-standard keywords that I will map
> onto API functions in my base code (get and set functions to provide lvalues
> and accept assignments). I would somehow throw exceptions at the interpreter
> if it made illegal assignments to the control layer
> Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
> of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
> code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
> memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
> the value of "Controller Variable N"
> Thanks
> Gary

Rowley Associates have a BASIC interpreter for the ARM:

http://www.rowley.co.uk

Leon

Gary Pace wrote:
> Howdy Y'all :
> I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
> ability.
> In the base layers of the software I have the basic control blocks running
> in compiled C, with setup, referencing and monitoring via registers accessed
> via MODBUS links.
> What I would like to do is :
> 1 - Include a BASIC interpreter in my core code. This would be sourced in
> generic C and ported to my compiler
> 2 - Extend the BASIC dialect to have non-standard keywords that I will map
> onto API functions in my base code (get and set functions to provide lvalues
> and accept assignments). I would somehow throw exceptions at the interpreter
> if it made illegal assignments to the control layer
> Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
> of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
> code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
> memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
> the value of "Controller Variable N"
> Thanks
> Gary

David Dunfield had a little BASIC interpreter
written in C. You might send him an email

http://www.dunfield.com/downloads.htm

wrote:

> > 1 - Include a BASIC interpreter in my core code. This would be sourced in
>
> While not Basic, Tcl may be a good fit. It's OSS and easily extensible.

Number of BASIC programmers vs. number of Tcl programmers?

Applicability of saccharine education-substitute (Visual BASIC) to Tcl
vs. a BASIC dialect?

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 05:29:40 GMT in comp.arch.embedded, "Gary Pace"
<> wrote:

>Howdy Y'all :
>I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
>ability.
[...]
>Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
>of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
>code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
>memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
>the value of "Controller Variable N"

I don't know about BASIC, but you might want to look at Lua. It's
designed to be an embedded scripting language, and has a very easy to
understand syntax and a favorable license. www.lua.org

Regards,
-=Dave

--
Change is inevitable, progress is not.

Dave Hansen wrote:
> On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 05:29:40 GMT in comp.arch.embedded, "Gary Pace"
> <> wrote:
>
> >Howdy Y'all :
> >I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
> >ability.
> [...]
> >Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
> >of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
> >code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
> >memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
> >the value of "Controller Variable N"
>
> I don't know about BASIC, but you might want to look at Lua. It's
> designed to be an embedded scripting language, and has a very easy to
> understand syntax and a favorable license. www.lua.org
>
> Regards,
> -=Dave
>
> --
> Change is inevitable, progress is not.

There's always tiny basic (I'm a bit amazed that I can still remember
buying the issue of Dr Dobbs it was published in).

There was a recent article in Dr Dobbs (Jan 2006?) by the guy who wrote
the original, he has his own web site at:
http://www.ittybittycomputers.com/IttyBitty/TinyBasic/

and here's another version written in C:
http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=10032...01b/0601b.html

It looks like less than 1000 lines of code. How hard could it be to get
working :-)

Not sure what the copyright arrangements are for either of these, and I
have never used either. But they look interesting.

Post something back to the group if these ore something else you find
works for you.

Mark

wrote:
> Dave Hansen wrote:
> > On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 05:29:40 GMT in comp.arch.embedded, "Gary Pace"
> > <> wrote:
> >
> > >Howdy Y'all :
> > >I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
> > >ability.
> > [...]
> > >Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
> > >of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
> > >code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
> > >memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
> > >the value of "Controller Variable N"
> >
> > I don't know about BASIC, but you might want to look at Lua. It's
> > designed to be an embedded scripting language, and has a very easy to
> > understand syntax and a favorable license. www.lua.org
> >
L > Regards,
> > -=Dave
> >
> > --
> > Change is inevitable, progress is not.
>
> There's always tiny basic (I'm a bit amazed that I can still remember
> buying the issue of Dr Dobbs it was published in).
>
> There was a recent article in Dr Dobbs (Jan 2006?) by the guy who wrote
> the original, he has his own web site at:
> http://www.ittybittycomputers.com/IttyBitty/TinyBasic/
>
> and here's another version written in C:
> http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=10032...01b/0601b.html
>
> It looks like less than 1000 lines of code. How hard could it be to get
> working :-)
>
> Not sure what the copyright arrangements are for either of these, and I
> have never used either. But they look interesting.
>
> Post something back to the group if these ore something else you find
> works for you.
>
> Mark

I just downloaded the C version and compiled it with gcc. It works OK.

I remember that issue of DDJ, as well. A friend of mine keyed Wang's
Tiny BASIC into his S100 system (in hex) and got it working. It was
later used on the original 4k TRS-80 Level 1 Model I. The 16k Level 2
version used Microsoft BASIC.

Leon

Leon wrote:
> wrote:
>
>>Dave Hansen wrote:
>>
>>>On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 05:29:40 GMT in comp.arch.embedded, "Gary Pace"
>>><> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Howdy Y'all :
>>>>I am designing an embedded controller that needs an application programming
>>>>ability.
>>>
>>>[...]
>>>
>>>>Now I don't want to write a BASIC interpreter myself, so does anybody know
>>>>of an interpreter written in C that I can include in my source, point at its
>>>>code-to-run (pre-compiled to a byte code offline ideally), point at its
>>>>memory for stacks, heaps etc and provide its API's for assigning to/getting
>>>>the value of "Controller Variable N"
>>>
>>>I don't know about BASIC, but you might want to look at Lua. It's
>>>designed to be an embedded scripting language, and has a very easy to
>>>understand syntax and a favorable license. www.lua.org
>>>
>
> L > Regards,
>
>>> -=Dave
>>>
>>>--
>>>Change is inevitable, progress is not.
>>
>>There's always tiny basic (I'm a bit amazed that I can still remember
>>buying the issue of Dr Dobbs it was published in).
>>
>>There was a recent article in Dr Dobbs (Jan 2006?) by the guy who wrote
>>the original, he has his own web site at:
>>http://www.ittybittycomputers.com/IttyBitty/TinyBasic/
>>
>>and here's another version written in C:
>>http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=10032...01b/0601b.html
>>
>>It looks like less than 1000 lines of code. How hard could it be to get
>>working :-)
>>
>>Not sure what the copyright arrangements are for either of these, and I
>>have never used either. But they look interesting.
>>
>>Post something back to the group if these ore something else you find
>>works for you.
>>
>>Mark
>
>
> I just downloaded the C version and compiled it with gcc. It works OK.
>
> I remember that issue of DDJ, as well. A friend of mine keyed Wang's
> Tiny BASIC into his S100 system (in hex) and got it working. It was
> later used on the original 4k TRS-80 Level 1 Model I. The 16k Level 2
> version used Microsoft BASIC.

I can go you one better. I wrote and
integrated save and load functions into
it for a Phi-deck digital cassette deck.

Jim Stewart wrote:

> I can go you one better. I wrote and
> integrated save and load functions into
> it for a Phi-deck digital cassette deck.
>

I bought the Phi-deck dual drive eval kit at Wescon
when it came out (still packed away until I can
get at it). Do you have your code and interface
schematic?

Regards,

Michael Grigoni
Cybertheque Museum