Programming languages than can be compiled to C

Philipp Klaus Krause · 2008-07-13T14:36:00+00:00

I want to look at alternatives to C for Z80 programming.Since there's probably nothing that directly compiles to Z80 asm I wantto look at languages that compile to C. There are the fopllowingrequirements:- Compiles to C- Free compiler- Low memory usage (I have only 1KB of RAM)Has anyone come across such a language?The last requirement seems to be a rather hard one. Many languages thatcompile to C include relatively large overhead or do dynamic allocationof memory, etc. So far bitc ( seems to be theclosest match, but it's badly documented and a pain to build. It seemsthe authors just see it as a tool for development of Coyotos, theirembedded OS, not as a generic programming language someone else mightwant to use.Philipp

Jul 13, 2008 23 Replies

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Vladimir Vassilevsky 18 years ago

There were many different compilers for Z80 for ZX Spectrum. Also, there used to be quite a lot of stuff for the CP/M 80 OS. The CP/M stuff was intended for i8080, however it is upwards compatible with Z80. I can recall the different versions of C, Pascal, Forth, Fortran, many dialects of Basic.

However, the above mentioned compilers were not the cross compilers. I.e. you have to run them on the real Z80 system or in Z80 simulator on PC.

One KB just for the variable data is not a problem. However, it would be difficult to fit a meaningful application with the code and the runtime libraries into the total memory footprint of 1KB.

I wounder why would you need that in our days.

Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

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certsoft 18 years ago

tements

Well put.

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Mark McDougall 18 years ago

Nice! I've got an interest in all things retro-gaming related. The only brush with the Colecovision I've had is porting the FPGA implementation from fpgaarcade.com to my hardware. FYI IIRC the FPGA implementation has an enhanced graphics mode not on the original hardware!

I've used SDCC for the Cypress EZUSB-FX (8051) port.

Don't bother with Pascal - IMHO it's like programming in C, only with one hand tied behind your back.

Regards,

Mark McDougall, Engineer Virtual Logic Pty Ltd, 21-25 King St, Rockdale, 2216 Ph: +612-9599-3255 Fax: +612-9599-3266

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JeffR 18 years ago

Use C. Check out SDCC.

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Jeff

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