0) Rantings and ravings


    Disclaimer:  Just so it is understood, the "rantings and ravings" are
    my rantings and raving.  My readers are refined and sophisticated and
    would never rant or rave.  I, on the other hand, sit in front of the
    TV in torn underwear and drink beer out of the bottle.


    Well first off, I would like to apologize if I inadvertantly left out
    anything in this month's FAQ.  I'm starting 24 days of army reserve
    on Sunday (Feb 25), and I'm rushing to finish this edition to get it
    posted.  If you wrote to me with information for the FAQ, and you
    don't see it in this edition, please send me a gentle reminder.  I'll
    get back to you as soon as I can.  I won't necessarily be able to
    correspond so readily during my hitch so please have patience.


    My apologies to Franklin Software.  Last month I had intended to
    include an explanation about Franklin and Keil being SEPARATE
    companies - but somehow the section disappeared from the FAQ.
    Anyhow, Franklin WAS the exclusive distributor for Keil in the US,
    but they are now marketing their own software under the Franklin
    label.  I hope to have more information on Franklin in an upcoming
    edition of the FAQ.


    Ruth Ann Howden, owner of Techneering Inc, wrote to inform me that
    one of their products is the PseudoCorp suite of cross assemblers,
    simulators and disassemblers.  The address and phone for Pseudocorp
    has changed and in addition they now have email and a web page.

    Pseudocorp's new address is:
        PseudoCorp
        2597 Potter St., Eugene, OR 97405
        (541)683-9173   Fax: (541)683-9186
        Email: rhowden@teleport.com
        Web: http://www.teleport.com/~rhowden

    The PseudoCorp BBS is no longer active.  The new web site, which is
    very new, will include links to other microcontroller sites as well
    as their own offerings.

    Ruth Ann's company, Techneering is actively looking for additional
    products for their microcontroller line and would appreciate hearing
    from developers who are looking for a distributor.


    If you are interested in getting started with the 8051, a number of
    excellent books are available.  Two really great books for beginners
    are "The Microcontroller Idea Book" by Jan Axelson (Lakeview
    Research) and "Programming and Interfacing the 8051 Microcontroller"
    by Sencer Yeralan and Ashutosh Ahluwalia (Addison Wesley).  These
    books have many circuit and code examples and are very useful for the
    beginner (I'm going to need an extra copy of each for reading in the
    bathroom :-).  "The 8051 Family of Microcontrollers" by Richard H.
    Barnett has a lot of detailed technical discussions on a number of
    important topics.  "The 8051 Microcontroller" by I. Scott MacKenzie
    is a good one volume reference.  Another book that is supposed to
    helpful is "The 8051 Microcontroller: Architecture, Programming and
    Applications" by Kenneth J. Ayala.  See section 5.2 for more
    information on 8051 books.


    All the software in the Yeralan/Ahluwalia book mentioned above is
    available for downloading from the Rigel web site:
    http://www.Rigelcorp.com.  They intend for this site to be a showcase
    for their products as well as being a great resource for the 8051 and
    Siemens C166 family of processors.  They will link to as many
    different chip manufacuters, software/hardware vendors, and sources
    (such as this FAQ) as they can.


    NoICE is a PC-hosted debugger (NOT a simulator) for use with a
    variety of microprocessor targets.  Processors currently supported
    are the Z80/Z180, Z8, 8051, 80(1)96, 6809, 68HC11, 65(C)02,
    M50740/M38000, and TMS370.  A version for the Hitachi H8/300 is
    currently in beta test.

    The debugger consists of a target-specific DOS program, NOICExxx.EXE,
    and a target-resident monitor program (about 1K code).  The two
    programs communicate via RS-232, at user selectable baud rates from
    300 to 57600.

    Features include:
     - Disassembler, which may also be used without target hardware
     - Single step using no interrupts or special target hardware
     - Breakpoints and watches
     - Source-level debug
     - Memory display and editing
     - Load Intel Hex and Motorola S1 record files
     - Definition of symbols, used in expressions and by the disassembler
     - Record and play back files of commands
     - Most monitors use no page zero or on-chip RAM
     - Utilities to extract line and symbol information for many
       assemblers

    NoICE may be operated via pull-down menus, using either mouse or
    keyboard, or via a command line.  Keyboard commands are generally
    similar to those of traditional hex monitors.

    Shareware.  The distributed version is fully functional.
    Registration is $25 in the US, $30 elsewhere.

    Where to get it:
         ftp: the SimTel archive or any of its mirrors
              ftp.coast.net in directory SimTel/msdos/debug

         CompuServe: GO SDFORUM, library section 12, embedded systems
              Or, GO IBMFF and do a keyword search for "NoICE".
              You can also register NoICE on-line, adding the cost to
              your CompuServe account.

         BBS: The Ciarcia Circuit Cellar BBS at 860-871-1988

    Questions:
         John Hartman
         102203.1513@compuserve.com


    The freeware version of the Hi-Tech C compiler now produces a
    complete executable program, and comes with full libraries.  The only
    limitations are that there is no command line driver (but the full
    GUI interface is included), no library source is provided, and your
    user program is limited to 1K of your own code.  Any amount of
    library code can be linked in (but no, you can't build your own
    libraries).  There is also a demo version of the XA compiler, with
    similar restrictions, but allows up to 2K user code.  Available from
    their web site: http://www.hitech.com.au


    Alistair George sent a short review on the SIM51 simulator from
    Werner Hennig-Roleff.
       I have discovered a VERY good simulator.  The downside is that it
       is all in German.  But many of the commands can be worked out, as
       they are similar.  The documentation is incredibly complete, but
       also in German.  This simulator will do interrupts, serial i/o,
       switch port bits, animate, in-line editing and heaps of other
       features.


    Dunfield has just announced version 3.14 of their development system.
    If you are already using this package, or are thinking about it and
    you want to get more information, check out the new web page and mail
    addresses.
      Dunfield Development Systems
         Web:   http://www.dunfield.com
         Email: General information:               info@dunfield.com
                Sales inquiries/Administration:   sales@dunfield.com
                Technical inquiries/Support        tech@dunfield.com


    Take care,

              Uncle Russ