@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
**RomWBW ReadMe** \
**RomWBW Introduction** \
Version 3.5 \
Wayne Warthen ([wwarthen@gmail.com](mailto:wwarthen@gmail.com)) \
24 Jan 2025
@ -24,8 +28,19 @@ these developer communities:
- [Small Computer Central ](https://smallcomputercentral.com/ )
(< https: / / smallcomputercentral . com / > )
A complete list of the currently supported platforms is found in the
\[Installation\] section.
A complete list of the currently supported platforms is found in [RomWBW
Hardware](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20Hardware.pdf)
.
# Description
## Primary Features
By design, RomWBW isolates all of the hardware specific functions in the
ROM chip itself. The ROM provides a hardware abstraction layer such that
all of the operating systems and applications on a disk will run on any
RomWBW-based system. To put it simply, you can take a disk (or CF/SD/USB
Card) and move it between systems transparently.
Supported hardware features of RomWBW include:
@ -40,31 +55,16 @@ Supported hardware features of RomWBW include:
- Support for CP/NET networking using Wiznet, MT011 or Serial
- Built-in VT-100 terminal emulation support
RomWBW is distributed as both source code and pre-built ROM and disk
images. Some of the provided software can be launched directly from the
ROM firmware itself:
- System Monitor
- Operating Systems (CP/M 2.2, ZSDOS)
- ROM BASIC (Nascom BASIC and Tasty BASIC)
- ROM Forth
A dynamic disk drive letter assignment mechanism allows mapping
operating system drive letters to any available disk media.
Additionally, mass storage devices (IDE Disk, CF Card, SD Card, etc.)
support the use of multiple slices (up to 256 per device). Each slice
contains a complete CP/M filesystem and can be mapped independently to
any drive letter. This overcomes the inherent size limitations in legacy
OSes and allows up to 2GB of accessible storage on a single device, with
up to 128MB accessible at any one time.
OSes and allows up to 2GB of addressable storage on a single device,
with up to 128MB accessible at any one time.
The pre-built ROM firmware images are generally suitable for most users.
However, it is also very easy to modify and build custom ROM images that
fully tailor the firmware to your specific preferences. All tools
required to build custom ROM firmware under Windows are included – no
need to install assemblers, etc. The firmware can also be built using
Linux or MacOS after confirming a few standard tools have been
installed.
## Included Software
Multiple disk images are provided in the distribution. Most disk images
contain a complete, bootable, ready-to-run implementation of a specific
@ -73,26 +73,49 @@ with a full operating system implementation. If you use this disk image,
you can easily pick whichever operating system you want to boot without
changing media.
By design, RomWBW isolates all of the hardware specific functions in the
ROM chip itself. The ROM provides a hardware abstraction layer such that
all of the operating systems and applications on a disk will run on any
RomWBW-based system. To put it simply, you can take a disk (or CF/SD/USB
Card) and move it between systems transparently.
Some of the included software:
- Operating Systems (CP/M 2.2, ZSDOS, NZ-COM, CP/M 3, ZPM3, Z3PLUS, QPM
)
- Support for other operating systems, p-System, FreeRTOS, and FUZIX.
- Programming Tools (Z80ASM, Turbo Pascal, Forth, Cowgol)
- C Compiler’s including Aztec-C, and HI-TECH C
- Microsoft Basic Compiler, and Microsoft Fortran
- Some games such as Colossal Cave, Zork, etc
- Wordstar Word processing software
Some of the provided software can be launched directly from the ROM
firmware itself:
- System Monitor
- Operating Systems (CP/M 2.2, ZSDOS)
- ROM BASIC (Nascom BASIC and Tasty BASIC)
- ROM Forth
A tool is provided that allows you to access a FAT-12/16/32 filesystem.
The FAT filesystem may be coresident on the same disk media as RomWBW
slices or on stand-alone media. This makes exchanging files with modern
OSes such as Windows, MacOS, and Linux very easy.
# Acquiring RomWBW
## ROM Distribution
The [RomWBW Repository ](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW )
(< https: / / github . com / wwarthen / RomWBW > ) on GitHub is the official
distribution location for all project source and documentation. The
fully-built distribution releases are available on the [RomWBW Releases
Page](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/releases)
(< https: / / github . com / wwarthen / RomWBW / releases > ) of the repository. On
this page, you will normally see a Development Snapshot as well as
distribution location for all project source and documentation.
RomWBW is distributed as both source code and pre-built ROM and disk
images.
The pre-built ROM images distributed with RomWBW are based on the
default system configurations as determined by the hardware
provider/designer. The pre-built ROM firmware images are generally
suitable for most users.
The fully-built distribution releases are available on the [RomWBW
Releases Page](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/releases)
(< https: / / github . com / wwarthen / RomWBW / releases > ) of the repository.
On this page, you will normally see a Development Snapshot as well as
recent stable releases. Unless you have a specific reason, I suggest you
stick to the most recent stable release.
@ -100,10 +123,29 @@ The asset named RomWBW-vX.X.X-Package.zip includes all pre-built ROM and
Disk images as well as full source code. The other assets contain only
source code and do not have the pre-built ROM or disk images.
All source code and distributions are maintained on GitHub. Code
contributions are very welcome.
#### Distribution Directory Layout
The RomWBW distribution is a compressed zip archive file organized in a
set of directories. Each of these directories has its own ReadMe.txt
file describing the contents in detail. In summary, these directories
are:
# Installation & Operation
| **Directory** | **Description** |
|----|----|
| **Binary** | The final output files of the build process are placed here. Most importantly, the ROM images with the file names ending in “.rom” and disk images ending in .img. |
| **Doc** | Contains various detailed documentation, both RomWBW specifically as well as the operating systems and applications. |
| **Source** | Contains the source code files used to build the software and ROM images. |
| **Tools** | Contains the programs that are used by the build process or that may be useful in setting up your system. |
#### Building from Source
It is also very easy to modify and build custom ROM images that fully
tailor the firmware to your specific preferences. All tools required to
build custom ROM firmware under Windows are included – no need to
install assemblers, etc. The firmware can also be built using Linux or
MacOS after confirming a few standard tools have been installed.
## Installation & Operation
In general, installation of RomWBW on your platform is very simple. You
just need to program your ROM with the correct ROM image from the RomWBW
@ -120,22 +162,73 @@ for helpful release-specific information.
## Documentation
Documentation for RomWBW includes:
There are several documents that form the core of the RomWBW
documentation:
- [RomWBW
Introduction](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20Introduction.pdf)
- [RomWBW User
Guide](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20User%20Guide.pdf)
- [RomWBW System
Guide](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20System%20Guide.pdf)
is the main user guide for RomWBW, it covers the major topics of how
to install, manage and use RomWBW, and includes additional guidance to
the use of some of the operating systems supported by RomWBW
- [RomWBW
Hardware](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20Hardware.pdf)
contains a description of all the hardware platforms, and devices
supported by RomWBW.
- [RomWBW
Applications](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20Applications.pdf)
is a reference for the ROM-hosted and OS-hosted applications created
or customized to enhance the operation of RomWBW.
- [RomWBW Disk
Catalog](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20Disk%20Catalog.pdf)
- [RomWBW
Hardware](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20Hardware.pdf)
is a reference for the contents of the disk images provided with
RomWBW, with a description of many of the files on each image
- [RomWBW System
Guide](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW/raw/master/Doc/RomWBW%20System%20Guide.pdf)
discusses much of the internal design and construction of RomWBW. It
includes a reference for the RomWBW HBIOS API functions.
Each of the operating systems and ROM applications included with RomWBW
are sophisticated tools in their own right. It is not reasonable to
fully document their usage. However, you will find complete manuals in
PDF format in the Doc directory of the distribution. The intention of
this documentation is to describe the operation of RomWBW and the ways
in which it enhances the operation of the included applications and
operating systems.
Since RomWBW is purely a software product for many different platforms,
the documentation does **not** cover hardware construction,
configuration, or troubleshooting – please see your hardware provider
for this information.
# Support
# Acknowledgments
## Getting Assistance
The best way to get assistance with RomWBW or any aspect of the
RetroBrew Computers projects is via one of the community forums:
- [RetroBrew Computers Forum ](https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/forum/ )
- [RC2014 Google
Group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/rc2014-z80)
- [retro-comp Google
Group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/retro-comp)
Submission of issues and bugs are welcome at the [RomWBW GitHub
Repository](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW).
Also feel free to email Wayne Warthen at < wwarthen @ gmail . com > . I am
happy to provide support adapting RomWBW to new or modified systems
# Contributions
All source code and distributions are maintained on GitHub.
Contributions of all kinds to RomWBW are very welcome.
## Acknowledgments
I want to acknowledge that a great deal of the code and inspiration for
RomWBW has been provided by or derived from the work of others in the
@ -246,10 +339,48 @@ let me know if I missed you!
- Les Bird has contributed support for the NABU w/ Option Board
Contributions of all kinds to RomWBW are very welcome.
## Related Projects
Outside of the hardware platforms adapted to RomWBW, there are a variety
of projects that either target RomWBW specifically or provide a
RomWBW-specific variation. These efforts are greatly appreciated and are
listed below. Please contact the author if there are any other such
projects that are not listed.
#### Z88DK
Z88DK is a software powerful development kit for Z80 computers
supporting both C and assembly language. This kit now provides specific
library support for RomWBW HBIOS. The Z88DK project is hosted at
< https: / / github . com / z88dk / z88dk > .
#### Paleo Editor
Steve Garcia has created a Windows-hosted IDE that is tailored to
development of RomWBW. The project can be found at
< https: / / github . com / alloidian / PaleoEditor > .
#### Z80 fig-FORTH
Dimitri Theulings’ implementation of fig-FORTH for the Z80 has a
RomWBW-specific variant. This fig-FORTH is built into the RomWBW ROM.
However, the project itself is hosted at
< https: / / github . com / dimitrit / figforth > .
#### Assembly Language Programming for the RC2014 Zed
Bruce Hall has written a very nice document that describes how to
develop assembly language applications on RomWBW. It begins with the
setup and configuration of a new RC2014 Zed system running RomWBW. It
describes not only generic CP/M application development, but also RomWBW
HBIOS programming and bare metal programming. The latest copy of this
document is hosted at [http://w8bh.net/Assembly for
RC2014Z.pdf](http://w8bh.net/Assembly%20for%20RC2014Z.pdf).
# Licensing
## License Terms
RomWBW is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your
@ -289,19 +420,3 @@ encouraged to submit their contributions via the RomWBW source code
control system to ensure their contributions are clearly documented.
All contributions to RomWBW are subject to this license.
# Getting Assistance
The best way to get assistance with RomWBW or any aspect of the
RetroBrew Computers projects is via one of the community forums:
- [RetroBrew Computers Forum ](https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/forum/ )
- [RC2014 Google
Group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/rc2014-z80)
- [retro-comp Google
Group](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/retro-comp)
Submission of issues and bugs are welcome at the [RomWBW GitHub
Repository](https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW).
Also feel free to email Wayne Warthen at < wwarthen @ gmail . com > .
Wayne Warthen
1 year ago