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Harry Porters Relay Computer

In May 2009 I discovered the Harry Porter's Relay computer and got fascinated with the idea. The Harry Porter web site is this:

  • http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~harry/Relay/index.html

  • After four days of hard work I had drafted a promised architecture but then I realized that I were pushing my self into the wrong direction. Building a relay computer is cool, indeed, but I wanted to get into "real stuff".  Soon I realized that the "real stuff" comes when you connect your little project to the real World. I came to this conclusion while researching on "homebrew CPUs" projects.

    I finally decided to drop the relays computer project and tried to find out what I really wanted. In the mid time, I went to Amazon.com and ordered a book about Operating System's Theory.

    So... I have to write a C compiler?

    05/13/2009

    Today I asked to my self the obvious question of how one generates executable code for a proprietary platform. The answer is: by using development tools targeted to that proprietary platform. So I went to Google and it let me to a vast universe of knowledge and resources. I met, for example, the concept of "retargetable compilers", "cross compiling" and the availability of free software tools orientated to those complicated things.

    At the end, I would eventually come with a C compiler (running at a PC) capable of generate native code for my homebrew CPU, as well as the ability of my machine to get those files some how dumped into its memory so it can run the code.

    Despite the availability of free development tools to help in this tremendous task, sooner that later I'll find my self trapped into a big software project.... just to get started. I commence to suspect that this is too big for a single person such as my seft, who in top has no experience with OS development, so I would have to start thinking small... much much smaller.

    Getting ready for Linux

    05/14/2009

    Today I added a Red Hat machine to my KVM at work so I can play with Linux. This is not the first time I do such a thing; actually I installed Red Hat on that machine last year. However, I've never had the patience to go far in my learning of even the most elemental concepts and hands-on the OS. This time I have a focused motivation so I hope to succed.

    Also got a lot of PDF from my coworker Alexis, about Linux Kernel and that stuff... a lot to read.


    Project breakdown

    05/15/2009

    Realizing that this is a long-term project, I broke it down into manageable phases. I got to anticipate the first seven of those but more will follow in the future.

    The idea is to build a machine that is primitive at first (no OS, just switches for entering machine-code directly into memory) but is ready to harbor a real operating system in the future.

    The current phase is Research (a lot of reading) targeted to produce the correct specifications for such a design.

    Homebuilt CPUs WebRing

    JavaScript by Qirien Dhaela

    Join the ring?

    David Brooks, the designer of the Simplex-III homebrew computer, has founded the Homebuilt CPUs Web Ring. To join, drop David a line, mentioning your page's URL. He will then add it to the list.
    You will need to copy this code fragment into your page.

    Project start date: May 13 of 2009