The docs from the Micro-C package covered how to run the tools, what they do, etc. The key to targeting a specific system is to port the included library, lib09, to the target system. This is described in the readme.txt file under the lib09 directory.
Location, Location, Location
First and foremost, the decision must be made as to where the code will live in the CoCo's memory. This location might be anywhere, but realistically it needs to be somewhere in RAM. Ideally the code will also be located somewhere that won't interfere with Color BASIC, or at least somewhere that allows Color BASIC to load our programs.
There are a number of considerations that might influence this choice. These include how one intends to load programs, what limits one might impose on the size of programs, what level of cooperation one might want to have between C and BASIC programs, etc. For now, I'm going to shoot for loading under Disk Extended Color BASIC (i.e. DECB) and I'm not going to worry about cooperation between C and BASIC at runtime. Being familiar with how DECB uses memory on the CoCo, I have chosen to load C programs at address $0E00 and to set the initial stack pointer to $8000 at program entry. At program exit, the CPU reset vector at [$FFFE] will be executed.
Console I/O
The lib09 file called serio.asm implements the basic operations for reading and writing text, one character at a time. The default implementation targets a 6551 ACIA, commonly used for RS-232 implementations on 6809-based machines of a certain era. In fact, that would work great if we only wanted to use the Tandy Deluxe RS-232 Pak. But, I think it would be better to write to the video screen and to read from the keyboard... :-)
Fortunately, Microsoft included ROM routines in Color BASIC for just this purpose. The CHROUT routine handles screen output, including basic scrolling. The POLCAT routine handles scanning the keyboard. I implemented routines in serio.asm that used CHROUT and POLCAT in place of the example 6551-based routines.
File Format
The S-record file output by the Micro-C tools isn't directly usable by the CoCo. The hex values need to be translated to the equivalent binary values, and both header and footer data need to be added to tell DECB where to load the program and how to execute it. A little cleverness with ORG, FCB, and FDB statements in the lib09 prefix and suffix files tricks the Micro-C tools into generating the header and footer data required by DECB. Translating the file into binary requires another utility.
Older versions of the Dunfield tools included a utility called hexfmt that could translate between S-record files and pure binary files (among other things). I can't seem to find this file for download on the Dunfield site right now, but I might be overlooking it. (It seems to be included in the Z80 cross assembler package here.) On Linux the objcopy utility can also do such conversions.
Achievement Unlocked
With the fundamentals covered, I am now free to move onto library enhancements, better cooperation with Color BASIC, etc. I also plan to go into a bit more detail on the wonders of MON09. Of course, to see that you will have to stay tuned... :-)
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