Microcode Simulation

Microcode-Level Calculator Simulation
Eric Smith
Many people want capabilities equivalent to HP calculators on other devices
such as desktop computers or PDAs. This need is oten addressed by
unctional level simulation! i.e.! pro"rams which attempt to provide the user#
visible behavior o the calculator without modelin" the e$act internal state o
the real calculator%s hardware and microcode. &or instance! there was an
HP#'( unctional simulator which ran on the Apple )) computer in the early
*+,-s. HP has at times oered unctional#level calculator simulators
commercially! includin" an HP#*'. inancial calculator simulator in the HP#
+( series o palmtop computers! and HP#**. scientiic! HP#*'. inancial! and
HP#*/. computer science calculator simulators in the HP#01 desktop
environment.
&unctional#level simulation may be adequate or many user needs! but
"enerally does not produce numerical results identical to those o the real
calculator. &or instance! the arithmetic precision may be dierent! and the
arithmetic may even be perormed in a dierent base. The HP#01 calculators
use )EEE 2(3 binary loatin" point! while the ori"inal calculators use 4.D
loatin" point.
The mathematical al"orithms also may be dierent. &or simple operations
this is typically not si"niicant! but or comple$ operations like interest rate
calculations! HP invested considerable resources into numerical analysis and
al"orithm development to make the results as accurate as possible "iven the
limited precision and memory si5e o the calculator! and unctional simulators
oten use inerior al"orithms yieldin" worse results.
&unctional simulators also oten dier rom real calculators in handlin"
e$ceptional conditions and ed"e cases. An e$treme e$ample o this is the
inability o most HP#3*. unctional simulators to ully handle synthetic
pro"rammin"
*
.
)t is desirable to have an alternative simulation methodolo"y that is more
nearly identical to the real calculator in both numerical accuracy and
unctionality. This can be achieved throu"h microcode#level simulation.
* Synthetic pro"rammin" is the use o unintended characteristics o the calculator to obtain
behavior or results impossible or diicult to obtain throu"h normal means. 6ten this is
done by takin" advanta"e o bu"s. The term is most commonly associated with the HP#3*.
78ickes*+,-9.
Microcode#level Simulation o Hewlett#Packard .alculators
September '( : '/ ;adisson Hotel! San <ose! .aliornia
Pa"e * o *+
History of Microprogramming
The earliest stored#pro"ram computers had a hardwired instruction set.
Memory was e$pensive! so it was desirable or the instructions to perorm
airly hi"h#level operations to ma$imi5e the pro"ram density. However! the
amount o lo"ic and wirin" necessary to implement comple$ instructions is
si"niicant. )n *+(*! M.=. 8ilkes proposed a technique known as
microcodin"! in which the pro"rammer#visible instructions o a computer are
themselves implemented by the e$ecution o a micropro"ram on a simpler
machine 78ilkes*+(*9.
Micropro"rammin" irst "ained wide acceptance with its use in the )4M
System>?/- series o mainrame computers! introduced in *+/*. )n addition
to usin" microcode to implement the System>?/- instruction set! these
machines pioneered the concept o @emulationA! which )4M deined to be the
use o dedicated hardware and>or microcode to simulate an otherwise
incompatible computer system. An option was oered or the )4M ?/- Model
?- to emulate the earlier )4M *3-* computer.
)n this paper the term @simulateA is used rather than @emulateA with re"ard
to calculator simulation since no dedicated hardware or microcode is used on
the simulation host system.
Microprogramming in HP Calculators
All HP desktop and handheld calculators are micropro"rammed. The
micropro"ram is responsible or the basic operation o the machine! loatin"
point number entry! display! and arithmetic! transcendental unctions! user
pro"ram entry and e$ecution! peripheral control! etc.
)n order to implement loatin" point addition! the calculator must e$ecute a
series o microcode instructions to compare the e$ponents o the two
operands! shit one and increment or decrement its e$ponent until the
e$ponents match! add the mantissas! normali5e the result! deal with the
si"ns! etc. The processor provides 4.D inte"er operations on subields o the
re"isters! and the necessary comparison and conditional branch instructions.
&or instance! once the e$ponents are equal and the si"ns have been dealt
with! the actual addition o the mantissas is accomplished by an instruction
like @c B c C a 7m9A! where @aA and @cA are workin" re"isters! and @7m9A
speciies that the operation is to be perormed on the mantissa ield Ddi"its '
throu"h *'! numbered rom ri"ht to letE.
HP irst used micropro"rammin" in the HP +*--A desktop pro"rammable
scientiic calculator 7.ochran*+/,9! introduced in *+/,! thou"h the desi"ners
were not amiliar with the terms @micropro"ramA or @microinstructionA
76sborne*+,'9.
Pa"e ' o *+
HP introduced the irst handheld scientiic calculator! the HP#?(! in *+2'.
The microarchitecture o the HP#?( was an entirely new desi"n based on
dierent en"ineerin" tradeos resultin" rom the availability o hi"h#density
PM6S lo"ic circuits and ;6Ms. A strict Harvard architecture was used! in
which there are separate microinstruction and data memories. The
microinstruction words are ten bits wide! while data words are (/ bits wide.
8ith minor chan"es! the microarchitecure o the HP#?( was used or several
succeedin" "enerations o HP calculators! culminatin" in the @FutA processor
used in the HP#3*. amily o e$pandable scientiic pro"rammable calculators!
and the =oya"er series o scientiic! inancial! and computer science
calculators De.".! HP#**.! HP#*'.! HP#*/.E.
A new processor architecture! @SaturnA! was introduced in the HP#2*4
handheld computer in *+,3 7Dickie,39! and was used in all HP handheld
calculators introduced rom *+,/ throu"h *++,! notably includin" the HP#',
and HP#3, amilies. Saturn is a =on Feumann architecture! such that there
is a sin"le uniied address space! and the data word width is increased to /3
bits. )nstructions are o variable len"th in multiples o our bits! the unit o
addressin". Fevertheless! many similarities to the earlier calculator
microarchitectures were preserved! such as the ability o arithmetic and
lo"ical instructions to operate on di"it ran"e subsets o a data word.
User Microcode for HP Calculators
HP did not ori"inally intend or users to deal directly with the microcode o
the calculators. The microcode implemented user#level unctions! and on the
pro"rammable calculators! a user pro"ram consisted o a series o steps that
invoked these unctions. However! users were naturally curious about the
internal workin"s o their calculators! and did quite a bit o reverse#
en"ineerin". Tom Fapier published a series o articles describin" his
investi"ations into the inner workin"s o the HP#/2! and a plotter interace he
constructed7PP.=(F2P29. However! the HP#/2 was not a platorm conducive
to user microcode development! as there was a i$ed amount o microcode
built into the machine! with no provision or e$pansion.
The HP#3*.! introduced in *+2+! was HP%s irst e$pandable scientiic
handheld calculator. )ts our e$pansion ports could hold ;AM! ;6M! or
peripheral interaces! the latter o which also contained ;6Ms. Si"niicantly!
the ;6Ms could contain user#level pro"rams! microcode! or a combination o
the two. HP published some details about the internal or"ani5ation o the
HP#3*. in the PP. <ournal @.orvallis Division .olumnA! such as the HP#3*.
Main &unction Table7PP.=/F3P**9! HP#3*. Posti$ Table7PP.=/F(P'-9!
HP#3*. Data and Pro"ram Structure7PP.=/F/P*+9
Armed with this inormation many enthusiastic users set about usin" bu"s in
Pa"e ? o *+
the ;6M to investi"ate unintended behavior o the calculator! brin"in" about
@Synthetic Pro"rammin"A. The inormation eventually also proved invaluable
or user microcode development.
Gelly Mc.lellan! <im De Arras and other users reverse#en"ineered the Fut
processor bus and instruction set7PP.=/F/P397PP.=2F?P'-9! and built
EP;6M bo$es and MHDH D;AME devices in order to run their own microcode.
HP eventually was persuaded to release the source code o the HP#3*. ;6Ms
and some o the accessory ;6Ms to PP. on a F6MAS DF6t MAnuacturer
SupportedE basis! urther encoura"in" user microcode development.
Microcode-Level Simulation
Microcode#level simulation can avoid the problems o unctional simulation!
and microcode#level simulators are "enerally easier to develop than a
comple$ unctional simulator De.".! HP#*(.E! because the microarchitecture is
by desi"n very simple in order to minimi5e the hardware cost. ) the
microcode#level simulator implements the microarchitecture correctly! and
the actual microcode rom the calculator is used! the unctionin" o the
calculator can be reproduced nearly perectly! includin" synthetic
pro"rammin" and bu"s.
HP undoubtedly used microcode#level simulation durin" the development o
the calculators in order to debu" the microcode beore hardware was
available. HP even oered the HP 3(3'?A &inancial .alculator sotware or
the HP *(- @TouchscreenA computer! which consisted o microcode#level
simulations o the HP#**. scientiic and HP#*'. inancial calculators.
The principle drawback o microcode#level simulation is perormance.
4ecause many more details must be accurately simulated! a microcode#level
simulator almost always requires more host .P0 perormance than a
unctional simulator in order to provide a comparable simulation rate. )n the
case o early HP calculators! this is "enerally not an issue because the actual
calculator hardware was e$tremely slow as compared to modern processors
in desktop computers and even PDAs.
Most users did not write their own microcode! but instead purchased third#
party ;6Ms containin" microcoded unctions! such as the IEF;6M or
AE.;6M.
Due to the common use o both synthetic pro"rammin" and third#party
microcode on the HP#3*.! a microcode#level simulator is much more useul
than a unctional simulator.
Pa"e 3 o *+
The Nonpareil Project
The Fut instruction set and the HP#3*. internals were well understood by the
mid *+,-s! and some microcode#level simulators had been written! but none
were publicly available. )n *++?! my curiousity about the internals o the
earlier calculators drove me to research the 0.S. Patents "ranted to HP
re"ardin" calculators. ) ound that there were some early patents that
contained a detailed description o the instruction set o the irst#"eneration
calculators DHP#?(! HP#,-! etc.E! alon" with the complete microcode source
listin"s or the HP#3(! HP#((! and HP#,- calculators. ) typed in the listin"s!
and wrote a microassembler and microcode#level simulator! which ) made
available as ree sotware under the Jeneral Public Hicense7JPHv'9! by the
unwieldy name @.ASMS)MA.
Shortly thereater! ) wrote a Fut microcode#level simulator @FS)MA! which )
also released under the JPH.
Since that time! others have published more sophisticated microcode#level
simulators or the HP#3*. and or Saturn#based calculators includin" the HP#
3, amily. Since those seem adequately represented! my own ocus has
remained on early HP calculators. Ater a hiatus o several years! ) resumed
work on microcode#level simulators in '--?. ) started reverse#en"ineerin"
the @8oodstockA processor used in the second "eneration calculators De.".!
HP#'(! HP#/2E! and "ot the HP#'( code runnin". ) was pleasantly surprised
to ind that the @SpiceA series uses the same instruction set! so ) was able to
"et the HP#??. runnin" in simulation airly quickly.
Much o the simulation code can be shared between calculator amilies! so
rather than continue to maintain independent simulators! ) mer"ed them into
a sin"le simulator now named @FonpareilA Dwithout equalE. Fonpareil also is
the name o a particular type o conection! and an alternate name or a bird!
the painted buntin"! so ) will probably adopt one o those or the Fonpareil
lo"o.
!M "umping
A microcode#level simulation obviously requires microcode to be useul. HP
"enerally only provided the microcode embodied in ;6M chips! so it is
necessary to somehow e$tract a ;6M ima"e or @dumpA. Due to their
e$pandability and powerul pro"rammin" eatures! users quickly learned how
to dump the ;6Ms o the HP#3*. and HP#3,. Some Saturn#based calculators
such as the HP#*24! HP#'2S! and HP#3'S include a memory viewer that is
capable o dumpin" memory to an HP ,'33- inrared printer or an HP#3, or
other device that can receive the ); printer protocol. &or other calculators!
;6M dumpin" "enerally requires openin" the case and makin" electrical
Pa"e ( o *+
connections to the circuitry.
This orm o ;6M dumpin" is easiest on the calculators that have a built#in
sel#test unction. This irst appeared on the Spice series De.".! HP#??EE! and
was activated by the key sequence ST6 EFTE;K. The sel#test veriies that
the ;6M contents are correct
'
and that the processor and ;AM work
correctly. As this sel#test takes place! it is possible to passively monitor the
internal bus o the calculator usin" a lo"ic analy5er! and capture the contents
o each ;6M word! so DmostlyE noninvasive ;6M dump is possible.
The =oya"er series and the Saturn#based calculators also have a similar sel#
test! usually invoked by pressin" the 6F key simultaneously with another key.
The =oya"er calculators were the irst ones rom which ) captured ;6M
dumps. 0se o a typical lo"ic analy5er to capture ;6M contents is diicult
unless the analy5er has very deep capture memory! because the bus is serial.
) have built several models o dedicated hardware devices which ) call
@;6MsuckersA or this speciic purpose. The second "eneration ;6Msucker
used a Hinear Technolo"y HT*-3( he$ level translator to convert the
calculator si"nals DPM6S! FM6S! or .M6S! with volta"e ran"es rom #*'.(=
to C*'.(=E to (= .M6S levels. These si"nals drive a DHP#0S4'3(M module
which interaces to 0S4.

' All sin"le#bit errors and most multi#bit errors will be detected.
Pa"e / o *+
Photo *L .loseup o ;6Msucker Mark '
A Hinu$ pro"ram named @suckA was written to capture the data into a binary
ile! and a pro"ram @dumplo"A decodes it into a DbarelyE human#readable te$t
ile.
8ith the ;6Msucker Mark '! ) was able to dump the ;6Ms rom the HP#**.!
HP#*'.! HP#*(.! and HP#*/.. ) have not yet dumped the ;6Ms rom an HP#
*-.. The HP#*-. is airly rare. ) have only two units. 6ne is physically
pristine! and ) am loathe to take it apart. The other is in rou"h condition! so )
don%t care so much about it. However! it uses the early =oya"er style
construction in which everythin" is wrapped in antistatic shieldin"! and the
chips are on a display module separate rom the keyboard. This is more
challen"in" to probe! thou"h ) e$pect to "et to it eventually.
)n the =oya"er calculators! the ;6M checksum is computed usin" a sotware
loop. The .1)SA instruction Dnew to the Fut processorE is used to read each
word.
)n the earlier Spice calculators! ) was very surprised to discover that there is
no equivalent o the .1)SA instruction. )nstead! the Spice .P0 has a sin"le
instruction which when e$ecuted takes *-'3 bus cycles to read an entire *G
word block o ;6M! and computes the checksum in hardware.
6n the calculators prior to the Spice series! dumpin" the ;6M is si"niicantly
more diicult. 8ithout a sel#test unction! and only passive monitorin"! one
must e$ercise all the unctions o the calculator in an attempt to orce it to
e$ecute all the ;6M instructions. ) have e$perimented with this approach
usin" a version o Fonpareil instrumented or code covera"e analysis.
Althou"h ) was able to ind a sequence o key presses to read all o the
actually used ;6M words o the HP#3(! the problem has proven to be more
diicult on more sophisticated calculators. ) you can%t "et all the ;6M
words dumped this way! it is not easy to determine whether the missin" ;6M
words are unused! or that you simply haven%t ound the condition that invokes
them.
) plan to build a uture version o the ;6Msucker that can operate in an
@invasiveA mode. This will require disconnectin" the )SA si"nal that carries
the instruciton address and data between the .P0 and ;6M chips. D)n the
irst "eneration calculators! the instruction and address are on the separate
)S and )A lines! and only )A would need to be disconnected.E This allows the
;6Msucker to inMect addresses directly. Due to the implementation o bank
switchin" in the ;6M chips Ddiscussed in more detail belowE! this will require
tricky irmware in the ;6Msucker. HP desi"ned the Topcat series o
calculators with a Mumper in the )SA line! apparently speciically or
dia"nostic purposes.
Pa"e 2 o *+
Some precaution will be necessary when usin" an invasive ;6Msucker with
printin" calculators. PP. members who e$perimented with FFFs Dnon#
normali5ed numbersE on the HP#+2 discovered that it was possible or the
calculator to "et into states where heatin" elements o the printhead were
turned on but not turned o a"ain in the required interval! thus permanently
dama"in" the printhead. )t is possible that the intrusive ;6Msucker could
put the calculator into such a state. ) believe that the calculator will work
ine with the printhead le$ circuit disconnected rom the driver board.
An alternate approach was used by Peter Monta to dump the ;6M code rom
an HP#?(. )n a ;6M chip! the bits are encoded by the presence or absence o
metali5ation at a particular location in the memory cell. )n older
semiconductor technolo"y! there was only a sin"le layer o ;6M! which was
the topmost layer Dthou"h possibly under a passivation coatin"E! so it can be
seen optically. Peter cut the tops rom the metal#can ;6M packa"es!
photomicro"raphed the ;6M chips! and wrote sotware to e$tract the ;6M
bits rom the resultin" ima"es.
Peter had to spend some time studyin" the bits and the visible structure o
the address decode array in the ;6M chip to determine the correct mappin"
o physical location to lo"ical address and bit position.
A description o the procedure and more photo"raphs can be seen on Peter%s
Pa"e , o *+
Photo 'L HP#?( .ircuit 4oard 8ith ;6M Packa"es Decapped
Photo by Peter Monta
web pa"e! at the 0;H listed in the 8eb ;eerences section at the end o this
paper.
;6M e$traction rom some HP models will be particularly diicult. The
;6Ms o the HP#-* watch are inside a ceramic hybrid module. There do
appear to be some test points on the module! but it is unclear whether any o
them provide access to the necessary clock! sync! address! and instruction
si"nals. ) not! optical e$traction may be the only viable option. ) that proves
necessary! ) would much preer to attempt it on a broken HP#-* rather than a
workin" one. However! ) do not have a broken HP#-*! and even broken ones
seem to etch hi"h prices on e4ay.
Fote that there is a patent on the HP#-* which contains a source listin" o a
prerelease o the ;6M. However! this is deinitely not inal ;6M code as the
keyboard layout is subtly dierent than production units! and there are nine
'(/#word pa"es o ;6M listed! while the HP <ournal article on the HP#-*
states that it contains two quad ;6Ms. 6 the nine '(/#word pa"es! there are
over '-- unused locations! so it is quite likely that HP en"ineers were able to
squee5e the code to it in two quads. )t should be possible to "et this
prerelease HP#-* code workin" on a simulator! and it would be quite
desirable to do so beore destroyin" an actual HP#-* to e$tract the inal ;6M
code.
The HP#*- @G)SSA basic printin" calculator Dnot the later HP#*-4 or HP#*-.
H.D calculatorsE appears to have the .P0 and ;6M inte"rated into a sin"le
chip. Tony Duell has traced out the schematic and states that there are no
e$tra pins that could provide the necessary bus si"nals. 6ptical e$traction is
probably the only viable method. As with the HP#-*! the HP#*- is rare! so )%d
rather do this to a broken one! but have not located one.
The more sophisticated Saturn#based calculators "enerally have a separate
;6M which could relatively easily be dumped. However! most o the lower#
end Saturn#based calculators have the .P0 and ;6M on a sin"le chip.
)nternal HP en"ineerin" documents reveal that these inte"rated Saturn chips
include a test mode that makes the internal Saturn bus cycles available on
pins o the packa"e. 0nortunately ) have no inormation on the pinouts! and
it will be a lot o work to determine how to invoke this test mode by trial and
error.
!M #an$ S%itching
The irst#"eneration HP handheld calculators used ;6Ms storin" '(/
instruction words each. There was a cumbersome mechanism or selectin"
one o ei"ht ;6Ms! allowin" or a ma$imum o '-3, instructions i ei"ht
;6Ms were used. The processor was not involved in ;6M selection! so the
pro"ram counter and the sin"le#level return stack could only address the
Pa"e + o *+
currently selected ;6M.
Hater ;6Ms in the irst#"eneration handhelds stored *-'3 words Done
@quadAE! but still unctioned as the equivalent o our '(/#word ;6Ms.
The HP#(( and HP#/( needed more than 'G instructions! so later ;6M chips
supported selection o one o two @"roupsA! allowin" or up to 3G
instructions. These models actually used ?G o ;6MN no handhelds based on
that chipset used more than ?G. These models also introduced the concept o
a delayed ;6M select! so that a ;6M chan"e would occur ater a ollowin"
branch instruction! simpliyin" the pro"rammer%s task in arran"in" the
pro"ram.
The HP#3/! HP#,*! and HP#+,-( desktop calculators used the same chipset
with more ;6M! but added e$ternal selection hardware.
)n the second#"eneration chipset introduced with the 8oodstock series o
calculators De.".! HP#'(E! the processor became more directly involved in
;6M addressin". The pro"ram counter and two#level return stack were *'
bits wide! providin" or a ma$imum o 3-+/ instruction words. Perhaps at
the time it was desi"ned this was deemed to oer some headroom! but in act
it was not lon" until it became insuicient. The HP#+'! HP#+(.! HP#/2>+2!
and HP#*+. all used more than 3G! so bank switchin" had to be introduced
a"ain. )n the Spice series! the HP#?,E! HP#?,.! and HP#?3. also use bank
switchin".
) have reverse#en"ineered the bank switchin" used in the Spice series. 8hile
) suspect that the 8oodstock bank switchin" is similar or identical! ) have not
yet veriied this.
My initial e$pectation was that the Spice bank switchin" would be very
similar to that used in the HP#3*.1 and some late HP#3*. ;6M modules.
Those have two instructions to select bank * and bank '. E$ecutin" one o
those instructions rom a bank#switched 3G block o ;6M aects the bank
selection o that block o ;6M only.
However! the Spice bank switchin" is in act much simpler. There is only a
sin"le bank switchin" instruction! which acts as a to""le! and aects all bank#
switched ;6Ms in the calculator re"ardless o address space.
This sin"le#instruction bank to""le scheme has interestin" consequences or
the ;6M sel#test. Durin" the sel#test procedure! the processor reads all o
the ;6M words o a *G block o ;6M with the SOF. line activated or each
word. This means that the ;6M cannot distin"uish a sel#test etch rom a
normal instruction etch. Thus i a bank#switch instruction is etched durin"
Pa"e *- o *+
the sel#test! the ollowin" ;6M words will be etched rom the opposite bank!
until another bank#switch instruction is etched. Thus the ;6M checksums o
the bank#switched blocks o the address space are not each computed over a
sin"le coherent bank! but rather on a mi$ o words or both banks.
6nce ) reali5ed that this interaction mi"ht be occurrin"! ) hypothesi5ed that
any Spice bank#switched address block would contain bank#switch
instructions at the same addresses in both banks. 6therwise it would be
impossible or the sel#test procedure to veriy all words o both banks.
&urthermore! it seemed likely that there would be an even number o bank
switch instructions in each bank! so that the sel#test instruction would
complete with the same bank selected as when it be"an. E$amination o the
dumps rom the ;6Msucker veriied both hypotheses or all three bank#
switched models.
6nce ) updated my @dumplo"A pro"ram to account or the bank#switchin"! the
HP#?,E! HP#?,.! and HP#?3. code started partially workin" in the simulator.
Multiple !M &ersions
Some calculator models were produced with multiple ;6M revisions! usually
in order to correct bu"s. The HP#?(! HP#3(! HP#/2>+2! and HP#3*. were
amous or this. )n the case o the HP#3(! in addition to i$in" bu"s! the
operation o stora"e arithmetic was si"niicantly chan"ed.
Some models had irmware chan"es that were less well known outside HP.
&or instance! there apparently were bu" i$es to the HP#,- and HP#**..
Saturn#based calculators "enerally have a means o indicatin" the ;6M
revision on the display! but with earlier calculators Dother than the HP#3*.E!
one can only test or the presence or absence o known bu"s! or use
hardware means to dump the ;6M contents or comparison.
Simulation Timing
The most obvious choices or timin" or a simulator are to match the real time
e$ecution rate o the actual calculator! or to run at the ma$imum possible
simulation speed. The latter is actually easier to implement! but can cause
some diiculties. &or instance! the calculator microcode oten uses timin"
loops or button debouncin"! so runnin" at a aster than normal rate can
prevent the keyboard rom operatin" correctly. )n the HP#3*.! i a key is
held or appro$imately one second! the unction name in the display is
replaced by @F0HHA! and no operation is perormed when the key is released.
This eature is intended to make it easier to use user#deined keys! since you
mi"ht or"et what unction you have assi"ned to a key. 4ut i the simulation
runs aster than normal! the F0HH appears too quickly.
Pa"e ** o *+
These timin" problems with ast simulation can be solved by either modiyin"
the calculator ;6M ima"e to take the hi"her speed into account! or by havin"
the simulator detect the timin" loop and take corrective action. Automatic
detection o the necessary compensation points is not always easy! althou"h a
"ood irst#order appro$imation would be to monitor all simulated instructions
that reerence the key pressed la". Appropriate corrective action mi"ht be
to adMust a loop counter in a simulated re"ister! or to temporarily reduce the
simulation speed.
Fonpareil currently attempts to use real#time e$ecution speed. Prior to
Saturn! HP handheld calculators e$ecuted microinstructions at a i$ed rate.
&or instance! the HP#(( e$ecutes ?(-- microinstructions per second Dbased
on a crystal oscillatorE. The microcode or the HP#(( timer mode depends on
this rate. Fonpareil matches it by timin" the e$ecution o a small number o
instructions then suspendin" e$ecution or the amount o time needed or a
real calculator to @catch upA.
Simulator Program Structure
.S)M and FS)M were written as sin"le processes! with display update and
keyboard pollin" happenin" periodically. Fonpareil instead uses two
processes! with one handlin" user interace and one runnin" the simulation
core. Semaphores and mute$es are used or synchroni5ation between the
two processes.
The two#process structure is also helpul in implementin" debu""in"
eatures! as the J0) process can easily set breakpoints and control the
e$ecution o the simulator process. This is useul or reverse#en"ineerin"
e$istin" microcode! debu""in" newly written microcode! or debu""in" the
simulation core itsel.
User 'nterface
.S)M and FS)M were written with the J0) code se"re"ated into a sin"le
source ile that could be easily rewritten or alternate operatin" systems. The
standard releases ori"inally used 1lib D1 8indow SystemE "raphics
primitives! thou"h ) later switched to the JTGC toolkit. JTGC has the
advanta"e that it is available on multiple platorms! althou"h only the
Hinu$>0ni$ platorm seems mature at this time. Fonpareil also uses "lib! a
portability library associated with JTGC! to provide platorm#independent
timin" and process synchroni5ation primitives.
.S)M and FS)M ori"inally used "raphics primitives to render a very crude
appro$imation o the appearance o the calculator! as can be seen in i"ures *
and '.
Pa"e *' o *+
Fonpareil instead loads a PFJ ile to serve as the back"round o the
calculator window. The PFJ ile can be a photo"raph or scan o an actual
calculator! and David Hicks o the Museum o HP .alculators has "raciously
"iven me permission to use some photo"raphs rom his web site in the
Fonpareil packa"e.
4y deault! Fonpareil creates the calculator window with no menu bar or
other adornments! and adMusts the shape o the windows based on
transparency in the PFJ ile! so that an HP#?( window is shaped like the
outline o an HP#?(! as can bee seen in i"ure ?. This @shapeA mode can be
disabled to provide a normal window with a menu bar! close bo$! etc.
)n the deault @shapeA mode! the menus will pop up i you click the ri"ht
mouse button on the calculator display area! and the window can be moved
around the desktop by clickin" and dra""in" with the let mouse button.
Pa"e *? o *+
&i"ure *L .S)M simulatin" HP#?(
&i"ure 'L FS)M simulatin" HP#
3*.=
(ML Language for Simulator Configuration
The Fonpareil user interace is deined by a GMH ile. Each calculator to be
simulated has one or more GMH iles! and the user speciies one on the
command line. The GMH ile tells Fonpareil what hardware to simulate!
where to ind the ;6M and "raphics iles! and the locations and si5es o the
buttons.
GMH was deined by SPbastien .arlier and .asey Patterson or use in
Emu3,! and the speciication is currently maintained by .hristoph JieQelink.
Pa"e *3 o *+
&i"ure ?L Fonpareil showin" an HP#3( in the deault RshapeR mode! and an HP#(( in Rnon#
shapeR mode
Since the GMH speciication ori"inally only had support or bitmapped
displays! ) have added several e$tensions to GMH to support se"ment#oriented
displays as used on the calculators with HED displays and seven#se"ment and
ourteen#se"ment H.D displays. 6ther GMH e$tensions have also been
added. )t would probably be a "ood idea to try to mer"e the Fonpareil
chan"es into the oicial GMH speciication! althou"h ) am also considerin"
switchin" rom GMH to 1MH.
Legal 'ssues
) am not a lawyer! and do not oer any speciic le"al advice. However! there
are some potential le"al issues that may ace developers o simulators
Dunctional or microcode#levelEL
.opyri"htL
)t appears that there is no 0.S. .opyri"ht on the irmware o any HP
handheld calculator introduced beore *+,?. Prior to the 0S adoption o the
4erne .onvention! a work was required to bear a copyri"ht notice in order to
receive copyri"ht protection. There were certain very limited conditions
where the accidental omission o the copyri"ht notice could be corrected! but
it does not appear that HP calculators qualiy. Details may be ound in *2
0.S... 3-(DaE.
The HP#2*4 handheld computers and all HP handheld calculators introduced
ater *+,? have copyri"ht notices! so it is "enerally not possible to distribute
the ;6M ima"es without e$plicit permission rom HP. HP has "ranted
permission or ;6M ima"es o some speciic models to be publicly
distributed.
PatentsL
The 0.S. patents on early HP calculators have e$pired. There are still 0.S.
patents in orce re"ardin" aspects o ;PH! raction entry and display! the
equation editor! etc.
TrademarksL
There are potential trademark problems with use o the name @Hewlett#
PackardA or the initials @HPA in the name! description! or advertisin" o a
simulator.
Current Status
.lassic seriesL HP#?(! HP#3(! HP#((! HP#,- believed workin" correctly.
8oodstock seriesL HP#'( partially workin"
Pa"e *( o *+
Spice seriesL HP#?'E believed workin" correctly. 6ther models partially
work.
.oconutL HP#3*.= workin"! but state save not yet implemented! and
ourteen#se"ment H.D display needs improvement.
=oya"er seriesL Displays memory lost! then a 5ero 1 re"ister! but no
urther useul behavior. Seven#se"ment H.D display needs improvement.
Ports
There are not yet any ports o Fonpareil to other platorms! but there are
several ports o my earlier simulatorsL
David Hicks o the Museum o HP .alculators has ported it as a <ava appletL
httpL>>www.hpmuseum.or">simulate>sim3(.htm
<onathan Purvis has ported .S)M to Palm6SL
httpL>>one#two#three#our#ive.com>palm>csim>
MacieM 4artosiak ported FS)M to Mac6S 1 and si"niicantly improved the
appearanceL
httpL>>homepa"e.mac.com>mba>nsim>
MacieM has "raciously allowed me to incorporate some o his "raphical
improvements into Fonpareil! and tells me that he is workin" on portin"
Fonpareil to Mac6S 1.
Custom Hard%are
Since certain models o old HP calculators are now diicult to obtain and>or
e$pensive! there may be some interest in buildin" replicas.
;ichard 6ttosen has built a custom calculator hardware prototype named
@D)O#;PFA usin" a P).*,&3(' microcontroller and a */S' character H.D
module. ) have written 8oodstock simulation code in assembly lan"ua"e to
run on it! and am in the process o debu""in" it. The component side o the
printed circuit board is shown in photo ?.
The D)O#;PF keyboard uses an array o surace#mount @tact switchesA! which
use metal snap#disc similar to Dbut smaller thanE those o traditional HP
keyboards. These can be seen in photo 3. 6 course! we do not have custom
double#shot inMection#molded keys. )nstead! we are currently usin" an
overlay. ;ichard purchased a photo printer and scaled and modiied a
photo"raph o an HP#'(. )t works surprisin"ly well.
Pa"e */ o *+
Glaus Dlast name unknownE has built calculator hardware usin" a P).*/&,22
microcontroller. His sotware is written in .! usin" a portion o the Fonpareil
code. The schematics and source code DJPHE are available rom his web site!
listed below in the 8eb ;eerences section.
)uture *or$
Ar"uably the hi"hest priority task is to ind and i$ bu"s in the processor
simulation. The bu" aectin" the lo"arithmic and e$ponential unctions o
Pa"e *2 o *+
Photo ?L D)O#;PF component side
Microcontroller needs to be installed in
square socket. H.D module at top! serial
and SD card Macks on let! battery holders
at bottom. Two boost switchin"
re"ulators surrounded by a rectan"ular
"round plane provide re"ulated (= or the
microcontroller and H.D module when
the calculator is turned on! and re"ulated
?.?= or the SD card when it is active.
Photo by ;ichard 6ttosen.
Photo 3L D)O#;PF circuit side
Surace mount tact switches and the
ront o the H.D module. 8hen
assembled! the buttons protrude
throu"h holes in the top case! and a
photo paper overlay provides keyboard
le"ends.
Photo by ;ichard 6ttosen.
the HP#'( is particularly e$asperatin". 6n several occasions ) have ound
errors in the code which seemed likely to be the cause o the lo">e$p bu"!
only to ind that the correction has not in act eliminated the bu".
) e$pect that i$in" the underlyin" bu" causin" the lo">e$p problem may also
i$ the problems with various Spice series models.
) have captured traces rom several Spice runs or comparison with simulator
traces! to attempt to ind the dierences. 0nortunately the dierences tend
to occur on conditional branches ater hundreds or thousands o instruction
cycles. ) the simulator takes the wron" path o the conditional branch! it is
not usually immediately obvious why this occurs! because the traces o the
real hardware don%t provide direct visibility o internal re"ister state.
There are still many calculator models or which more reverse#en"ineerin"
will be necessary. .urrently ) have no inormation on the operation o the
card readers in the HP#/( and HP#/2>+2! and only a brie description o the
printer instructions used in the HP#+*! HP#+'! HP#+(.! and HP#+2.
) have started work on a 8indows port o Fonpareil. The simulation core
seems to work! but bu"s in the 8indows port o the JTGC toolkit result in
missin" display updates. There is also a bu" in the JTGC support or
unadorned windows! resultin" in the window shape mask bein" applied at an
oset.
MacieM 4artosiak has stated that he is workin" on a Mac6S 1 port o
Fonpareil.
*e+ eferences
FonpareilL httpL>>nonpareil.brouhaha.com>
.ASMS)ML httpL>>www.brouhaha.com>Teric>sotware>casmsim>
FS)ML httpL>>www.brouhaha.com>Teric>sotware>nsim>
Photos o the ;6MsuckerL
httpL>>"allery.brouhaha.com>romsucker
Museum o HP .alculatorsL
httpL>>www.hpmuseum.or">
Peter Monta%s @;everse En"ineerin" the HP#?(AL
httpL>>www.pmonta.com>calculators>hp#?(>
Glaus%s )US)ML
httpL>>www.inormatik.h#
wiesbaden.de>Tkhind--*>iqsim>iqsim.html
Pa"e *, o *+
.hristoph JieQelink%s EM03, pa"e! includin" the GMH speciicationL
httpL>>privat.swol.de>.hristophJiesselink>emu3,.htm
,c$no%ledgments
The author "rateully acknowled"es assistance and inormation provided by
many individualsL

MacieM 4artosiak
Hui5 .lVudio
Tony Duell
4ob Edelen
.hristoph JieQelink
Dave Hicks
8ieland Hin"st
8lodek Mier#<edr5eMowic5
Peter Monta
;ichard 6ttosen
Felson Sicuro
Mark Sims
;andy Sloyer
Gen Sumrall
My apolo"ies i )%ve omitted anyone.
#i+liography
8ickes*+,-L ! Synthetic Pro"rammin" on the HP#3*.! *+,-
8ilkes*+(*L M.=. 8ilkes! The 4est 8ay to Desi"n an Automated .alculatin"
Machine! *+(*
.ochran*+/,L David S. .ochran! )nternal Pro"rammin" o the +*--A
.alculator! *+/,
6sborne*+,'L Thomas E. 6sborne! Hewlett#Packard .alculator Architectures!
*+,'
Dickie,3L <ames P. Dickie! .ustom .M6S Architecture or a Handheld
.omputer! *+,3
Pa"e *+ o *+

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