New Q60 Boards

[Derek_Stewart]

HI Peter,

Development of QDOS Classic was only an idea.

I build a Q60 in 2002, because I liked Assembly Language, and the 68060 CPU looks a nice processor to programme, this still holds true now.

[Derek_Stewart]

HI,

I read in this message thread, the everyone wants Q60, great, this can be done, with the last design.

But as in 2002, when with a friend who lived locally, we devised a production process for manufacturer of the Q60 in 2 forms:

1. Cased Q60 in available cases at the time of manufacturer only Beige PC Midi Tower Cases were available.
2. Q60 Board option: with PCB, CPU, I/O Card, RAM.

This was the only options because, if the Q60 board was supplied only without, CPU, I/O Card, RAM then I can not guarantee that the parts fitted will work.

Part of the Q60 manufacture was the testing of the hardware and soak testing of the operating system under load. Linux was used for this as Linux could access all the 128Mb ram.

Today the same thing still applies.

[ql_freak]

Sorry for quoting myself, but I have just copied the C68 runtime and documentation archives from Dilwyn´s page to my QPC2 installation and am just reading changes_doc.

...(are there any programs, which can use the FPU, perhaps C68 compiled code, I've heard later versions had support for the FPU, at least for the 68040, the 060 lacks some features of the 040)...

YES! I have remembered correctly :-D

Code: Select all

C68 COMPILATION SYSTEM                               Change Log


Release 4.20a  (18th November 1995)
         
...
7.   The  floating point support routines will now use hardware
     floating point  for multiply and divide  if it is present.
     This is transparent in normal use beyond the speed up when
     such hardware is  present.    The  TECHREF.DOC  manual  is
     updated with details  of  the  underlying  implementation.
     Note that this implementation is fully compatible with the
     package  by  Simon  Goodwin  that  allows  floating  point
     hardware to be used from within SuperBasic programs.
...

And even better, the "FP Save" routine from George Gwilt, which Peter has suggested, has been added even in an earlier version :-D AND in

Version 4.21:

Code: Select all

3.   Support for  generation of inline  hardware floating point
      instructions  added, although use at this release is still
      experimental (due to GWASS being experimental).

Version 4.22:

Code: Select all

5.   The  IEEE support  routines upgraded  to work  with George
      Gwilt's FPSAVE floating point support routines.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

There has been cases where C programmes are cross compiled with QDOS-GCC, rather than C68. That with compiled optimisation, a 30% speed increase was achived.

I used supply George Gwilt's FPU code for Q60 with FPU fitted.

The same FPU code works with a QXL fitted with a 68040 with FPU.

However, only programme specific software tskes advantage of the 68060 FPU, as normal SMSQ/E operation does use the FPU in the CPU.

Or maybe I did not know how to use it.

[ansar]

Hi Derek,

Although I am still waiting for Q68, can you supply me a Q60, in order to test my new 64 bit compiler and interpreter? Just pm cost etc.

Regards,
ansar

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Derek,

Although I am still waiting for Q68, can you supply me a Q60, in order to test my new 64 bit compiler and interpreter? Just pm cost etc.

Regards,
ansar

I have the Q68 boards and I am in the process of constructing the Q68.

I need to get the Q68 cases made along with QL Network circuitry.

Q60 not in production at present.

[Peter]

There has been cases where C programmes are cross compiled with QDOS-GCC, rather than C68. That with compiled optimisation, a 30% speed increase was achived.

QDOS-GCC can compile code with FPU support, but the assembler then fails. Apparently, using -m68881 (or any other commandline option which selects an FPU architecture) generates an unrecognized "gwass" commandline option.

It also seems impossible to assemble QDOS-GCC >=68020 code, even without FPU code generation.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Peter

I only repeat what others have quoted, their claims seems to relate to C compiled programmes with QDOS-GCC.

Whether this correct, I can not verify.

Maybe I should only Superbasic and Assembly Language.

I try to understand all this programming, but I am just an enthusiastic user that has had limited success building hardware.

[XorA]

It also seems impossible to assemble QDOS-GCC >=68020 code, even without FPU code generation.

When I looked at the support for this ages ago it looked to be incomplete code.

[tofro]

There has been cases where C programmes are cross compiled with QDOS-GCC, rather than C68. That with compiled optimisation, a 30% speed increase was achived.

QDOS-GCC can compile code with FPU support, but the assembler then fails. Apparently, using -m68881 (or any other commandline option which selects an FPU architecture) generates an unrecognized "gwass" commandline option.

It also seems impossible to assemble QDOS-GCC >=68020 code, even without FPU code generation.

Actually, I don't think this is a problem (rather some sort of advantage or case of forced self-restraint): I don't think we want the world of QL software which is small enough already, further sub-divided in programs that can only run on certain CPUs and FPUs.