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uBix-Retro / tools / vasm / vasm / doc / cpu_6809.texi
This chapter documents the backend for the Motorola 6809, 68HC12 and
Hitachi 6309.

@section Legal

    This module is written in 2020 by Frank Wille
    and is covered by the vasm copyright without modifications.


@section Additional options for this module

This module provides the following additional options:

@table @option
    @item -6809
        Generate code for the 6809 CPU (default setting).
        Also works on the 6309, which is backwards compatible.
    @item -6309
        Generate code for the 6309 CPU.
    @item -68hc12
        Generate code for the 68HC12 CPU.
    @item -opt-branch
        Translate short-branches to long and optimize long-branches
        to short when required/possible.
        Also tries to optimize @code{jmp} and @code{jsr} instructions
        into short-branches.
    @item -opt-offset
        Delete zero offsets in indexed addressing modes, when possible.
    @item -opt-pc
        Convert all extended addressing modes with local or external
        labels to indexed, PC-relative addressing. Also translates
        absolute @code{jmp}/@code{jsr} instructions into PC-relative
        @code{lbra}/@code{lbsr} (or better).
@end table

@section General

This backend accepts 6809/6309 instructions as described in the
Motorola 6809 and Hitachi 6309 Programmer's Reference (Copyright 2009
Darren Atkinson).
Optionally supports the 68HC12 instruction set as documented in
Motorola's CPU12 Reference Manual.

The target address type is 16 bit.

Instructions consist of one up to six bytes and require no alignment.
There is also no alignment requirement for sections and data.

@section Extensions

The backend supports the unary operators @code{<} and @code{>} to either
select the size of an addressing mode or the LSB/MSB of a 16-bit word.

@itemize @minus
@item When direct or extended addressing modes are applicable,
 @code{<} forces direct mode and @code{>} forces extended mode.
@item For indexed, PC-relative addressing modes @code{<} forces an
 8-bit offset, while @code{>} forces a 16-bit offset.
@item For all other indexed addressing modes with a constant offset
 @code{<} forces an 8-bit offset and @code{>} forces a 16-bit offset.
@item For immediate addressing modes or data constants @code{<} selects
 the LSB of a word and @code{>} selects the MSB.
@item When applying the operation @code{/256}, @code{%256} or @code{&256}
 on a label in immediate addressing modes or data constants,
 an appropriate lo/hi-byte relocation will automatically be generated.
@end itemize

In absence of @code{<} or @code{>} vasm selects the best addressing
mode possible, i.e. the one which requires the least amount of memory
when the symbol value is known, or the one which allows the largest
symbol values, when it is unknown at assembly time.

This backend extends the selected syntax module by the following
directives:

@table @code
@item setdp <expr>
      Set the current base address of the direct page. It is used
      to decide whether an extended addressing mode can be
      optimized to direct addressing. No effect for 68HC12.

@item direct <symbol>
      Tell the assembler to use direct addressing for expressions
      based on this symbol.
@end table


@section Optimizations

This backend performs the following operand optimizations:

@itemize @minus
@item Short-branches (@code{Bcc}) are optionally translated into long-branches
  (@code{LBcc}) when their destination is undefined, in a different
  section or out of range. Note that there is no @code{LBSR} on the HC12.
@item Long-branches (@code{LBcc}) are optionally optimized into short-branches
  (@code{Bcc}) when possible.
@item Optionally optimize @code{JMP} into @code{BRA} and @code{JSR} into
  @code{BSR} when possible (same section, distance representable in 8 bits).
@item Optionally translate @code{JMP} into @code{LBRA} and @code{JSR} into
  @code{LBSR} (@option{-opt-pc}).
@item Optionally translate all extended addressing, refering to local
  or external labels, to an indexed, PC-relative addressing mode
  (@option{-opt-pc}).
@item Optionally optimize indexed addressing modes with a constant zero
  offset into a no-offset addressing mode, which executes faster. Not
  possible on the HC12.
@item Always select the shortest indexed addressing mode for constant
  offsets, unless externally defined.
@end itemize

@section Known Problems

    Some known problems of this module at the moment:

@itemize @minus
@item PC-relative addressing modes in @code{MOVx} instructions may be
      wrong. Needs testing.
@end itemize

@section Error Messages

This module has the following error messages:

@itemize @minus

@item 2001: trailing garbage in operand
@item 2002: ] expected for indirect addressing mode
@item 2003: missing valid index register
@item 2004: pc-relative offset out of range: %ld
@item 2005: constant offset out of range: %ld
@item 2006: bad auto decrement/increment value: %d
@item 2007: indirect addressing not allowed
@item 2008: auto increment/decrement not allowed
@item 2009: short branch out of range: %ld
@item 2010: long branch out of range: %ld
@item 2011: decrement branch out of range: %ld
@item 2012: data size %d not supported
@item 2013: data expression doesn't fit into %d bits
@item 2014: illegal bit number specification: %d
@item 2015: omitted offset taken as 5-bit zero offset
@item 2016: immediate expression doesn't fit into %d bits
@item 2017: directive ignored as selected CPU has no DP register
@item 2018: double size modifier ignored
@item 2019: addressing mode not supported

@end itemize