Welcome to CoCo
===============
Welcome to the source code for the CoCo Virtual Machine. CoCo is an
implementation of the Python Virtual Machine in C++. CoCo is an
object-oriented implementation of the Python 3.2 virtual machine.
Documentation for writing programs for CoCo can be found on the
web at
http://cs.luther.edu/~leekent/CoCo
There are a few differences in this implementation from the standard
Python Virtual Machine. Modules are not currently supported. Every
CoCo program must have a main function since execution starts at the
main function. There are no global variables in CoCo. There are several
extensions of CoCo that support functional programming languages like
Lisp-like lists, a print function that returns an instance of itself,
and a print that takes a tuple as its argument.
CoCo supports exceptions and exception handling, nested functions, looping,
and symbolic target names for branches and jumps.
The Python programming language was named after Monty Python, a comedy
troupe from the UK that has passed the test of time. CoCo was named after
the coconut carried by two African Sparrows in Monty Python and the Holy
Grail. Additionally, my first computer back in 1980 was a Radio Shack
TRS-80 Color Computer, affectionately nicknamed CoCo. The original CoCo
had a Motorola 6809 processor and my first assembly language program was
written for this processor, which was NOT a virtual machine. Like the 6809
assembly language that I learned back in 1980, the CoCo VM assembly language
is a worthwhile language to learn. Virtual machines have become very popular
as embedded systems have proliferated everywhere. I hope you enjoy learning
to use it and extending it!
-- Kent D. Lee
Compiling CoCo
==============
CoCo can be built for your platform if you have a C++ compiler and the
automake tools installed on your computer. The zip file can be downloaded
from Git Hub if you have not already done so. Alternatively, you can use
git to create a branch of the project.
To unzip the file, type
unzip CoCo.zip
Then, execute
cd CoCo
./configure
make
If anything goes wrong or you add additional source files to the project,
you can execute the rebuild script. However, you should be certain that you
have the automake tools installed on your system in this case. In particular,
the autoreconf program is used in rebuilding the project. Running the
rebuild script will tell you what you need to install on most Linux
distributions. To rebuild run
./rebuild
./configure
make
Running CoCo
============
The coco binary can be installed wherever you like, preferably in your
path someplace.
You can also download a binary from the website listed above for
Mac OS X, Linux, or Microsoft Windows platforms.
To run coco simply type
coco file.casm
The file.casm is a file that you provide with a CoCo program in it.
A casm is a CoCo assembly language program and must be in the format
described at
http://cs.luther.edu/~leekent/CoCo
There must be a main function in the casm file where CoCo will begin
executing the Python Virtual Machine instructions.
Good luck and have fun writing CoCo programs!
