Welcome to the experimental edutainment/multi-tutorial repository.

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ANNOUNCEMENT :

If somebody can create open-source software that's like the Google Maps of VLSI (designing chips) that'd be great.

• or I can do that myself
• a game for making games

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The PURPOSE of this repo:

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To help individuals, with or without a technical background, to:

• fill in the gaps left by their formal education or, if they didn't have any, provide them with comprehensive alternative education;
  • (especially for beginners)
    • hone their programming skills,
    • internalize key programming and engineering concepts,
    • learn about different systems,
    • understand and build a perspective on modern computing through studying its history.
• grow a portfolio;
• improve their productivity in general (combatting ADD, figuring out alternatives to unhealthy solutions, etc.);

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The MANIFESTO is:

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• to run
  • to use for practical or artistic reasons
• to share
  • to show off
• to study
  • to learn
• to modify
  • to hack ethically and creatively

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CHOSEN PERSONAL PROJECT:

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TOPICS AND METHODS EXPLORED TO AN EXTENT OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS :

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Quantum computing :

• contrast with classical binary computing
• benefits
• technology
• qubits
• hardware (processors)
• algorithms

Legacy (real-mode) assembly programming :

• emu8086 vs. DOSBox vs. actual DOS
• BIOS calls vs. DOS calls
• SI and DI registers
• data segment vs. extra segment
• proper linear scanning of bytes within a buffer
• optimization heuristics
• real-mode memory segmentation
• endiannesses
• monitoring and amending bytes in memory
• using and creating interrupts
• NASM for Windows in protected mode :
  • linking externs
    • stack frames : creating and tearing down
    • caller-callee memory (stack frame) sharing : parameters and passing by reference
• MASM for Windows in protected mode :
  • directives

Raw binary images of :

1. BIOS
2. OS and related contents towards drive partitions :

• boot partition (bootloaders)
• OS partition
• OS (kernel + build utilities)
• drivers
• swap partition
• data partition

Process memory layout :

• arguments + environment variables
• stack (segment)
  • base pointer (frame pointer)
  • stack pointer
• shared libraries
• memory mapping segment
• heap (segment)
• BSS segment
• data segment
• text segment

Compile time vs. runtime :

• dynamically allocated structures -> the heap segment at runtime after the main entry
• statically allocated data + function calls -> the stack segment at runtime after the main entry
• uninitialized global variables -> BSS segment at runtime before the main entry
• initialized global variables -> data segment at runtime before the main entry

Types of binary file formats in Unix-like systems :

• .bin vs. ELF executable vs. .out , etc.

Hexadecimal byte code writing :

• understanding of the different types of binary files
• (their headers)
• (32-bit vs. 64-bit)
• (ELF vs. raw binary vs. others)

Applications of various programming, logic, query, and other languages.

Assembly programming :

• assemblers
• syntaxes
• directives in MASM , NASM , GAS , gcc ARM , etc.
• NASM :
  • directives , statements , markers : db , equ , $ , times , dup
  • address labels
• bss and resb
• optimizations (light coverage)
• ASCII conversion between digits as codes and digits as text characters
• system calls and interrupts |
• register renaming
• instruction read dependency
• instruction pipelining
• inefficient pipeline stall

DIY project : research -and- building my own dumb laptop / motherboard / CPU / EEPROMS | . instruction queue/decode buffer | . reset vector : | . hardwired/integrated into the CPU | . "double indirection" | . near/far jump to BIOS | . flash firmware programming : | . POST imitation | . BIOS (not UEFI) imitation | . system bus vs. chipset

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CHOSEN PROFESSIONAL PROJECT:

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[REJECTED - PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE] | A legacy BIOS/UEFI (x86) -based OS :

• 32-bit ? multiboot2 -compliant ??
• to be tested in QEMU
• to be shipped for Raspberry Pi

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ABANDONED PROJECT IDEAS:

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• a game for Linux

  • OpenGL
  • drivers (dev's)
    • framebuffer
    • SDL mixer / ALSA

• a game like a built-in OS

• a game for DosBox

• an emulator (VM)

• learn BIOS-kernel-API/DSP-distro ladder for that

• An API / display server protocol for a 13h-like mode portable to any server-like system.