git.y1.nz

docs/ChangeLog

gbdk-4.5.0
    - Library
      - Added dynamic HRAM variable allocation for GB/AP/Duck
      - Added zx0 decompression support for sm83, z80: zx0_decompress()
      - Fixed escaping % symbol in printf() and sprintf()
      - GB/AP/Duck
        - Improved get_bkg_xy_addr(), get_win_xy_addr()
        - Improved performance for banked calls
      - SMS/GG
        - Changed GG "not interrrupt" link port control bit constant from GGEXT_NINIT to GGEXT_NINT
        - Removed legacy ___sdcc_bcall trampoline
        - Fixed parameter order of set_tile_submap(), set_tile_submap_compat()
        - Fixed tilemap width not set correctly in set_tile_submap_compat()
      - NES/SMS/GG: Remove broken and unused FAST_DIV8 macro
      - NES: Fixed fill_bkg_rect() to wrap correctly at screen edges, now calls set_bkg_tile_xy()
    - Examples
      - Added HRAM variable example for GB/AP/Duck
      - Added SRAM bank example for new #pragma dataseg DATA_<N>
      - Added Game Boy MBC5 Rumble example
      - Added SMS NMI handler example
      - Added MegaDuck Laptop Printer example
      - Added MegaDuck and Game Gear support to Game Boy Printer example
      - Improved RLE compress example to convert and compress map at build time
      - Fixed Platformer example incorrectly using -keep_duplicate_tiles flag
      - Fixed Text Advanced Dialogue example printing
      - Fixed Sound example not writing length when length bit enabled and triggering channel
    - Toolchain / Utilities
      - png2asset
        - Added binary palette export for -bin mode
        - Added logging of conversion arguments to .c and .h output files
          - Path is stripped to avoid potential unwanted username/etc disclosure
        - Added -use_metafile option to load arguments from <inputfile>.meta
        - Changed to separate attribute array for -use_map_attributes + -use_structs with SMS/GG
        - Fixed broken transparency for SGB borders with more than one 16 color palette
        - Fixed missing error for -bin requiring -map
        - Fixed incorrect line breaks and trailing spaces in output
      - bankpack
        - Changed Linkerfile output order to match packing order for use with asm .bndry alignment in rom banks
        - Improved bank assignment printout
      - gbcompress
        - Added include guards for header file output (Rodrigo Card)
        - Added zx0 compression and decompression mode: --alg=zx0
      - romusage: Fixed missing error when filename not present
    - Docs: Improved html style and mobile web formatting

gbdk-4.4.0
    - Library
      - NES
        - Added delay() and reset() functions for compatibility
        - Added Timer interrupt emulation: add_TIM(), remove_TIM()
        - Improved LCD ISR support for less graphics glitches
        - Improved palette function code size (smaller)
        - Changed LCD bkg_scroll_y to be relative to the current scanline for higher compatibility with Game Boy SCY_REG and LCD handlers
        - Fixed bug with set_bkg_1bpp_data() not working in buffered mode
        - Fixed bug with multiple column attribute updates
        - Fixed bugs with non-multiple-of-2 (/4) map width in set_bkg_submap_attributes()
      - SMS/GG
        - Added Timer interrupt emulation: add_TIM(), remove_TIM()
        - Improved metasprite Y clipping
        - Changed from unsigned (uint16_t) to signed int16 (int16_t) for coordinates with the family of ...metasprite...() functions
      - MegaDuck
        - Added header files: duck/laptop_io.h, duck/model.h, duck/laptop_keycodes.h
    - Toolchain / Utilities
      - lcc
        - Changed use --no-optsdcc-in-asm for building user programs and the GBDK library
          - This removes some "O line" meta-data from object files to avoid false-positive linker errors
          - It is a workaround for SDCC now appending the calling convention to the "O Line" in the object files by default
        - Changed to warn about some deprecated flags: A,b, B, -dn, -g, -n, -O, P, -p, -static, -t, -w
      - Added makenes utility for finalizing NES rom headers (called automatically by lcc)
      - png2asset
        - Added -area option to specify linker area name (such as -area LIT for SMS/GG)
        - Added support for 512 tiles via alternate tile bank on GBC
        - Fixed Palette Generation broken when using -source_tileset option
      - bankpack:
        - Added support for MBC7
        - Fixed bugs with large number of object files      
      - romusage
        - Added Set hex bytes treated as Empty in ROM files (.gb/etc) -b:HEXVAL:[...]
        - Added option to Hide memory regions (ex hide all RAM: -nMEM:RAM)
        - Added support NES (-p:NES1) .noi/.map files
        - Changed to allow filename at any location in option arguments
        - Fixed detecting areas with leading underscores for .noi/.map files
        - Fixed Brief/summarized mode counting overlapped header areas multiple times
      - png2hicolorgb
        - Added --palendbit for indicating end of data
        - Added --addendcolor=N for appending color to clear the background on non-full height images
        - Added --precompiled mode
        - Added -s to specify variable/symbol name in C output
      - ihxcheck: Fixed check on max bank to prevent crash
    - Examples
      - Added Game Boy MBC7 Accelerometer, MBC3 Real Time Clock (RTC)
      - Added Mega Duck Laptop Keyboard, RTC, Speech
      - Added Text and Dialog example
      - Changed irq example to be cross-platform
      - Improved emu_debug example

gbdk-4.3.0
    - Library
      - Added get_system() which indicates system speed
      - Changed EMU_printf() to remove dependency on stdio.h added similar EMU_fmtbuf()
      - Fixed emu_debug.h macros missing a trailing space
      - NES
        - Many library improvements
        - Added PAL support
        - Fixed _map_tile_offset for set_bkg_based_tiles(), VRAM transfer buffer bug
        - Fixed support for 4-player controllers using fourscore
      - SMS/GG
        - Added SHOW_SPRITES, HIDE_SPRITES (no hiding mid-frame), DIV_REG emulation, 6 button controller support in joypad()
        - Added bcd.h implementation
        - Added Game Gear registers and definitions
          - GG_STATE, GG_EXT_7BIT, GG_EXT_CTL, GG_SIO_SEND, GG_SIO_RECV, GG_SIO_CTL, GG_SOUND_PAN
        - Changed VDP to reduce chances of dangerous ISR nesting (also for MSX)
        - Fixed tilemap wrapping over the low bound of the VDP name table
        - Fixed waitpad(), scroll_sprite(), __WRITE_VDP_REG_UNSAFE() VDP macro
        - Fixed return result of "set_tile x, y" family functions (also for MSX)
      - Game Boy
        - Added HBlank copy routines: hblank_copy_vram(), hblank_cpy_vram(), hblank_copy()
        - Fixed 8-bit signed modulus
    - Toolchain / Utilities
      - Added romusage utility for viewing free/used ROM and RAM in compiled programs
      - lcc: Changed -debug to add the following flags: -Wa-l -Wl-u -Wl-w
      - png2asset
        - Added -sprite_no_optimize, -entity_tileset, -rel_paths
        - Various crashes and output fixes
      - makebin: Fixed crash when using -yS (-Wm-yS with lcc)
      - bankpack: Added -banktype= to allow forcing a bank type to CODE or LIT before packing starts
    - Examples
      - Added HBlank copy, Read SNES joypads on NES, Game Boy Printer, Joypad test, Display System, Platformer
      - Wav sample: play waveforms on the SMS/GG PSG
      - Fixes for SMS/GG: Fonts, Large Map, gbdecompress
      - Removed Analogue Pocket examples that were just duplicates of Game Boy ones
    - Updated documentation and fixed search

gbdk-4.2.0
    - Library fixes/improvements
      - Added set_bkg_attributes(), set_bkg_submap_attributes(), set_bkg_attribute_xy()
      - Some functions renamed (old names will work for now)
        - vsync(): replaces wait_vbl_done()
        - set_default_palette(): replaces cgb_compatibility()
        - move_metasprite_flipy(): replaces move_metasprite_hflip()
        - move_metasprite_flipx(): replaces move_metasprite_vflip()
        - move_metasprite_flipxy(): replaces move_metasprite_hvflip()
        - move_metasprite_ex(): (replaces move_metasprite()
      - metasprites: added metasprite functions which can set base sprite property parameter
    - NES
      - Added support for much of the GBDK API
      - Banking support (library and sdcc toolchain)
      - Added set_bkg_attributes_nes16x16(), set_bkg_submap_attributes_nes16x16(), set_bkg_attribute_xy_nes16x16()
    - SMS/GG
      - Swapped A and B buttons to match game boy buttons
      - X coordinate metasprite clipping on the screen edges
    - Game Boy
      - Faster vmemcpy(), set_data(), get_data()
      - Fixed hide_sprites_range(39u, 40u) overflow shadow OAM
      - Removed legacy MBC register definitions `.MBC1_ROM_PAGE` and `.MBC_ROM_PAGE`
      - Workaround for possible HALT bug in Crash Handler
    - Refactored interrupts to use less space
    - lcc "lcc"
      - Fixed `--sdccbindir`
    - png2asset
      - Added `-repair_index_pal`: Tries to repair tile palettes
      - Added `-no_palettes`: Do not export palette data
      - Fixed support for indexed color pngs with less than 8 bits color depth
      - Fixed incorrect palettes when different colors have same luma value
      - Fixed -keep_duplicate_tiles not working with -source_tileset
    - Added png2hicolorgb + example project
    - Added sdld6808 (for NES)
    - Examples
      - Wav Playback: Improved support on AGB/AGS hardware
      - Large Map: Added color for supported platforms
      - Added GB-Type example
    - Updated documentation and improved search

gbdk-4.1.1
    - Library fixes/improvements
      - Fixed RGB() and RGB8() macros

gbdk-4.1.0
    - Experimental Support for MSXDOS and NES. These are not yet fully functional
    - SDCC
      - The `gbz80` port was renamed to to `sm83`. Some projects may require updates
      - The default calling convention changed in SDCC 4.2
         - See 4.1.0 Release in "Migrating to new GBDK Versions" in the docs
    - Library fixes/improvements
      - SGB: Use longer wait between the SGB packet transfers
      - SMS/GG: less screen artifacts on startup, cgb_compatibility()
      - Fixed: get_sprite_data(), get_bkg_data(), get_win_data() when @LCDCF_BG8000 bit of LCDC_REG is set
    - Toolchain
      - png2asset: Many new tileset and processing features
        -tiles_only, -maps_only, -metasprites_only, -source_tileset, -keep_duplicate_tiles, -bin, -transposed, -spr16x16msx, -use_nes_attributes, -use_nes_colors
      - gbcompress
        - Bug fixes and added --bank=<num>
      - lcc
        - Add -yoA if no ROM size specified with -autobank
        - Fixed broken `-E` Preprocess only flag
      - Added makecom for post-processing msxdos binaries
      - bankpack
        - Added -reserve=<bank>:<size> to reserve space during packing
      - ihxcheck
        - Check and warn for bank overflows under specific conditions
    - Examples
      - Added example for APA image mode with more than 256 tiles
      - Added SGB Sound Effects example
      - Changed to new WAV sound example
    - Updated documentation
    - Licensing
      - Status of licensing clarified with consent from GBDK original authors, added licensing folder

gbdk-4.0.6
    - Support for MegaDuck
    - Library fixes/improvements
        - fix RNG for SMS/GG
        - check for overflow in metasprites handling routines
        - set_*_based_tiles() / set_*_based_submap() set tilemaps using tile offset
        - add_low_priority_TIM() set timer ISR handler that allows nested interrupts
        - rename gb/BGB_emu.h into gb/EMU_debug.h
        - Intellisense-friendly headers (hide SDCC dialect features)
        - other minor fixes
    - Toolchain
        - png2mtspr
            - support for 4bpp graphics and SGB borders
            - new -tile_origin parameter
    - Updated documentation

gbdk-4.0.5
    - Support for Sega Master Sysyem/Sega Game Gear
        - z80 library which provide compatibility layer as well as platform-specific functions
        - support for the new targets on the toolchain side
        - cross-platform examples (gnu make is required)
    - Library fixes/improvements
        - low level register/constant definitions for all targets
        - DEVICE_* constants
        - BANK* macros
        - some headers were moved from gb/* into gbdk/*
            - bcd.h, console.h, far_ptr.h, font.h, gbdecompress.h, metasprites.h
        - new headers:
            - gbdk/platform.h: includes specific platform headers depending on the target
            - gbdk/incbin.h: INCBIN* macros for including of raw binary data
            - gbdk/rledecompress.h: RLE decompression functions
        - itoa()/uitoa()/ltoa()/ultoa() require radix parameter (GB target ignores it and assumes radix is 10)
        - fixed get_bkg_tile_xy()
        - other minor fixes/enhancements
    - Toolchain
        - lcc
            - ability to pass target port/platform
            - support for linker files
        - bankpack
            - support for linker files
            - support for SMS/GG specifics
        - png2mtspr was renamed to png2asset
            - tilemaps/tiledata export without metasprite descriptors
            - CGB support
        - support for RLE compression in gbcompress
    - New examples
        - cross-platform examples
        - INCBIN example
        - on-the-fly RLE data decompression example
    - Updated documentation

gbdk-4.0.4
    - Updated documentation
    - Library was improved
        - Switch to standard types declared in stdint.h and stdbool.h
        - separate cgb.h and sgb.h from gb.h (possible breaking change)
        - get_vram_byte(), get_win_tile_xy(), get_bkg_tile_xy(), set_tile_data()
        - fix broken decompression to VRAM routines
        - Multiple minor improvements
    - png2mtspr improvements and bug fixes
    - support for code relocation with bankpack
    - support for link scripts in lcc
    - support for C input into gbcompress
    - other lcc frontend improvements

gbdk-4.0.3
    - Updated documentation, including the PDF version
    - Library was improved
        - Metasprites support (see example)
        - GBCompress decompressor included (see example)
        - Large map scrolling helper functions (see example)
        - Multiple minor improvements
    - New tools
        - png2mtspr converts png images into metasprite structs
        - gbcompress compression utility, compatible with GBTD/GBMB

gbdk-4.0.2
    - Updated documentation
    - Library was improved
        - Linking with stdio.h does not require that much rom now
        - Default font is changed to the smaller one (102 characters), that leaves space for user tiles
        - Fixed broken support for multiplying longs
        - Multiple minor improvements
    - New bankpack feature, allows automatic bank allocation for data and code, see banks_autobank example, feature is in beta state, use with care
    - Lcc improvements

gbdk-4.0.1
    - Updated documentation
    - IHX is checked for correctness before the makebin stage. That allows to warn about overwriting the same ROM addresses (SDCC toolchain does not check this anymore).
    - Library was improved
        - set_*_tiles() now wrap maps around horizontal and vertical boundaries correctly
        - new fill_*_rect() functions to clear rectangle areas
        - runtime initialization code now does not initialize whole WRAM with zeros anymore, that allows BGB to raise exceptions when code tries to read WRAM that was not written before.
        - enhanced SGB support
            - joypad_init()/joypad_ex() support for multiple joypads
            - SGB border example
        - _current_bank variable is updated when use bank switching macros
    - Reorganized examples: each example is in separate folder now, that simplifies understanding.
    - Lcc improvements

gbdk-4.0
    - GBDK now requires SDCC 4.0.3 or higher, that has fully working toolchain. Old link-gbz80 linker is not used anymore, sdldgb and makebin are used to link objects and produce binary roms; maccer tool is no longer needed either
        - SDCC 4.0.3 has much better code generator which produces smaller and faster code. Code is twice faster
        - SOURCE LEVEL DEBUGGING is possible now! Native toolchain produces *.CDB files that contain detailed debug info. Look for EMULICIOUS extension for vs.code. It supports breakpoints, watches, inspection of local variables, and more!
        - SDCC 4.0.4 has fixed RGBDS support; library is not updated to support that in full yet, but it is possible to assemble and link code emitted by SDCC with RGBDS
        - New banked trampolines are used, they are faster and smaller
        - New (old) initialization for non-constant arrays do NOT require 5 times larger rom space than initialized array itself, SDCC even tries to compress the data
    - Library was improved
        - itoa/ltoa functions were rewritten, div/mod is not required now which is about 10 times faster
        - sprite functions are inline now, which is faster up to 12 times and produces the same or smaller code; .OAM symbol is renamed into _shadow_OAM that allows accessing shadow OAM directly from C code
        - interrupt handling was revised, it is now possible to make dedicated ISR's, that is important for time-sensitive handlers such as HBlank.
        - printf/sprintf were rewritten and splitted, print functions are twice faster now and also requre less rom space if you use sprintf() only, say, in bgb_emu.h
        - crash_handler.h - crash handler that allows to detect problems with ROMs after they are being released (adapted handler, originally written by ISSOtm)
        - improved and fixed string.h
        - many other improvements and fixes - thanks to all contributors!
    - Revised examples
    - Improved linux support
    - Lcc has been updated
        - it works with the latest version of sdcc
        - quoted paths with spaces are working now

gbdk-3.2
    - support for BCD numbers
    - support for far pointers, that allow to call functions in other banks by pointer
    - some useful parts of native SDCC library are merged into GBDK (stdint, limits, stdbool, setjmp, stdatomic and so on)

gbdk-3.1
    - Banked functions are working!
        - Check this [post](https://gbdev.gg8.se/forums/viewtopic.php?id=700) for more info
        - Check the examples/gb/banked code for basic usage
    - USE_SFR_FOR_REG is the default now [check here why](https://gbdev.gg8.se/forums/viewtopic.php?id=697)
    - Fixed examples that were not compiling in the previous version and some improvements in a few of them. Removed all warnings caused by changing to the new SDCC
    - Fixed bug in lcc that was causing some files in the temp folder not being deleted
    - Removed as-gbz80 (the lib is now compiled with sdasgb thanks to this [workaround](https://github.com/Zal0/gbdk-2020/commit/d2caafa4a66eb08998a14b258cb66af041a0e5c8))
    - Profile support with bgb emulator
        - Basic support including <gb/bgb_emu.h> and using the macros BGB_PROFILE_BEGIN and BGB_PROFILE_END. More info in this [post](https://gbdev.gg8.se/forums/viewtopic.php?id=703)
        - For full profiling [check this repo](https://github.com/untoxa/bgb_profiling_toolkit/blob/master/readme.md) and this [post](https://gbdev.gg8.se/forums/viewtopic.php?id=710)

gbdk-3.00
    Updated SDCC to v4.0
    The new linker is not working so the old version is still there
    There is an issue with sdagb compiling drawing.s (the JP in
    line 32 after ".org .MODE_TABLE+4*.G_MODE" it's writing more
    than 4 bytes invading some addresses required by input.s:41)
    Because of this, all .s files in libc have been assembled
    with the old as-gbz80 and that's why it is still included

gbdk-2.96
    * Many changes.  Code generated is now much more reliable and
    passes all of sdcc's regression suite.  Added support for large
    sets of local variables (>127 bytes).  Added full 32 bit long
    support.  Still no floating pt support.

gbdk-2.95-3
    * Stopped lcc with sdcc from leaking .cdb files all across
      /tmp.
    * Optimised < and > for 16 bit varibles.
    * Added a new lexer to sdcc.  Compiling files with large
      initalised arrays takes 31% of the time (well, at least
      samptest.c does :)

gbdk-2.95-2
    * Added model switching support
       --model-medium uses near (16 bit) pointers for data, and
       banked calls for anything not declared as 'nonbanked'
       --model-small uses near (16 bit) pointers for data and
       calls.  Nothing uses banked calls.  'nonbanked' functions
       are still placed in HOME.  Libraries are under lib/medium
       and lib/small.
    * Added the gbdk version to 'sdcc --version'
    * Changed the ways globals are exported, reducing the amount
      of extra junk linked in.
    * Turned on the optimisations in flex.  Large constant arrays
      like tile data should compile a bit faster.

gbdk-2.95
    * Fixed 'a >> c' for c = [9..15]
    * Fixed 'a << c' for c = [9..15]
    * no$gmb doesn't support labels of > 32 chars.  The linker now
    trims all labels to 31 chars long.
    * Fixed wait_vbl for the case where you miss a vbl
    * Fixed + and - for any type where sizeof == 2 and one of the
    terms was on the stack.  This includes pointers and ints. Fixes
    the text output bug in the examples.  Should be faster now as
    well.  Note that + and - for longs is still broken.
    * Fixed the missing */ in gb.h
    * Added basic far function support.  Currently only works for isas
    and rgbasm.  See examples/gb/far/*
    * bc is now only pushed if the function uses it.  i.e. something
    like:
        int silly(int i)
        {
        return i;
        }
    will not have the push bc; pop bc around it.
    * Better rgbasm support.  Basically:
           o Use "sdcc -mgbz80 --asm=rgbds file.c" for each file.c
           o Use "sdcc -mgbz80 --asm=rgbds crt0.o gbz80.lib gb.lib file1.o file2.o..."

    to link everything together.  The .lib files are generated using
    astorgb.pl and sdcc to turn the gbdk libraries into something
    rgbds compatible.
    The libraries are _not_ fully tested.  Trust nothing.  But give it
    a go :)
    * Ran a spell checker across the README and ChangeLog

gbdk-2.94
    * Fixed
        #define BLAH  7  // Unterminated ' error
      in sdcpp
    * Fixed
        SCY_REG += 2, SCY_REG -= 5
      (add and subtract in indirect space) as they were both quite broken.
    * externs and static's now work as expected.
    * You can now specify which bank code should be put into using a
      #pragma e.g:
        #pragma bank=HOME
    Under rgbds and asxxxx putting code in the HOME bank will force
    the code into bank 0 - useful for library functions.  The most
    recent #pragma bank= will be the one used for the whole file.
    * Fixed an interesting bug in the caching of lit addresses
    * Added support for accessing high registers directly using the
    'sfr' directive.  See libc/gb/sfr.s and gb/hardware.h for an
    example.  It should be possible with a bit of work to make high
    ram directly usable by the compiler; at the moment it is
    experimental.  You can test sfr's by enabling USE_SFR_FOR_REG=1
    * Added remove_VBL etc functions.
    * Documented the libs - see the gbdk-doc tarball distributed
    seperatly.
    * Two dimensional arrays seem to be broken.

gbdk-2.93
    * Added multi-bank support into the compiler - The old -Wf-boxx
    and -Wf-baxx options now work
    * Has preliminary support for generating rgbds and ISAS compatible
    assembler.  Try -W--asm=rgbds or -W--asm=isas.  The ISAS code is
    untested as I dont have access to the real assembler.
    * RSH is fixed
    * AND is fixed
    * The missing parts of 2.1.0's libs are there.  Note: They are
    untested.
    * The dscan demo now fully works (with a hack :)
    * There is a bug with cached computed values which are later used
    as pointers.  When the value is first used as a BYTE arg, then
    later as a pointer the pointer fails as the high byte was never
    computed and is now missing.  A temporary fix is to declare
    something appropriate as 'volatile' to stop the value being
    cached.  See dscan.c/bombs() for an example.

gbdk-2.92-2:
    * win32 only.  Takes care of some of the install bugs, including:
       - Now auto detects where it is installed.
        This can be overridden using set GBDKDIR=...
       - Problems with the installer (now uses WinZip)
       - Problems with the temp directory
        Now scans TMP, TEMP, TMPDIR and finally c:\tmp
       - cygwin1.dll and 'make' are no longer required
        gbdk is now built using mingw32 which is win32 native
        make.bat is automagically generated from the Makefile
       - I've reverted to using WORD for signed 16 bit etc.
        GBDK_2_COMPAT is no longer required.

gbdk-2.92:
    * All the examples now work (with a little bit of patching :)
    * Fixed problem with registers being cached instead of being
    marked volatile.
    * More register packing - should be a bit faster.
    * You can now install somewhere except c:\gbdk | /usr/lib/gbdk
    * Arrays initialised with constant addresses a'la galaxy.c now
    work.
    * Fixed minor bug with 104$: labels in as.
    * Up to 167d/s...

...

gbdk-2.15:
MLH
    Fixed memset() for when the length is zero
    Optimised memset() - now 75% faster (see examples/tests/test-memset.c)
    Did the same thing to memcpy()
    Re-wrote the malloc() routines
    Added support for native (ie assembly) malloc() replacements
    Few changes to .mul16, .asl16 etc (Sam Nova)

...

gbdk-2.0b11:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b11 (DOS binary only) - 24 Nov 97
    • Fixed another bug in code generation, that could happen when performing logical operations on 1-byte variables.

gbdk-2.0b10:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b10 (DOS binary only) - 6 Nov 97
    • Fixed a nasty bug in code generation, that could happen when performing arithmetic operations on 1-byte variables.
    • Changed the name of same files of the gb-dtmf example so that it compiles on DOS.

gbdk-2.0b9:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b9 (DOS binary only)
    • Several bug fixes in the compiler and in the libraries.

gbdk-2.0b8:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b8 (DOS binary only)
    • Limited all file names to 8 characters to solve problems on DOS.
    • Added communication routines that enable to send data through the link port of the GameBoy. Unfortunately, these routines do not always work; so use them with care until the next GBDK release.
    • Added the comm.c example which illustrates how to use communication routines.
    • It is possible to specify the name of the program (to be written in the image header) at link time using the -Wl-yn="XXX" flag (where X is the name of the program, which can contain up to 16 characters in quotes, including spaces; on Unix, depending on your shell, you must add backslashes before quotes and spaces like in -Wl-yn=\"My\ Game\").
    • Several bug fixes in the compiler.

gbdk-2.0b7:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b7 (DOS binary only)
    • GBDK now uses a pre-release of lcc 4.1 (DOS binary only), that fixes a couple of problems in code generation.
    • A couple of important points have been documented in the GBDK Programming Guidelines and Known Problems sections.
    • Several improvements and optimizations to the code generator.

gbdk-2.0b6:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b6
    • Added a peephole optimizer (with few rules at the moment).
    • Changed the name of the hardware registers to match the "official" names.
    • Added support for copying complete functions to RAM or HIRAM (memcpy() and hiramcpy() functions). The compiler now automatically generates two symbol for the start and the end of each function, named start_X and end_X (where X is the name of the function). This enables to calculate the length of a function when copying it to RAM.
    • Added the ram_fn.c example which illustrates how to copy functions to RAM and HIRAM.
    • Added support for installing IRQ handlers.
    • Added the irq.c example which illustrates how to install IRQ handlers.
    • Added RAM banks support (switch_ram_bank() function). The switch_bank() function
    has been renamed to switch_rom_bank(). The banks.c example has been updated. The flags for generating multiple bank images have been modified.
    • It is possible to set the sprite ram location at link time using the -Wl-g.OAM=# flag (where # is the address of the sprite ram). The sprite ram address must begin at an address multiple of 0x100, and is 0xA0 bytes long.

gbdk-2.0b5:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b5
    • New documentation (not finished yet).
    • Fixed a bug that could generate wrong code in switch statements.
    • Fixed a bug in int comparison.
    • Added a DTMF program written by Osamu Ohashi.
    • Added a game (Deep Scan) written by a friend of Osamu.
    • Modified the delay() function so that it takes a long parameter. It can be used to wait between 1 and 65536 milliseconds (0 = 65536). The pause() function has been removed.

gbdk-2.0b4:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b4
    • Fixed a bug that could generate wrong code when using hexadecimal constants.
    • A new example (galaxy.c) has been added. It is the C version of the space.s
    example. sprite.c has been removed.
    • Most of the libraries have been split into small modules for reducing final code size.

gbdk-2.0b3:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b3
    • GBDK can generate multiple-banks images, i.e. images greater than 32kB (see the banks example).
    • It is possible to set the stack pointer at link time using the -Wl-g.STACK=# flag (where # is the address of the stack pointer).
    • Several functions (e.g. show_bkg()) have been changed into macros (e.g. SHOW_BKG).
    • The delay() function waits exactly 1 millisecond, and the pause() waits 256 milliseconds.
    • Linking with the standard libraries is no more required. The lib/gb.lib (lib\gb.lib on DOS) text file contains a list of modules in which to look for undefined symbols. The linker will parse this file, and link your code with the required modules only. The stdio library has been split in several object files, and only necessary modules will be added to your code, thus reducing its size.
    • The GBDK distribution can be located anywhere in your system if you use the -Wo-lccdir=GBDK-DIR flag when invoking lcc.
    • Bug fixes.

gbdk-2.0b2:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b2
    • Lots of bug fixes.
    • GBDK has to be in the \GBDK-2.0 directory on DOS machines.

gbdk-2.0b1:
    Changes in GBDK 2.0b1
    • The code generator has been completely rewritten with the new version of lcc. It produces much smaller and more efficient code. The size of the code is generally between 20 and 50% smaller. A number of small optimizations are still to be done.
    • The size of basic types has been changed:
        ◦ An int is 8 bits.
        ◦ A long is 16 bits.
        This change was required for the code generator to produce better code,
        because the Z80 is actually an 8-bit processor.
        • The linker generates the complement checksum correctly now.
        • The libraries and example programs have been modified for the new code generator.

gbdk-1.1:
    Changes in GBDK 1.1
    • Removed Xloadimage from the GBDK distribution. It is now available as a
    separate archive.
    • A compiled DOS version is now available (cross-compiled on my Sun
    Workstation!).
    • The libraries and the example programs have been improved.
    • The make script has been improved. Compiling on UNIX should be easier.
    • Many bugfixes.

This webpage is intended to be an accessible preview of this repository. To get a fuller picture, clone it and use the git CLI.