TinyELF for the Palm OS

TinyELF emulates the ELF computer described in Joseph Weisbecker's 1976 Popular Electronics article as well as the 1861 Pixie graphics added later. For those who prefer hex keypads to toggle switches, TinyELF also emulates the layout of the Netronics ELF II. Best of all, it's freeware that literally runs in the palm of your hand on most Palm OS handhelds.

Download pages at a glance:

• TinyELF for Palm OS app
• Mac OS X companion app for moving TinyELF programs to/from Palm handhelds
• Sourcecode of TinyELF for Palm OS
• TinyELF for OS X

Features

• Emulates both basic ELF and ELF II panel layouts.
• Automatically switches to accommodate video when the virtual 1861 Pixie graphics chip is activated.
• Selectable memory: 256 bytes, 4K or 16K.
• Save, load and delete 1802 programs.
• Comes with several test programs in an optionally installed database:
  • Starship Classic video display program as shown above, center.
  • Starship Animation program from Popular Electronics.
  • Seconds Clock video program by Tom Pittman (slightly modified to run faster on the emulator).
  • Output Test increments the hexadecimal display and flashes the Q LED.
  • V. G. Cayer's kaleidoscope program from the pages of Ipso Facto.
  • Tom Pittman's Tiny BASIC (runs extremely slow, but it does run!).
• The TinyELF Palm Utility for Mac OS X is now available for easily importing and exporting programs.
• Freeware! Enjoy the program and feel free to share it with other classic computer enthusiasts!
• Work through Tom Pittman's "A Short Course in Programming" (available here) to learn microprocessor principles and 1802 machine language.
  

Download

TinyELF for Palm OS may be downloaded here.

Please understand that you're downloading and using this program at your own risk --- as freeware, it isn't bringing in enough money to pay a lawyer. While I've tried to make TinyELF a well-behaved Palm application, I can't be responsible for loss of data, exploding handhelds, hair loss, unwanted pregnancy or uncontrolled sneezing. As with any other computing device, if it's important, back it up!

About TinyELF

TinyELF was written partly for fun and partly as an exercise in learning Palm OS programming. Except for some colorizing on a Palm IIIc emulator, TinyELF was written entirely onboard a Palm Vx handheld computer in Quartus Forth.

Quartus Forth (www.quartus.net) is an implementation of ANS Forth for the Palm OS, and compiles to fast native code. For small apps like TinyELF, Quartus rocks, allowing you to code anytime, anywhere. For a full review of Quartus Forth, see the write-up at PocketAnywhere.com.

A tool was also needed to create the resources for TinyELF. Resource editing was done on the Palm Vx using a tool called OnBoard RsrcEdit by IndiVideo (www.individeo.net). Again, see PocketAnywhere.com for a complete review.

Special thanks to: Joe Weisbecker and Popular Electronics (now PopTronics) magazine for the original ELF project; Tom Pittman for his Short Course in Programming, which gave me my first taste of machine language; the Association of Computer Experimenters, for teaching me how to make the most of limited hardware; and Neal Bridges, Steve Bohrer and others on the Quartus Discussion Forum for gently guiding me through the strange borderland between Forth and the Palm OS.

Feedback

Have something to say about TinyELF or 1802 computers in general? Visit the message board or write to me. Feel free to request features (and please do report bugs!), but bear in mind that this is a fun little piece of freeware and probably isn't going to evolve too much. Now if you want to pay me to write software, that we can talk about...

Have fun!

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