Tag Archives: naken_asm

Java on the Commodore Amiga with Java Grinder, part 1

7 Apr

Okay those who know java are now scratching their heads a java VM on the Amiga ? Not exactly I’ll be using a java byte code to native compiler chain called Java Grinder.

Java Grinder is not limited to the Amiga alone, it supports a lot of older computer systems like the C64, Apple II, Playstation2, Nintendo64, Sega genesis etc…

For more detail about java grinder visit Michael Kohn’s website: http://www.mikekohn.net/micro/amiga_java.php

Before you can use java ginder you need to install naken_asm.

Install naken_asm

Download the naken assembler package from git@github.com:mikeakohn/naken_asm.git, I used Eclipse to download and create a generic project.

The naked_asm also need the libreadline-dev on your linux machine.

sudo apt-get install libreadline-dev

Go to the naken_asm installation directory and type the next commands

cd naken_asm
./configure
make

Install Java grinder

Download the java_grinder project from github git@github.com:mikeakohn/java_grinder.git, again I created an eclipse project.

Build the make files

cd java_grinder
make

cd java_grinder/samples/amiga
make

Install Amiga emulator

Before you can test any code you need an Amiga emulator and some kickstart roms and floppy/hd images.

The emulator for linux

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:fengestad/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fs-uae fs-uae-launcher fs-use-arcade

This should put some start icon in the ubuntu show application, FS-UAE Launcher and FS-UAE Arcade respectively.

The kickstart files

  • Buy and download these from https://www.amigaforever.com/ (I opted for the plus edition as it comes with all the kickstart rom etc…)
  • Unzip the downloaded file (AmigaForever9Plus.zip)
  • In the zip you’ll find an iso cd image you can mount in ubuntu with right clicking on the file af-dvd.iso then ‘open with disk image mounter’. (If not shown use the ‘open with other application’ and select the disk image mounter from there.)
  • This should put an AmigaForever CD icon on your desktop, double click it to open the cd.
  • The roms files can be found in the path ‘Amiga Files -> Shared -> rom’.

That’s it for part 1, in the next episode I’ll setup the emulator, so I can test the binary demo.

Happy retro coding, with a modern twist.

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