Re: Targetting S12Z

[Nick Clifton <nickc at redhat dot com>]

Hi John,

> I needed an assembler/disassembler for the NXP (formerly Freescale) S12Z CPU 
> but it seems that binutils doesn't target that processor.  It does however have 
> a MCHC12 and S12X which are vaguely similar.

> The work is not complete, and undoubtably needs effort to make it fit into 
> the binutils coding standards etc.   I am prepared to put in the necessary 
> effort to do this.  But first I wanted to :
> 
> 1.  Find out the likelihood of such a patch being accepted into binutils. 

We are open to supporting new (or even old) architectures, but there are a few
caveats:

  * You would need to have an FSF Copyright Assignment for the Binutils
    in place before we could accept your contribution.  (I can provide
    you with the necessary application form if you wish).

  * The code you submit should follow the GNU Coding Standards.

  * Ideally the port should include both the assembler *and* the linker.
    Being able to assemble object files but not link them is frustrating
    for users.

  * The port should include some new tests in the assembler testsuite, to
    make sure that assembling and disassembling is working correctly.  If
    you are including a port of the linker as well, then some new linker
    tests would also be appropriate.

  * You should consider whether you are willing to become a maintainer for
    the port.  A port without a maintainer is likely to bit-rot away over
    time, whereas a port with an active maintainer will continue to grow
    and blossom.  (OK, maybe I got a little bit too prosaic there, but I
    hope that you take my meaning).

Cheers
  Nick

PS.  Are details of the S12Z architecture, especially the ISA and ABI, available
  publicly ?  If so, please could you point me at them ?

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