[ViewVC] Contents of: cebix/mon/README


  cxmon, Version 3.0
  A command-line file manipulation tool and disassembler

  Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Christian Bauer, Marc Hellwig
  GNU binutils disassemblers Copyright (C) 1988, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 1998
    Free Software Foundation, Inc.


License
-------

cxmon is available under the terms of the GNU General Public License. See the
file "COPYING" that is included in the distribution for details.


Overview
--------

cxmon is an interactive command-driven file manipulation tool that is
inspired by the "Amiga Monitor" by Timo Rossi <trossi@jyu.fi>. It has
commands and features similar to a machine code monitor/debugger, but it
lacks any functions for running/tracing code. There are, however, built-in
PowerPC, 680x0, 80x86, 6502 and Z80 disassemblers. By default, cxmon operates
on a fixed-size (but adjustable) memory buffer with adresses starting at 0.


Installation
------------

Please consult the file "INSTALL" for installation instructions.


Usage
-----

cxmon can be started from the Shell or from the Tracker (BeOS), but command
line history doesn't work when started from the Tracker.

Options:
  -m  enables symbolic MacOS A-Trap and low memory globals display in the
      680x0 disassembler
  -r  makes cxmon operate in real (virtual) memory space instead of an
      allocated buffer

If no additional command line arguments are given, cxmon enters interactive
mode. Otherwise, all remaining arguments are interpreted and executed as cxmon
commands.

The default buffer size is 1MB.

The cxmon command prompt looks like this:

  [00000000]->

The number in brackets is the value of "." (the "current address", see the
section on expressions). You can get a short command overview by entering
"h".

Commands that create a longer output can be interrupted with Ctrl-C.

To quit cxmon, enter the command "x".


Constants, variables and expressions
------------------------------------

The default number base is hexadecimal. Decimal numbers must be prefixed with
"_". Hexadecimal numbers may also be prefixed with "$" for clarity. Numbers
can also be entered as ASCII characters enclosed in single quotes (e.g. 'BAPP'
is the same as $42415050). All numbers are 32-bit values (one word).

With the "set" command, variables can be defined that hold 32-bit integer
values. A variable is referred to by its name. Variable names may be arbitrary
combinations of digits and letters (they may also start with a digit) that
are not also valid hexadecimal numbers. Names are case-sensitive.

cxmon accepts expressions in all places where you have to specify a number.
The following operators are available and have the same meaning and
precedence as in the C programming language:

  ~   complement
  +   unary plus
  -   unary minus
  *   multiplication
  /   integer division
  %   modulo
  +   addition
  -   subtraction
  <<  shift left
  >>  shift right
  &   bitwise AND
  ^   bitwise exclusive OR
  |   bitwise inclusive OR

Parentheses may be used to change the evaluation order of sub-expressions.

There are two special symbols that can be used in expressions:

  .   represents the "current address" (the value of "." is also displayed in
      the command prompt). What exactly the current address is, depends on the
      command last executed. The display commands set "." to the address after
      the last address displayed, the "hunt" commands sets "." to the address
      of the first found occurence of the search string, etc.
  :   is used by the "apply" ("y") command and holds the value of the byte/
      half-word/word at the current address.

The "modify" (":"), "fill" ("f") and "hunt" ("h") commands require you to
specify a byte string. Byte strings consist of an arbitrary number of byte
values and ASCII strings separated by commas. Examples:

  "string"
  12,34,56,78,9a,bc,de,f0
  "this",0a,"is a string",0a,"with","newlines",_10


The buffer
----------

Those cxmon commands that operate on "memory" operate on a buffer allocated
by cxmon whose size is adjustable with the "@" command. The default buffer
size is 1MB. The buffer is an array of bytes where each byte has a 32-bit
integer address. Addresses start at 0 and are taken modulo the buffer size
(i.e. for the default 1MB buffer, addresses 0 and 100000 refer to the same
byte).

The buffer is the working area of cxmon where you load files into, manipulate
them, and write files back from. Arbitraty portions of the buffer may be used
as scratch space.


Commands
--------

The following commands are available in cxmon ('[]' marks a parameter than
can be left out):


  x                        Quit cxmon

quits cxmon and returns to the shell.


  h                        Show help text

displays a short overview of commands.


  ??                       Show list of commands

displays a short list of available commands.


  ver                      Show version

shows the version number of cxmon.


  ? expression             Calculate expression

displays the value of the given expression in hex, decimal, and ASCII
characters. If the value is negative, it is displayed as a signed and unsigned
number.


  @ [size]                 Reallocate buffer

changes the size of the buffer to the given number of bytes while preserving
the contents of the buffer. If the "size" argument is omitted, the current
buffer size is displayed.


  i [start [end]]          ASCII memory dump

displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" as ASCII
characters. Entering "i" without arguments is equivalent to "i .". The value
of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  b [start [end]]          Binary memory dump

displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" in a binary
format. Entering "b" without arguments is equivalent to "b .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  m [start [end]]          Hex/ASCII memory dump

displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" as hex
words and ASCII characters. Entering "m" without arguments is equivalent to
"m .". The value of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d [start [end]]          Disassemble PowerPC code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d" without arguments is equivalent to "d .". The value of "." is
set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d65 [start [end]]        Disassemble 6502 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d65" without arguments is equivalent to "d65 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d68 [start [end]]        Disassemble 680x0 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d68" without arguments is equivalent to "d68 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d80 [start [end]]        Disassemble Z80 code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d80" without arguments is equivalent to "d80 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d86 [start [end]]        Disassemble 80x86 (32-bit) code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d86" without arguments is equivalent to "d86 .". The value of
"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  d8086 [start [end]]      Disassemble 80x86 (16-bit) code

disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
Entering "d8086" without arguments is equivalent to "d8086 .". The value
of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.


  : start string           Modify memory

puts the specified byte string at the address "start" into the buffer. The
value of "." is set to the address after the last address modified.


  f start end string       Fill memory

fill the buffer in the range from "start" to (and including) "end" with the
given byte string.


  y[b|h|w] start end expr  Apply expression to memory

works like the "fill" ("f") command, but it doesn't fill with a byte string
but with the value of an expression that is re-evaluated for each buffer
location to be filled. The command comes in three flavors: "y"/"yb" works on
bytes (8-bit), "yh" on half-words (16-bit) and "yw" on words (32-bit). The
value of "." is the current address to be modified,  the value of ":" holds
the contents of this address before modification.

Examples:
  yw 0 fff :<<8    shifts all words in the address range 0..fff to the left
                   by 8 bits (you can use this to convert bitmap data from
                   ARGB to RGBA format, for example)
  y 0 1234 ~:      inverts all bytes in the address range 0..1234
  yh 2 ff 20000/.  creates a table of the fractional parts of the reciprocals
                   of 1..7f


  t start end dest         Transfer memory

transfers the buffer contents from "start" to (and including) "end" to "dest".
Source and destination may overlap.


  c start end dest         Compare memory

compares the buffer contents in the range from "start" to (and including)
"end" with the contents at "dest". The addresses of all different bytes and
the total number of differences (decimal) are printed.


  h start end string       Search for byte string

searches for the given byte string in the buffer starting at "start" up to
(and including) "end". The addresses and the total number of occurrences are
displayed. The value of "." is set to the address of the first occurrence. 


  \ "command"              Execute shell command

executes the given shell command which must be enclosed in quotes.


  ls [args]                List directory contents

works as the shell command "ls".


  rm [args]                Remove file(s)

works as the shell command "rm".


  cp [args]                Copy file(s)

works as the shell command "cp".


  mv [args]                Move file(s)

works as the shell command "mv".


  cd directory             Change current directory

works as the shell command "cd". The name of the directory doesn't have to be
enclosed in quotes.


  o ["file"]               Redirect output

When a file name is specified, all following output is redirected to this
file. The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains
no spaces. Entering "o" without parameters closes the file and directs the
output into the terminal window again.


  [ start "file"           Load data from file

loads the contents of the specified file into the buffer starting from address
"start". The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains
no spaces. The value of "." is set to the address after the last address
affected by the load.


  ] start size "file"      Save data to file

writes "size" number of bytes of the buffer from "start" to the specified file.
The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains no spaces.


  set [var[=value]]        Set/clear/show variables

If no arguments are given, all currently defined variables are displayed.
Otherwise, the value of "var" is set to the specified value. If "=value"
is omitted, the variable "var" is cleared.


  cv                       Clear all variables

clears all currently defined variables.


Examples
--------

Here are some simple examples for what is possible with cxmon.

Join "file1" and "file2" to "file3":

  [ 0 "file1"
  [ . "file2"
  ] 0 . "file3"

Remove the first 24 bytes (e.g. an unneeded header) of a file:

  [ 0 "file"
  ] 18 .-18 "file"

Load the cxmon executable and search for PowerPC "nop" commands:

  [ 0 "cxmon"
  h 0 . 60,00,00,00

Create a modified version of cxmon so that the prompt has " $" instead of
"->":

  [ 0 "cxmon"
  set size=.
  h 0 . "->"
  : . " $"
  ] 0 size "cxmon1"

Convert a binary file which contains 16-bit numbers in little-endian format
to big-endian format (or vice-versa):

  [ 0 "file"
  yh 0 .-1 :>>8|:<<8  
  ] 0 . "file"

Load a BeBox boot ROM image and start disassembling the system reset handler:

  [ 0 "bootnub.image"
  d 100


Using cxmon in your own programs
--------------------------------

cxmon provides a simple interface for integration in other programs. It can,
for example, be used as a monitor/debugger for an emulator (it is used in
Basilisk II in this way).

Here's how to do it (all functions are defined in the mon.h header file):

 1. Link all the cxmon object files, except main.o, to your program.
 2. In your program, call mon_init() before using any other cxmon functions.
 3. After calling mon_init(), set the mon_read_byte and mon_write_byte
    function pointers to the routines used for accessing memory.
 4. You can use mon_add_command() to add new commands to cxmon by specifying
    the command name, function and help text. From within your command
    function, you can use mon_get_token() and mon_expression() to parse the
    arguments and the mon_read/write_*() functions to access memory.
 5. To enter cxmon, call the mon() function like this:

      char *args[3] = {"mon", "-r", NULL};
      mon(2, args);

 6. If you're done with cxmon, call mon_exit().


History
-------

Please consult the file "ChangeLog" for the release history.


Christian Bauer
<Christian.Bauer@uni-mainz.de>

Marc Hellwig
<Marc.Hellwig@uni-mainz.de>
Revision:	1.9
Committed:	2000-10-18T00:50:00Z (24 years, 1 month ago) by cebix
Branch:	MAIN
Changes since 1.8:	+25 -0 lines
Log Message:	- fixes for BeOS - added section about linking cxmon to other programs to the docs
#	Content
1
2	cxmon, Version 3.0
3	A command-line file manipulation tool and disassembler
4
5	Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Christian Bauer, Marc Hellwig
6	GNU binutils disassemblers Copyright (C) 1988, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 1998
7	Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8
9
10	License
11	-------
12
13	cxmon is available under the terms of the GNU General Public License. See the
14	file "COPYING" that is included in the distribution for details.
15
16
17	Overview
18	--------
19
20	cxmon is an interactive command-driven file manipulation tool that is
21	inspired by the "Amiga Monitor" by Timo Rossi <trossi@jyu.fi>. It has
22	commands and features similar to a machine code monitor/debugger, but it
23	lacks any functions for running/tracing code. There are, however, built-in
24	PowerPC, 680x0, 80x86, 6502 and Z80 disassemblers. By default, cxmon operates
25	on a fixed-size (but adjustable) memory buffer with adresses starting at 0.
26
27
28	Installation
29	------------
30
31	Please consult the file "INSTALL" for installation instructions.
32
33
34	Usage
35	-----
36
37	cxmon can be started from the Shell or from the Tracker (BeOS), but command
38	line history doesn't work when started from the Tracker.
39
40	Options:
41	-m enables symbolic MacOS A-Trap and low memory globals display in the
42	680x0 disassembler
43	-r makes cxmon operate in real (virtual) memory space instead of an
44	allocated buffer
45
46	If no additional command line arguments are given, cxmon enters interactive
47	mode. Otherwise, all remaining arguments are interpreted and executed as cxmon
48	commands.
49
50	The default buffer size is 1MB.
51
52	The cxmon command prompt looks like this:
53
54	[00000000]->
55
56	The number in brackets is the value of "." (the "current address", see the
57	section on expressions). You can get a short command overview by entering
58	"h".
59
60	Commands that create a longer output can be interrupted with Ctrl-C.
61
62	To quit cxmon, enter the command "x".
63
64
65	Constants, variables and expressions
66	------------------------------------
67
68	The default number base is hexadecimal. Decimal numbers must be prefixed with
69	"_". Hexadecimal numbers may also be prefixed with "$" for clarity. Numbers
70	can also be entered as ASCII characters enclosed in single quotes (e.g. 'BAPP'
71	is the same as $42415050). All numbers are 32-bit values (one word).
72
73	With the "set" command, variables can be defined that hold 32-bit integer
74	values. A variable is referred to by its name. Variable names may be arbitrary
75	combinations of digits and letters (they may also start with a digit) that
76	are not also valid hexadecimal numbers. Names are case-sensitive.
77
78	cxmon accepts expressions in all places where you have to specify a number.
79	The following operators are available and have the same meaning and
80	precedence as in the C programming language:
81
82	~ complement
83	+ unary plus
84	- unary minus
85	* multiplication
86	/ integer division
87	% modulo
88	+ addition
89	- subtraction
90	<< shift left
91	>> shift right
92	& bitwise AND
93	^ bitwise exclusive OR
94	\| bitwise inclusive OR
95
96	Parentheses may be used to change the evaluation order of sub-expressions.
97
98	There are two special symbols that can be used in expressions:
99
100	. represents the "current address" (the value of "." is also displayed in
101	the command prompt). What exactly the current address is, depends on the
102	command last executed. The display commands set "." to the address after
103	the last address displayed, the "hunt" commands sets "." to the address
104	of the first found occurence of the search string, etc.
105	: is used by the "apply" ("y") command and holds the value of the byte/
106	half-word/word at the current address.
107
108	The "modify" (":"), "fill" ("f") and "hunt" ("h") commands require you to
109	specify a byte string. Byte strings consist of an arbitrary number of byte
110	values and ASCII strings separated by commas. Examples:
111
112	"string"
113	12,34,56,78,9a,bc,de,f0
114	"this",0a,"is a string",0a,"with","newlines",_10
115
116
117	The buffer
118	----------
119
120	Those cxmon commands that operate on "memory" operate on a buffer allocated
121	by cxmon whose size is adjustable with the "@" command. The default buffer
122	size is 1MB. The buffer is an array of bytes where each byte has a 32-bit
123	integer address. Addresses start at 0 and are taken modulo the buffer size
124	(i.e. for the default 1MB buffer, addresses 0 and 100000 refer to the same
125	byte).
126
127	The buffer is the working area of cxmon where you load files into, manipulate
128	them, and write files back from. Arbitraty portions of the buffer may be used
129	as scratch space.
130
131
132	Commands
133	--------
134
135	The following commands are available in cxmon ('[]' marks a parameter than
136	can be left out):
137
138
139	x Quit cxmon
140
141	quits cxmon and returns to the shell.
142
143
144	h Show help text
145
146	displays a short overview of commands.
147
148
149	?? Show list of commands
150
151	displays a short list of available commands.
152
153
154	ver Show version
155
156	shows the version number of cxmon.
157
158
159	? expression Calculate expression
160
161	displays the value of the given expression in hex, decimal, and ASCII
162	characters. If the value is negative, it is displayed as a signed and unsigned
163	number.
164
165
166	@ [size] Reallocate buffer
167
168	changes the size of the buffer to the given number of bytes while preserving
169	the contents of the buffer. If the "size" argument is omitted, the current
170	buffer size is displayed.
171
172
173	i [start [end]] ASCII memory dump
174
175	displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" as ASCII
176	characters. Entering "i" without arguments is equivalent to "i .". The value
177	of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
178
179
180	b [start [end]] Binary memory dump
181
182	displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" in a binary
183	format. Entering "b" without arguments is equivalent to "b .". The value of
184	"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
185
186
187	m [start [end]] Hex/ASCII memory dump
188
189	displays the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end" as hex
190	words and ASCII characters. Entering "m" without arguments is equivalent to
191	"m .". The value of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
192
193
194	d [start [end]] Disassemble PowerPC code
195
196	disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
197	Entering "d" without arguments is equivalent to "d .". The value of "." is
198	set to the address after the last address displayed.
199
200
201	d65 [start [end]] Disassemble 6502 code
202
203	disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
204	Entering "d65" without arguments is equivalent to "d65 .". The value of
205	"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
206
207
208	d68 [start [end]] Disassemble 680x0 code
209
210	disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
211	Entering "d68" without arguments is equivalent to "d68 .". The value of
212	"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
213
214
215	d80 [start [end]] Disassemble Z80 code
216
217	disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
218	Entering "d80" without arguments is equivalent to "d80 .". The value of
219	"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
220
221
222	d86 [start [end]] Disassemble 80x86 (32-bit) code
223
224	disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
225	Entering "d86" without arguments is equivalent to "d86 .". The value of
226	"." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
227
228
229	d8086 [start [end]] Disassemble 80x86 (16-bit) code
230
231	disassembles the buffer contents from address "start" to address "end".
232	Entering "d8086" without arguments is equivalent to "d8086 .". The value
233	of "." is set to the address after the last address displayed.
234
235
236	: start string Modify memory
237
238	puts the specified byte string at the address "start" into the buffer. The
239	value of "." is set to the address after the last address modified.
240
241
242	f start end string Fill memory
243
244	fill the buffer in the range from "start" to (and including) "end" with the
245	given byte string.
246
247
248	y[b\|h\|w] start end expr Apply expression to memory
249
250	works like the "fill" ("f") command, but it doesn't fill with a byte string
251	but with the value of an expression that is re-evaluated for each buffer
252	location to be filled. The command comes in three flavors: "y"/"yb" works on
253	bytes (8-bit), "yh" on half-words (16-bit) and "yw" on words (32-bit). The
254	value of "." is the current address to be modified, the value of ":" holds
255	the contents of this address before modification.
256
257	Examples:
258	yw 0 fff :<<8 shifts all words in the address range 0..fff to the left
259	by 8 bits (you can use this to convert bitmap data from
260	ARGB to RGBA format, for example)
261	y 0 1234 ~: inverts all bytes in the address range 0..1234
262	yh 2 ff 20000/. creates a table of the fractional parts of the reciprocals
263	of 1..7f
264
265
266	t start end dest Transfer memory
267
268	transfers the buffer contents from "start" to (and including) "end" to "dest".
269	Source and destination may overlap.
270
271
272	c start end dest Compare memory
273
274	compares the buffer contents in the range from "start" to (and including)
275	"end" with the contents at "dest". The addresses of all different bytes and
276	the total number of differences (decimal) are printed.
277
278
279	h start end string Search for byte string
280
281	searches for the given byte string in the buffer starting at "start" up to
282	(and including) "end". The addresses and the total number of occurrences are
283	displayed. The value of "." is set to the address of the first occurrence.
284
285
286	\ "command" Execute shell command
287
288	executes the given shell command which must be enclosed in quotes.
289
290
291	ls [args] List directory contents
292
293	works as the shell command "ls".
294
295
296	rm [args] Remove file(s)
297
298	works as the shell command "rm".
299
300
301	cp [args] Copy file(s)
302
303	works as the shell command "cp".
304
305
306	mv [args] Move file(s)
307
308	works as the shell command "mv".
309
310
311	cd directory Change current directory
312
313	works as the shell command "cd". The name of the directory doesn't have to be
314	enclosed in quotes.
315
316
317	o ["file"] Redirect output
318
319	When a file name is specified, all following output is redirected to this
320	file. The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains
321	no spaces. Entering "o" without parameters closes the file and directs the
322	output into the terminal window again.
323
324
325	[ start "file" Load data from file
326
327	loads the contents of the specified file into the buffer starting from address
328	"start". The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains
329	no spaces. The value of "." is set to the address after the last address
330	affected by the load.
331
332
333	] start size "file" Save data to file
334
335	writes "size" number of bytes of the buffer from "start" to the specified file.
336	The file name must be enclosed in quotation marks even if it contains no spaces.
337
338
339	set [var[=value]] Set/clear/show variables
340
341	If no arguments are given, all currently defined variables are displayed.
342	Otherwise, the value of "var" is set to the specified value. If "=value"
343	is omitted, the variable "var" is cleared.
344
345
346	cv Clear all variables
347
348	clears all currently defined variables.
349
350
351	Examples
352	--------
353
354	Here are some simple examples for what is possible with cxmon.
355
356	Join "file1" and "file2" to "file3":
357
358	[ 0 "file1"
359	[ . "file2"
360	] 0 . "file3"
361
362	Remove the first 24 bytes (e.g. an unneeded header) of a file:
363
364	[ 0 "file"
365	] 18 .-18 "file"
366
367	Load the cxmon executable and search for PowerPC "nop" commands:
368
369	[ 0 "cxmon"
370	h 0 . 60,00,00,00
371
372	Create a modified version of cxmon so that the prompt has " $" instead of
373	"->":
374
375	[ 0 "cxmon"
376	set size=.
377	h 0 . "->"
378	: . " $"
379	] 0 size "cxmon1"
380
381	Convert a binary file which contains 16-bit numbers in little-endian format
382	to big-endian format (or vice-versa):
383
384	[ 0 "file"
385	yh 0 .-1 :>>8\|:<<8
386	] 0 . "file"
387
388	Load a BeBox boot ROM image and start disassembling the system reset handler:
389
390	[ 0 "bootnub.image"
391	d 100
392
393
394	Using cxmon in your own programs
395	--------------------------------
396
397	cxmon provides a simple interface for integration in other programs. It can,
398	for example, be used as a monitor/debugger for an emulator (it is used in
399	Basilisk II in this way).
400
401	Here's how to do it (all functions are defined in the mon.h header file):
402
403	1. Link all the cxmon object files, except main.o, to your program.
404	2. In your program, call mon_init() before using any other cxmon functions.
405	3. After calling mon_init(), set the mon_read_byte and mon_write_byte
406	function pointers to the routines used for accessing memory.
407	4. You can use mon_add_command() to add new commands to cxmon by specifying
408	the command name, function and help text. From within your command
409	function, you can use mon_get_token() and mon_expression() to parse the
410	arguments and the mon_read/write_*() functions to access memory.
411	5. To enter cxmon, call the mon() function like this:
412
413	char *args[3] = {"mon", "-r", NULL};
414	mon(2, args);
415
416	6. If you're done with cxmon, call mon_exit().
417
418
419	History
420	-------
421
422	Please consult the file "ChangeLog" for the release history.
423
424
425	Christian Bauer
426	<Christian.Bauer@uni-mainz.de>
427
428	Marc Hellwig
429	<Marc.Hellwig@uni-mainz.de>