Joren Heit
Goals
The main goal of this project was to build a computer that can actually run Brainfuck (BF) code natively. The computer was to be implemented entirely on breadboards, inspired by Ben Eater’s 8-bit breadboard computer. It should be able to run any compliant BF program directly, as long as it fits in the program ROM and does not exhaust the available amount of memory or stack-space. The computer should be capable of exectuting each of the eight BF instructions without any preprocessing steps like pre-calculating jump-addresses.
Results
- Supports up to 16K Brainf*ck instructions in program memory. Multiple BF programs can be stored on the same EEPROM chip; the desired slot can be selected at runtime.
- 64K-cell data tape (8 bits per cell) with 256-cell stack (16 bits per cell) for loop-address storage.
- Advanced I/O system supporting:
- 4x20 character LCD display
- PS/2 Keyboard input
- Random number generation
- Multiple output and input modes (ASCII, hexadecimal, etc)
- Program slot selection.
- Adjustable clock frequency from single-step to ~250 kHz.
- Live frequency display showing both clock rate and executed BF instructions per second.
Full Report
Extensive documentation is available through the project's Github page.
Demo's
The video's below were filmed in an earlier stage of the process and show a bit outdated version of the computer.
will.stevens
Michael Wessel
Alexander
Mitsuru Yamada