Sprinter-SDCC/release_docs/en/getting_started.md

Getting started

What's in the tarball

After extracting sprinter-c-v1.0-<host>.tar.gz you've got:

• bin/sprinter-cc — the C → SprintEXE driver (a bash script).
• third_party/sdcc/ — vendored SDCC 4.5 used for the C → Z80 step.
• libc/include/ — headers your programs include.
• lib/sprinter.lib — the Sprinter target libc (prebuilt; rebuilt by make if you modify libc sources).
• runtime/ — crt0 variants and runtime helpers (assembled per-build).
• toolchain/mkexe/ — host utility that packs SDCC's .ihx into a SprintEXE.
• tests/ + testkit/ — SDK regression programs and host tests.
• app.mk — standalone application build/run rules.
• docs/{en,ru}/ — this documentation.

First build

cd sprinter-c-v1.0-<host>
make all                    # rebuild tools, libraries and SDK tests

If make complains about a missing SDCC binary, fetch it once:

make sdcc                   # downloads SDCC 4.5 if not vendored

Build your own program

cat > hello.c <<EOF
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
    puts("Hello, Sprinter!");
    return 0;
}
EOF

bin/sprinter-cc -o hello.exe hello.c

hello.exe is now a valid SprintEXE you can run on Sprinter / MAME / any ESTEX DSS shell.

Running on hardware or in an emulator

The release does not include the MAME emulator or the Sprinter ROM / DSS / HDD images — those are large and have their own licensing. To test:

• MAME: install a build with the Sprinter driver and prepare MAME_HOME containing sprinter (new MAME.HT) or mame.arm (legacy), roms/, DSS floppy and system CHD. make floppy creates a local SDK test disk; make run MAME_HOME=/path/to/runtime mounts it.
• Real Sprinter: copy .exe to a floppy or HDD partition that DSS can see, then RUN HELLO from the shell.

Next steps

• Read sprinter_cc.md for compiler flags.
• Read memory_modes.md when you start needing more than 14 KB of code.
• See examples.md for SDK tests and the separate Examples project.
• See headers.md for the public API surface.