CPU::Emulator::Memory::Banked

I recently had the opportunity of testing CPU::Emulator::Memory::Banked, a Perl class that expands the flat memory space offered by CPU::Emulator::Memory by introducing multiple memory banks. This unique feature allows developers to create a more flexible and intricate memory architecture within their programs.

The implementation is quite straightforward, and the class can be initialized through the following line of code:

 my $memory = CPU::Emulator::Memory::Banked->new();

From here, it is easy to use the peek() and poke() methods to read and write values to memory, as illustrated by the example below:

 $memory->poke(0xBEEF, ord('s'));    my $value = $memory->peek(0xBEEF); # 115 == ord('s')

One of the most exciting aspects of CPU::Emulator::Memory::Banked, however, is its ability to bank-switch. Simply put, bank-switching is the process of temporarily replacing chunks of memory with other chunks, allowing for more dynamic storage and execution of code.

With CPU::Emulator::Memory::Banked, developers can define the address, size, type (RAM, ROM, or dynamic), and file of the memory chunk they wish to use for bank-switching. Consider the following example:

 $memory->bank(  address => 0x8000,  size => 0x4000,  type => 'ROM',  file => '.../somerom.rom',  writethrough => 1  );  my $value = $memory->peek(0xBEEF); # read from ROM instead

This code replaces the current memory chunk with a 16kb ROM chunk starting at 0x8000. The writethrough option ensures that any subsequent writes to the overlapping memory space will affect the underlying RAM, rather than the ROM.

Overall, I found CPU::Emulator::Memory::Banked to be a powerful and versatile tool in creating complex memory architectures. Its intuitive API and robust features make it an excellent choice for developers looking to expand their programming capabilities.