Loads a GSPLNK-linked COFF image that is already in RAM into a first-class process on the VT1200 OS. The transport (TFTP) is separate; this half takes a buffer and length, picks the addresses from the COFF, and calls create_process.

Read dwt/notes/LOADER.md for the full report and dwt/notes/LOADER_CROSS.md for the transport interface.

Files

file	purpose
`loader.asm`	the loader; linked at bit `0x01880000`, raw `.bin` 1220 B
`marker.asm`	acceptance app with `.text`/`.data`/`.bss` at three addresses
`coff.py`	TI COFF reader/dumper (`summary`, `raw`, `manifest`)
`build.sh`	GSPA/GSPLNK wrapper; keeps the linked COFF
`reldemo.sh`, `rel_a.asm`, `rel_b.asm`	relocation and position-dependence demo
`loader.lua`	debugger-assisted harness (no network, no rdebug)
`probe_os.lua`	heap-list and register-write probe used to design the harness
`build/`	linked loader/app COFFs, raw `.bin`s, maps, listings
`evidence/`	run logs, COFF dumps, the xhello window frame

work/ (the DOS tools extracted from the SDK floppy) and run/ (private NVRAM/cfg) are local scratch and ignored.

Build

./dwt/loader/build.sh dwt/loader/loader.asm 01880000
./dwt/loader/build.sh dwt/loader/marker.asm 018C0000 018D0000 018D8000
./dwt/loader/build.sh dwt/gui/xhello.asm    01840000
./dwt/loader/reldemo.sh

build.sh takes SOURCE.asm [TEXT_ORIGIN [DATA_ORIGIN [BSS_ORIGIN]]] (origins are bit addresses) and writes build/<name>.coff, .bin, .map, .lst, .obj.

Run (debugger-assisted, no network)

VT1200_SKIP_LEVEL1=1 LOADER_AT=2500 LOADER_END=2620 \
LOADER_COFF=dwt/loader/build/marker.coff LOADER_OUT=$PWD/dwt/loader/evidence \
/home/arti/code/k-space/mame0289/vt1200 vt1200 \
  -rompath harness/mame/roms -video none -sound none -nothrottle -skip_gameinfo \
  -nvram_directory $PWD/dwt/loader/run/nvram \
  -cfg_directory $PWD/dwt/loader/run/cfg \
  -debug -debugger none \
  -autoboot_script dwt/loader/loader.lua -autoboot_delay 0

The script pokes the loader at 0x01880000 and the COFF at LOADER_BUF (default 0x01900000), writes the descriptor, and sets PC. It never uses the network, the rdebug service or a firmware transport.

Knobs: LOADER_MODE=1 (callable/return instead of debug-resume), LOADER_A8_DESC=1 (descriptor in A8), LOADER_SNAP=1 (PNG at LOADER_END), LOADER_VERBOSE=1, LOADER_TRACE=1.