Designing a high level microprogramming language

Graduation date: 1980The purpose of this research is to design a high level language\ud (HLL) suitable for microprogramming. A top down design technique has\ud been adopted which makes the language design process simple and\ud accurate.\ud The primitive operations of a high level language for producing\ud emulators is shown to include special purpose features specific to\ud virtual machine implementations. A hierarchy of data types, short\ud reliable language constructs, and control structures that minimize\ud emulator complexity are suggested by a goal-directed, structural design\ud methodology. In addition, structural clues generated by the language\ud compiler assist in producing portable yet efficient horizontal microcode\ud for partially encoded host architectures.\ud Furthermore, software tools in the form of a simulator-compiler\ud combination are presented which provide features for design, development,\ud test and eventual certification of microprograms