OT? PSP development

Hi,

I'd like to write a little app to allow a PSP to be used
as a "wireless display/terminal".  I've already developed
a suitable framework for the PocketPC platform and would
like to try for a common framework that I could extend to
things like PSP's, small tablets, smart phones (e.g., winmobile),
etc.

Any pointers to SDK's, etc.?  The hits that come back from
search engines seem to be more oriented towards game rips or
custom firmware (i.e., *somewhere* there has to be a codebase
that they use!).  I suspect the population of PSP developers
is probably pretty small ??

Thx,
--don

On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:14:54 -0700, Don Y <this@isnotme.com> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'd like to write a little app to allow a PSP to be used
>as a "wireless display/terminal".  I've already developed
>a suitable framework for the PocketPC platform and would
>like to try for a common framework that I could extend to
>things like PSP's, small tablets, smart phones (e.g., winmobile),
>etc.
>
>Any pointers to SDK's, etc.?  The hits that come back from
>search engines seem to be more oriented towards game rips or
>custom firmware (i.e., *somewhere* there has to be a codebase
>that they use!).  I suspect the population of PSP developers
>is probably pretty small ??


The official SDK is available only after you become a licensed
developer.

http://www.scedev.net/

I think there's a Linux port for the PSP out there somewhere too, if
you don't mind rooting the device.

IMO, stick to smartphones and tables.  Android in particular makes
this sort of thing easy (actually it's not so bad with MS either, but
it's not like there are tons of devices running WP8).  And while
developing stuff to run on iOS is not hard (most of the tools are
pretty close to freely accessible), once you have an app, you can
really only get it to users' devices via Apple's app store (there are
provisions for getting development code onto the devices, of course,
but it strictly enough controlled that it's basically not practical
for anyone outside the development team and perhaps a few beta
testers).

But:

Android:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

WP8 (the second page has a link to Visual Studio Express 2012 for
Windows Phone)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj714071(v=vs.105).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/ff402523(v=vs.105).aspx
(watch the ends of the links on the above, my newsreader doesn't like
including them in the link)

iOS:
https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/

Don Y wrote:
> 
> Any pointers to SDK's, etc.?  The hits that come back from
> search engines seem to be more oriented towards game rips or
> custom firmware (i.e., *somewhere* there has to be a codebase
> that they use!).  I suspect the population of PSP developers
> is probably pretty small ??

I wrote Lua Player for the PSP ( http://luaplayer.org ), with the
development environment from ps2dev.org. WiFi was supported, too in my
app, including ad-hoc mode. Unfortunately looks like the site is down
now, and of course it works only on very old PSPs with the 1.0 firmware,
where it was possible to run unsigned programs, or on jailbreaked PSPs.
Last time I checked it, the official Sony Devkit was very expensive (5
figures price) and they don't sell it to anyone.

If you are interested in the ps2dev framework, I think somewhere I have
an old version of their SVN repository (which was at svn.ps2dev.org, but
down, too) and can upload it to my website.

-- 
Frank Buss, http://www.frank-buss.de
electronics and more: http://www.youtube.com/user/frankbuss

Hi Robert,

On 10/10/2013 10:02 PM, Robert Wessel wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:14:54 -0700, Don Y <this@isnotme.com> wrote:
>
>> I'd like to write a little app to allow a PSP to be used
>> as a "wireless display/terminal".  I've already developed
>> a suitable framework for the PocketPC platform and would
>> like to try for a common framework that I could extend to
>> things like PSP's, small tablets, smart phones (e.g., winmobile),
>> etc.

> The official SDK is available only after you become a licensed
> developer.
>
> http://www.scedev.net/

Ah, I feared as much.  That's a non-starter.

> I think there's a Linux port for the PSP out there somewhere too, if
> you don't mind rooting the device.

I'd have prefered a clean "app" (on a memory stick) as that could
leave the device retaining its intended functionality.  But, it
may be an option.  Esp for PSP PHAT's, etc.

How much of the hardware did the port actually support?  Folks
always like to *claim* they've ported X to Y -- only to discover
it's a half-baked solution (e.g., text only, no wireless, no UMD,
battery doesn't charge, etc.)  Sort of like building a car and
neglecting to include little things like STEERING!  ;-)

I'll start looking for it.  Thx.

> IMO, stick to smartphones and tables.  Android in particular makes
> this sort of thing easy (actually it's not so bad with MS either, but
> it's not like there are tons of devices running WP8).  And while
> developing stuff to run on iOS is not hard (most of the tools are
> pretty close to freely accessible), once you have an app, you can
> really only get it to users' devices via Apple's app store (there are
> provisions for getting development code onto the devices, of course,
> but it strictly enough controlled that it's basically not practical
> for anyone outside the development team and perhaps a few beta
> testers).

I'm not sure I want to play Apple's game.  I'm also leary of
devices where other cruft (esp from some *public* comm channel)
can potentially be an issue.  I don't want to have to invest
a lot of time trying to understand someone else's security
model to ensure <foo> can't be created to exploit the system
interface that my app represents.

And, I'd ideally like to target things that are relatively inexpensive
(e.g., obsolescent) so a user can afford to have 6 or 10 of them.
E.g., imagine having one sitting on a table/counter/etc. "within
arm's reach" in each room.  Phones and tablets tend to get expensive
really quick!  Tablets are also a bit on the large side even for
"little" 7 inch devices (i.e., the PDAs I've been accumulating have
a 4" screen; PSP's are only slightly smaller)

> But:
>
> Android:
> http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
>
> WP8 (the second page has a link to Visual Studio Express 2012 for
> Windows Phone)
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj714071(v=vs.105).aspx
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/ff402523(v=vs.105).aspx
> (watch the ends of the links on the above, my newsreader doesn't like
> including them in the link)
>
> iOS:
> https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/

Thanks!  I'll track each of them down and see what they have to offer.

--don

 Don Y wrote:
>...  I'll track each of them down and see what they have to offer.
>

May be relevant:

"Lambdanative - cross-platform development environment written in
Scheme, supporting Android, iOS, BlackBerry 10, OS X, Linux, Windows
and OpenBSD."

https://github.com/part-cw/lambdanative

But, I cannot find a project page at the original University of
British Columbia site. (It used to be there!)

http://ecem.ece.ubc.ca/index.htm

Not a good sign...
--
Roberto Waltman

[ Please reply to the group,
  return address is invalid ]

Hi Frank,

On 10/11/2013 7:10 AM, Frank Buss wrote:
> Don Y wrote:
>>
>> Any pointers to SDK's, etc.?  The hits that come back from
>> search engines seem to be more oriented towards game rips or
>> custom firmware (i.e., *somewhere* there has to be a codebase
>> that they use!).  I suspect the population of PSP developers
>> is probably pretty small ??
>
> I wrote Lua Player for the PSP ( http://luaplayer.org ), with the
> development environment from ps2dev.org. WiFi was supported, too in my
> app, including ad-hoc mode.

Cool!  My *first* thought (looking at that) was "hey, just write
it in lua!".  But, that will only work for "controls", etc.
E.g., I couldn't write a video codec in lua that would run in
anything *near* real time!  :-/

> Unfortunately looks like the site is down
> now, and of course it works only on very old PSPs with the 1.0 firmware,
> where it was possible to run unsigned programs, or on jailbreaked PSPs.

Can a user downgrade to *that* far back?  I.e., I think most of my
PSP's are at 5 or 6.something.  Not sure how easily it is to go
backwards (forwards being the easiest route, of course; sideways
the next easiest).  Is there anything to lose (brick?) trying to
step that far back?

> Last time I checked it, the official Sony Devkit was very expensive (5
> figures price) and they don't sell it to anyone.
>
> If you are interested in the ps2dev framework, I think somewhere I have
> an old version of their SVN repository (which was at svn.ps2dev.org, but
> down, too) and can upload it to my website.

Let me look around and see what I can find for tools.  The important
thing is to note that it *is* possible to write code to run on the
PSP without knowing the fraternal handshake, etc.

Thx!
--don

On Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:45:14 -0700, Don Y <this@isnotme.com> wrote:

>On 10/10/2013 10:02 PM, Robert Wessel wrote:
>
>> I think there's a Linux port for the PSP out there somewhere too, if
>> you don't mind rooting the device.
>
>I'd have prefered a clean "app" (on a memory stick) as that could
>leave the device retaining its intended functionality.  But, it
>may be an option.  Esp for PSP PHAT's, etc.

There are number of Android tablets that can be booted from their SD
slots.  You still need to root a copy of the OS (for the drivers), but
you can leave the tablet system intact and put your customized system
on a card.

George

On Thu, 10 Oct 2013, Don Y wrote:

> Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:14:54 -0700
> From: Don Y <this@isnotme.com>
> Newsgroups: comp.arch.embedded
> Subject: OT?  PSP development
> 
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to write a little app to allow a PSP to be used
> as a "wireless display/terminal".  I've already developed
> a suitable framework for the PocketPC platform and would
> like to try for a common framework that I could extend to
> things like PSP's, small tablets, smart phones (e.g., winmobile),
> etc.
>
> Any pointers to SDK's, etc.?  The hits that come back from
> search engines seem to be more oriented towards game rips or
> custom firmware (i.e., *somewhere* there has to be a codebase
> that they use!).  I suspect the population of PSP developers
> is probably pretty small ??
>
> Thx,
> --don
>

Don,

I've used the HomeBrew devkit to develop a native Forth for the Nintendo 
DS, and I understand (though I have not used) there exists a tool chain, 
and some development information for the PSP which is not in (or part of) 
the official repository.

This might be a good staring place for your project:

 	http://www.psp-homebrew.eu

Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Rob Sciuk

On Tue, 15 Oct 2013, Spam@ControlQ.com wrote:


> Don,
>
> I've used the HomeBrew devkit to develop a native Forth for the Nintendo DS, 
> and I understand (though I have not used) there exists a tool chain, and some 
> development information for the PSP which is not in (or part of) the official 
> repository.
>
> This might be a good staring place for your project:
>
> 	http://www.psp-homebrew.eu
>
> Hope it helps.
>
> Cheers,
> Rob Sciuk

Above is probably not the best link:

 	DevKitPro.org

Has toolchains for Nintendo and PSP

Sorry for the misdirection ...

Cheers,
Rob.

Don Y wrote:
> 
> Cool!  My *first* thought (looking at that) was "hey, just write
> it in lua!".  But, that will only work for "controls", etc.
> E.g., I couldn't write a video codec in lua that would run in
> anything *near* real time!  :-/

You could write the performance critical parts in C and the rest in Lua.
Much easier than to write anything in C.

>> Unfortunately looks like the site is down
>> now, and of course it works only on very old PSPs with the 1.0 firmware,
>> where it was possible to run unsigned programs, or on jailbreaked PSPs.
> 
> Can a user downgrade to *that* far back?  I.e., I think most of my
> PSP's are at 5 or 6.something.  Not sure how easily it is to go
> backwards (forwards being the easiest route, of course; sideways
> the next easiest).  Is there anything to lose (brick?) trying to
> step that far back?

I don't know. I stopped after upgrading to firmware 1.5. With firmware
1.0 it was possible to run your own programs in kernel mode, because
Sony screwed up the security concept. In kernel mode it was even
possible to access the UART (at the headphones connector). With firmware
1.5 Sony fixed it a bit: kernel mode apps are no longer possible, but
you can still run your own apps. With later versions it was fixed even
more, and no own apps were possible, but there are some custom modified
firmware versions.

> Let me look around and see what I can find for tools.  The important
> thing is to note that it *is* possible to write code to run on the
> PSP without knowing the fraternal handshake, etc.

Looks like it is on github now:

https://github.com/pspdev

The psptoolchain script is really cool: all you have to do is to
checkout the repository, and then the script downloads anything you need
for the GCC compiler, it compiles the GCC cross-compiler etc. Last time
I tested it (from the original SVN repository) it worked with Cygwin on
Windows and on Debian Linux without problems. The GCC compiler was even
patched to support some of the special MIPS vector math instructions of
the PSP.

-- 
Frank Buss, http://www.frank-buss.de
electronics and more: http://www.youtube.com/user/frankbuss