Core85

Core85 is a cross-platform Intel 8085 emulator and educational simulator built in modern C++17 with a Qt 6 desktop frontend. Version 1.0 includes a Qt debugger-style GUI, a two-pass assembler, Intel HEX support, instruction-level test coverage, and packaging via CMake/CPack.

The project is driven by docs/Core85_SRS_v1.0.docx. The emulator core in src/core/ remains Qt-free and is linked into the GUI from src/gui/.

Version 1.0 Highlights

• complete 8085 execution engine with instruction, flag, and timing validation
• two-pass assembler with labels, directives, and Intel HEX import/export
• debugger-oriented Qt GUI with editor, Problems panel, register view, memory view, and I/O widgets
• onboarding flow, session persistence, recent files/folders, and keyboard-first debugging workflow
• 2-digit 7-segment display, LED panel, and switch input teaching peripherals
• CMake install rules plus archive and installer packaging for macOS, Windows, and Linux release artefacts

Repository Layout

Core85/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── README.md
├── RELEASE_NOTES_v1.0.md
├── NOTICES.md
├── runbook.md
├── docs/
│   └── Core85_SRS_v1.0.docx
├── src/
│   ├── core/
│   └── gui/
├── tests/
│   ├── asm/
│   └── test_*.cpp
└── .github/
    └── workflows/

Requirements

• CMake 3.25+
• C++17 compiler
  • Clang 15+
  • GCC 12+
  • MSVC 2022
• Qt 6.x with Widgets for the GUI
• internet access during configure if googletest is fetched via FetchContent

Build

Configure with GUI

cmake -S . -B build

On macOS with Homebrew Qt:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix)/opt/qt"

Configure without GUI

cmake -S . -B build -DCORE85_BUILD_GUI=OFF

Build

cmake --build build

Test

ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

Run the GUI

cmake --build build --target run

Package

Binary packages are produced with CPack after a GUI-enabled configure:

cmake --build build --target package

Platform defaults:

• macOS: .zip archive and .dmg installer
• Windows: .zip archive and .exe NSIS installer
• Linux: .tar.gz archive and .deb package

The install tree includes:

• core85_gui application artefact
• core85_lib static library
• public core headers
• example assembly programs from tests/asm/
• release docs and notices

Installed Contents

Core85 installs runtime and developer-facing artefacts through standard CMake install directories:

• binaries/bundles to ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR} or app bundle root
• static library to ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}
• core headers to ${CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR}/core85/core
• documentation to ${CMAKE_INSTALL_DOCDIR}
• sample programs to ${CMAKE_INSTALL_DATADIR}/core85/examples

Testing and Quality

The project currently ships with a large GTest suite covering CPU behavior, assembler behavior, interrupts, memory, I/O, and opcode-matrix validation.

Typical local validation:

cmake --build build
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure
cmake --build build --target package

Documentation

• SRS: docs/Core85_SRS_v1.0.docx
• engineering workflow: runbook.md
• release summary: RELEASE_NOTES_v1.0.md
• notices and packaging/legal notes: NOTICES.md