A shared-memory approach to microprocessor program development

We have developed hardware and software interfaces with which part of a minicomputer’s memory can be shared among its own programs and an Intel 8080 system. Although access to this shared memory is too slow for most real-time operations, the shared area is an excellent buffer for program code to be copied to faster memory for eventual real-time execution. The shared memory can also be used to pass test data between the processors to automate the testing of 8080 program modules.