dspython

This package contains the full source code and instructions to build Python for Nintendo DS, with a wrapper for libnds.

• Author: Lorenzo Mancini
• Email: lmancini@develer.com
• Documentation: https://github.com/develersrl/dspython/wiki

Credits

• Richard Tew did the original work of porting Stackless Python 2.5 on Nintendo DS; this project is a continuation of his work. Please see README.old in this same package for a list of the original credits.

• Greg Ewing is the author of Pyrex, the extension language on which dspython bases its libnds wrapper.

Preparing the environment

The following steps detail how to setup a development environment to rebuild dspython. All of the following assumes you are using a Windows O.S., but I got reports of people successfully building the project under various Linux flavors.

Please note that if you just want to write scripts with dspython and you don't want to develop dspython itself (e.g. adding new wrappers, supporting more libraries, etc...) then you should stop reading here.

Still here? Well.

Devkitpro

Install DevkitPro's DevkitARM: this is a port of gcc compiler for the ARM CPU used in Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance. An automated installer is available.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/devkitpro/

Select install type devkitarm and uncheck:

• libgba
• libfat-gba
• maxmodgba
• libmirko
• gba examples
• gp32 examples
• programmer's notepad
• insight

Install in c:\devkitPro.

Mingw

A gcc for the build platform is required in order to compile python. An automated installer is available.

http://sourceforge.net/project/mingw

Installing:

• C Compiler
• C++ Compiler
• MSYS Basic System
• MinGW Developer Toolkit

Using pre-packaged repository catalogues (20100909)

Destination location: C:\MinGW

Python

You need a python to build another python :) Any version will do, I use 2.6.

Install in c:\Python26.

pyrex

Extension language used to wrap libnds.

http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/greg.ewing/python/Pyrex/

Tested with version 0.9.9.

Unpack and execute:

python setup.py bdist_wininst

this will use distutils facilities to create a nice installer in dist/; install pyrex with such installer.

(note: I have experienced weird random crashes of dspython if cython is used instead of pyrex, but never investigated them - long story short, just use pyrex at least on your first try)

Actual building process

Execute all the following steps in the console environment created by msys_pyds.bat file.

Compile zlib

cd zlib-1.2.3
make

Compile libpython

cd slp-250
sh configure --host=arm-eabi --config-cache
make libpython2.5.a

During make, on some machines pgen has been reported to crash. Just ignore it.

Alter devkitarm linker settings

We need to alter linker settings so that Python gets enough stack to run on DS.

Edit $(DEVKITARM)\arm-eabi\lib\ds_arm9.mem and change:

ewram	: ORIGIN = 0x02000000, LENGTH = 4M - 4k

to

ewram	: ORIGIN = 0x02000000, LENGTH = 4M - 260k

Edit $(DEVKITARM)\arm-eabi\lib\ds_arm9.ld and change:

__sp_usr	=	__sp_irq - 0x100;

to

__sp_usr	=	__ewram_end + 0x40000;

Compile libnds wrappers

cd wrap_libnds/
make

Compile NDSPython

cd NDSPython
make

Create a NDSPython running environment

At this point, you should copy in the root of your homebrew storage:

1. the NDSPython.nds file produced through the build process;
2. the python directory you can find in NDSPython/nitrofiles.

Now, place a main.py file in the python directory, and run NDSPython.nds.

TODO

Document how to put files in a nitrofs, so that the .nds file can be run in an emulator.