BrunWord

BrunWord is a word-processor, spelling checker and Datafile from Brunning Software.

Versions

BrunWord 6128 requires 128K RAM (works on CPC 6128, or on CPC 464 with Standard Memory Expansions). Available as Disc-version and ROM-version (MK4 is the last ROM version known, copyright 1995).
BrunWord 464 works on any CPC 464, 664, or 6128. According to the manual, this comes on disc, too, ie. not on cassette (?)
Newer/older versions - early versions (1985) didn't have the spell check

Covers

BrunWord 6128
Back Cover
Front Cover

Disc

BrunWord 6128
side B
side A

ROM Cartridge and 8bit Status Port

Brunword Mk2 RW383 ROM
Eight Bit Status Port
Brunword MK4 screenshot
Brunword MK4 Addendum to the manual

Technical

MK2

ROM version has a size of 256K. It is split into 16K pages. 2 Pages are standard CPC roms, one of which is a "extension rom".

Part of the Brunword word processor is copied into RAM. This is done by it's "extension rom".

The ROM Select port (&DFXX) is decoded and has 2 roles.

First is to select which ROM page appears in the range &C000-&FFFF of the Z80's address space. (It seems bit 7,6,5,4 must be 0). Bits 3..0 are decoded as the page number. Page 1 and 2 only seem to be visible at this time.

The second role (when bit 5,4 are used), makes a page visible in the range &4000-&FFFF of the Z80's address space. Bit 5 seems to be rom enable/disable, bit 4 is set for the second role (0 for other), and bits 3..0 are the page number.

The exact decoding of the ROM select port is unknown. The exact function of all the data bits is not known.

MK4

This version was published in 1995.

The ROM has a size of 512KBs, split in 16KBs pages (32). The pages 1, 2 and 3 ($C1, $C2 and $C3 are the page number for the hardware) are standard CPC ROMs and they can be paged in at the normal $C000-$FFFF range.

The content of these 32 pages are:

0 ($C0): Tutorial.
1 ($C1), 2 ($C2) and 3 ($C3): Brunword and Info-Script ($C3 includes references of the font and dictionary pages).
4 ($C8), 5 ($C9), 6 ($CA) and 7 ($CB): Dictionary.
8 - 30 ($D0-$D3, $D8-$DB, $E0-$E3, $E8-$EB, $F0-$F3, $F8-$FA): 23 fonts, one for page.
31 ($FB): Examples.

The ROM includes hardware to decode the ROM Select port ($DF00) and make visible all the 32 pages (included the three previous) in the range $4000-$7FFF, the RAM page under this range is not disable and can be written normally (this was used to dump the pages).

For simplify the page number to send to the ROM Select port, we are going to consider that the pages are grouped in 64 KBs banks (8). With that in mind, the page number to send has the next format: %11bbb0pp

The two most weight bits need to be at 1 to make visible the page; with the three bits bbb, we select the 64 KBs bank; the next bit need to be 0; and with the two less weight bits, we select which of the four pages of the bank is going to be visible.

In this moment, Brunword can not work in any emulator or rom board, because there is not support to the clever rom paging system used.

I would like to thank CPCManiaco by buying this fantastic software in 1995 and help me to preserve it in 2012.