nes-pascal

Code-generation diagnostics

English

Português (Brasil)

Code-generation diagnostics use the E5000-E5999 range.

E5001 - Missing toolchain

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: ca65 or ld65 cannot be found, so the compiler cannot produce a ROM.

• Trigger:

  python -m nes_pascal.cli examples/minimal.nsp -o build/minimal.nes
  

  with cc65 absent from PATH.

• Expected compiler output:

  E5001: missing toolchain component: ca65 and ld65.
  

• Suggested fix: Install cc65 and add ca65 and ld65 to PATH.

E5002 - Toolchain failure

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: ca65 or ld65 returned a nonzero exit status.

• Trigger:

  ca65 or ld65 rejects its generated input
  

• Expected compiler output:

  E5002: ca65 failed.
  
  <tool output>
  

• Suggested fix: Read the included tool output and correct the underlying Assembly or linker configuration problem.

E5003 - User RAM exhausted

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: A global variable or procedure value-parameter slot cannot fit in the user RAM region. The diagnostic identifies the symbol, requested byte count, available byte count, and source declaration.
• Trigger: Declare enough non-promoted one-byte variables and parameters to exceed the $0300-$07FF regular user region. The focused regression source is tests/fixtures/diagnostics/user_ram_exhausted.nsp, used with a deliberately constrained internal test layout.

• Expected compiler output:

  E5003 program.nsp:5:5
  
  User RAM cannot allocate Second: requested 1 byte, but 0 bytes remain in User RAM.
  

• Suggested fix: Reduce the number of variables or parameters. Automatic promotion is optional and cannot be forced to hide regular-RAM exhaustion.

E5004 - Temporary RAM exhausted

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: Expression evaluation and cached for-loop limits require more bytes than the mandatory 16-byte Zero Page compiler pool. Mandatory storage never borrows from optional automatic-promotion space.
• Trigger: Compile tests/fixtures/diagnostics/temporary_ram_exhausted.nsp, whose nested expression needs 17 temporary bytes.

• Expected compiler output:

  E5004 temporary_ram_exhausted.nsp:1:1
  
  Expression and loop code requires 17 temporary bytes, but the Zero Page temporaries region has only 16 bytes available.
  

• Suggested fix: Simplify nested expressions or loops. Optional promotion space cannot satisfy mandatory compiler allocations.

E5005 - Invalid memory layout

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: Internal compiler settings describe an impossible or unsupported RAM layout, such as Zero Page partitions exceeding $00FF, overlapping reservations, a region beyond $07FF, or a non-page-aligned OAM shadow.
• Trigger: This is an internal-configuration diagnostic. Tests construct malformed MemoryLayoutSettings; no public CLI option changes these values.

• Expected compiler output:

  E5005 <input>:1:1
  
  The OAM shadow region must start on a 256-byte page boundary.
  

• Suggested fix: Restore the supported NROM memory defaults.

E5006 - RAM segment overflow

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: The bytes emitted for an Assembly segment exceed the region assigned to that segment. This is checked before ca65 or ld65 runs.
• Trigger: This indicates an internal compiler mismatch. Tests inject an oversized generated segment into an otherwise valid layout.

• Expected compiler output:

  E5006 <input>:1:1
  
  Generated segment for User RAM requires 1281 bytes, but its RAM region contains 1280 bytes.
  

• Suggested fix: Correct the compiler’s allocation or segment generation; changing user source should not be necessary for an internal mismatch.

E5007 - Hardware stack call depth exhausted

• Category: Code Generation
• Explanation: The statically known maximum nested procedure/function call depth would consume more of the reserved 256-byte 6502 hardware stack ($0100-$01FF) than the ABI permits. Every active JSR reserves two bytes for its return address; the remaining capacity keeps 10 bytes for runtime JSR frames and NMI headroom, so the supported maximum source-call depth is
  1. Recursion is rejected earlier with E3014, so this diagnostic fires only for long acyclic call chains.
• Trigger: A program whose maximum nested call depth exceeds 123. The boundary is exercised programmatically in tests/test_functions.py (124 functions chained through the deepest call emits this diagnostic).

• Expected compiler output:

  E5007 <input>:1:1
  
  Callable nesting depth of 124 exceeds the supported maximum of 123. Each nested procedure or function call consumes two bytes of the 256-byte NES hardware stack for its JSR return address, and 10 bytes are reserved for runtime and NMI stack usage.
  

• Suggested fix: Reduce the length of call chains. Recursion is not supported; split long chains of procedures and functions that call one another into a flatter structure.

This site is open source. Improve this page.