PSPSDK Documentation

PSPSDK includes a build.mak library to simplify the creation of simple programs and libraries.

Important Note on Project Structure: The provided Makefile templates are designed to build either a single executable or a library, but not both in the same context. If your project requires both, you must structure your project so that each library and executable is built in a separate directory.

To build and install PSPSDK from the Git repository, ensure you have the required dependencies installed and follow the autotools build process. You can also use the provided build-and-install.sh script for a more convenient installation.

Requirements

• PSPDEV Toolchain
• GNU Make
• Git client
• GNU autoconf and automake (GNU Autotools)
• Zlib development libraries and headers

Optional (for documentation): Doxygen and Graphviz.

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/pspdev/pspsdk.git
cd pspsdk

# 2. Prepare the build environment
./bootstrap

# 3. Configure, build, and install
./configure
make
make doxygen-doc
make install

You can perform savegame encryption by using the sceChnnlsv module directly.

Important Constraints:

• Mode Requirement: This functionality currently only works in VSH mode (for example, when running via the TIFF exploit).
• Save Formats: It supports both old and new save formats. The supported SaveParam structure sizes are:
  • 0x5c8 (Old format)
  • 0x5dc (New format)
  • 0x600 (New format)
• Encryption Keys: For new format saves, a game-specific encryption key is required.

To enable profiling in C++ programs using the PSPSDK, you must configure your build flags to include profiling instrumentation and link against the C++ standard library.

Build Requirements

Add the following flags to your build configuration:

• CFLAGS: -g -pg
• LDFLAGS: -g -pg
• C++ Linking: You must also link with -lstdc++.

Workflow

1. Execute the program: Run your compiled binary on the PSP hardware or emulator. Upon program termination, a gmon.out file will be automatically generated in the Current Working Directory (CWD).
2. Analyze the profile: Use the psp-gprof tool on your host machine to inspect the gmon.out file using your compiled .elf binary.

# Syntax for analyzing the profile
psp-gprof -b {binary.elf} gmon.out

# Example usage
psp-gprof -b gprofbasic_cpp.elf gmon.out

To use the gprof profiling feature in your PSP application, you must configure your build system to include the profiling flags in both your compiler and linker settings. Add -g -pg to both CFLAGS and LDFLAGS.

CFLAGS += -g -pg
LDFLAGS += -g -pg

By default, gprof profiles the entire application from startup. To profile only a specific section of code and avoid noise from the initialization process, follow this pattern:

1. Call gprof_stop(NULL, false); at the start of your application to discard the initial profiling data.
2. Call gprof_start(); immediately before the code block you wish to measure.
3. Call gprof_stop("filename.out", true); immediately after the code block to stop profiling and save the results to a file.

// 1. Discard default startup profiling
gprof_stop(NULL, false);

// ... some code ...

// 2. Start measuring specific section
gprof_start();

// ... code to profile ...

// 3. Stop and save to custom file
gprof_stop("gmon_custom.out", true);

The SIO sample demonstrates how to use the PSP's serial interface via the remote control port. To communicate with the PSP using this interface, you must configure your local terminal software with the following serial settings:

• Baud rate: 4800
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None (N)
• Stop bits: 1

This configuration is referred to as 4800 baud 8N1.

For detailed information on how the hardware interface is constructed, refer to the technical documentation at: http://nil.rpc1.org/psp/remote.html

Terminal Settings:
Baud: 4800
Data bits: 8
Parity: None
Stop bits: 1

The sceChnnlsv module can be used directly to perform savegame decryption.

Constraints and Requirements:

• Mode: This method currently only works in VSH mode (for example, when running via the TIFF exploit).
• Save Formats: It supports both old and new save formats. The supported SaveParam structure sizes are:
  • 0x5c8 (Old format)
  • 0x5dc (New format)
  • 0x600 (New format)
• Encryption Keys: For new format saves, a game-specific encryption key is required to complete the decryption process.

By default, PSPSDK installs into the same directory as your PSPDEV toolchain. If you wish to install PSPSDK to a custom location, you must define the PSPSDK environment variable pointing to that directory.

The psp-config utility uses this environment variable to locate tools and libraries. It checks the PSPSDK environment variable first before falling back to its own installation path.

The sascore sample project serves as a demonstration of the capabilities provided by the sceSasCore library. It is useful for developers looking to understand how to implement audio-related features on the PSP using this specific library.

Note that the audio assets used in this sample (.VAG files) were encoded using the psxavenc tool.