DisSH - SuperH Disassembler Technical Overview

Published on August 28, 2025

This article provides a technical overview of DisSH, a professional, lightweight SuperH architecture disassembler written in C++20. I'll explore its architecture, features, and implementation details.

Introduction

DisSH is a modern disassembler specifically designed for the SuperH microprocessor family, which was developed by Hitachi and is used in various embedded systems, including the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast consoles.

The tool is built with a focus on:

Clean, modular C++20 codebase
Support for multiple SuperH instruction sets
Cross-platform compatibility
Extensibility for future architectures

The main components include:

Core Disassembly Engine - Handles instruction decoding
Architecture Modules - Support for different SuperH variants
Output Formatters - Generate readable assembly output
Utility Libraries - Shared functionality

Supported Instruction Sets

DisSH supports multiple SuperH instruction set variants:

SuperH1
SuperH2
SuperH3
SuperH3-E
SuperH3-DSP
SuperH4
SuperH4-A
SuperH-DSP

Build System and Requirements

DisSH uses a simple Makefile-based build system with the following requirements:

- C++20 compatible compiler (g++ 10 or newer)
- GNU Make
- Linux or macOS environment

Build Process:

git clone https://github.com/GokbakarE/DisSH.git cd DisSH make cd lib make

After successful compilation, the DisSH executable will be available in your system path.

Usage Examples

Basic usage syntax:

DisSH [options] <16-bit-input>

Available options:

--SuperH1      # Process as SuperH1 architecture
--SuperH2      # Process as SuperH2 architecture  
--SuperH3      # Process as SuperH3 architecture
--SuperH3E     # Process as SuperH3E architecture
--SuperH3DSP   # Process as SuperH3DSP architecture
--SuperH4      # Process as SuperH4 architecture
--SuperH4A     # Process as SuperH4A architecture
--SuperHDSP    # Process as SuperHDSP architecture

Extensibility and Customization

DisSH is designed to be easily extensible. Developers can:

Add support for new SuperH variants by implementing decoder functions
Customize output formatting through template classes
Extend the utility libraries for additional functionality

License and Distribution

DisSH is licensed under the GNU AGPLv3 license, which ensures that improvements to the codebase remain open source. This makes it suitable for:

Academic research
Commercial projects that comply with AGPL terms
Integration with other open source tools
Customization for specific use cases

Conclusion

DisSH provides a modern, efficient solution for disassembling SuperH architecture binaries. Its modular design, comprehensive architecture support, and clean codebase make it an excellent tool for reverse engineers, embedded systems developers, and anyone working with SuperH processors.

Key Advantages:

Comprehensive SuperH architecture support
Clean, modern C++20 implementation
Modular and extensible design
Cross-platform compatibility
Open source with AGPLv3 license

Author:
GokbakarE
Date: August 28, 2025
https://github.com/GokbakarE/DisSH

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