Erik,

If it took 30 minutes to verify full function of an LCD then you wouldn't need a device to do it for you. The idea is to do it in 30 seconds to maybe 1 minute, automatically.

While it may be adequate for the student to put text on the display, the student shouldn't have to buy a less than fully functional device at any price. After all, next time, he might want to do something different with it.

He's just teaching this course this term, because someone, retired, I believe, and hasn't yet been replaced. I don't know how they will avoid having students rehash the design and coding, but it would probably work if they use a 68HC-whatever next year.

I'm curious myself whether anybody's clever enough to memory-map the thing, in which case it will simply look like external memory, and serve as such as well since the unused memory locations are useable as slow memory.

I note that you're shifting the subject around again, as the question was about whether there's someone who's already produced a verifier that ensures every function of the HD44780 is available. We want to make sure the guys buy parts that are not partially broken, and there are those out there.

RE