Recent Posts

Topic: General / What game should I write ?

Skweek certainly meets the cute character criteria, David. Looks like fun.

Patrick – I’m certainly tempted to write a car game, but probably one closer to Micro Machines. If you’re curious on algorithms for a pole position type game – please drop me a line.

Matthew – Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of building a multi-player game at some point.

Steffen – Something along the lines of Micro Machines – i.e. a top view 360 degree car game, with momentum and skid marks would be fun. I can think of ramp jumps, oil skids. Other cars to race against. People walking across the track etc.

Thanks Tristan. I’ll look into those.

Glen – I used to play a split screen Lotus racing games on the Amiga years ago and a 2 player space combat game too. However, given the interest from yourself and others in top view/isometric view car games – I think I’ll have a go at that.

Rick – I had a go at writing a Spy Hunter type game when I was 12. The commercial BBC Micro version of Spy Hunter had some sampled speech and was pretty good. I wonder if I could add an optional gun to my top view car game? Except I’ve written far too many games recently that involve shooting things….

Hi David. That game looks pretty challenging. However, I have the 3D tooling available via Island of the Undead. Although I was tempted to use that to write a first person Elite style space combat game at some point.

Topic: Community Support / !Internet not starting at boot

Whats ‘*configure language’ supposed to be these days?

I see ro5.25 is still (10) ten – but looking at the *rom. list.

Desktop is (11) eleven.

Topic: General / Iyonix Flash Repair

With ref to Jon’s replacing the flash chips – has there been any success?

Topic: Community Support / !Internet not starting at boot

Hi

I have a couple problems with one of my porting projects.

1, It doesn’t autoboot.. stops at supervisor without filesystem loaded. *Status says that scsifs is configured and Boot is on. The strange thing is that it actually autbooted a couple of times , then stopped.

2, Since it doesn’t autoboot I type scsi *!Boot.
System comes up nicely but *!Internet doesn’t start. I need to manually go into !Boot.Resources and click on !Internet

Any clues?

Topic: General / Forwarding events to different windows

Thanks for the info and pointers.

So if I understand correctly:

• during the Wimp_poll loop send each different type of event to a different function
• each function will probably scan a linked list of the window handles registered to the specific event
• the linked list will also include some sort of reference to the object that registered its interest, as it will be this object that needs to know about the event
• the object will have all the logic to handle the event data and what to do with it

Is that right?
And do you think an unordered single linked list is the right data structure to store objects that register their interest in events?

I’ll also have a look at your SFLib and see what it does. :-)

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

I forget the name

One of these?

Topic: Community Support / Pi shutdown, restart - cannot move memory

On my RPi3B+, OS5.25 (09-Jul-18), with the RTC fitted configuring ‘too big’ a RAM disc causes the “Memory cannot be moved” error on a restart. The biggest RAM disc that avoids the fault is about 426MB, the fault appears with 430MB. Remove the RTC and the issue goes away, a configured 512MB RAM disc is fine.

P.S. The RTC gets very hot being above whatever the new, hot, chip with the Pi logo on it is. WiFi?

Topic: Community Support / SunFish - name mount

Thanks!

Topic: Bugs / DeskTopTracker

Still with swi Podule_Idle – what should R0 equal when called – value seems different between ro4.02 and ro5.25

The swi podule_idle uses it-something like this.

    LDR     R10,[R12,#4] ;r10=2
    TEQ     R10,#0
    MOVeq   R0,#0
    msreq   cpsr_f,#&10000000
    BVS     error_exit
    LDR     R11,[R12,#8] ;get podule address
    ;what should r0 equal?
    STRB    R0,[R11,#8] ;in podule space
.loop%
    LDRB    R0,[R11,#8] ;in podule space
    TEQ     R0,#0
    BNE     loop%%
    LDMFD   R13!,{R9-R11,R14}
    mov     pc,r14

• * * * * * * *

*soundgain 7 = max volume?

It is a pity the comand ‘*soundgain’ doesn’t give its present value.

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

Nuts and bolts techie vs. user.

Exactly this. When working for an estate agency, I needed to create spec sheets for houses. Printing to a Kyocera laser in HP2 emulation.

With RISC OS, it was simple. Easy. Even doing stuff like printing an A4 page at A5 size (so can put the paper in the other way up to print the other side). Making diagrams (!Draw), adding images. All pretty effortless. Unlike Windows, that often got it spectacularly wrong at times (as was pointed out above).

Reverse engineering them was… hard work.

Like trying to get info on URF and… the other one. I forget the name. It’s the bitmap image types used with modern WiFi enabled printers.

Topic: Community Support / GraphicsV questions

you’ll have to wait until I’ve had a chance to add GraphicsV 19 calls to the kernel

I started having a look at this last night. Although it would be trivial to handle framebuffer switching by dropping a GraphicsV 19 call into the bit which configures the framebuffer, a quick patch like that will only serve to make the mode change procedure even messier than it already is.

So I’m thinking now would be a good time to do some refactoring/tidying as initially proposed here. It’ll take a bit longer, but it’ll deliver some much-needed benefits now and in the future.

While you’re there would it be possible to add something to temporarily disable gamma (environment variable?) At least until we figure out what the cause of the blanking is.

Possibly you’ve already spotted it, but this feature went in a week or two ago with the other task I was finishing off (GraphicsV overlays for BCMVideo)

Topic: Community Support / SunFish - name mount

Click Menu on the required mount, Edit, then Name export.

Topic: Community Support / SunFish - name mount

Hi ho,

I used to be able to name a mount, but now I don’t remember how!
Is it possible?

Topic: Community Support / Pi 3 shutting down-ish

We have a response on the github forum

It is not immediately clear to me how to implement the suggested diagnostics but I could probably manage an HDMI hotplug.

I have removed the disable_gamma switch on the RPi3B+ which is so far resolutely not shutting down.

Topic: Community Support / Pi shutdown, restart - cannot move memory

I have just had a "cannot move memory’ event on the RPi3B+ OS5.25 (09-Jul-18) RTC fitted on making a change to cmdline/txt and restarting. It was just a one off a second restart did do a restart.

Just in case it is relevant RamFsSize had recently been configured to the maximum of 524288K, previously it had been configured as 128MB. I say this because I managed to get the same error from the Iyonix when forgot where I was and manually set a RamDisc larger than the 128MB RAM in the machine.

Topic: Community Support / Can this be done with RISC OS on a rpi3 ?

Hello David, hello Glenn,

Thank You for the quick answer. It seems that the job can be done using the RISC OS. First of all I have to familiarize myself with the os. Reading the book “RISC OS system programming revealed” from the author Bruce Smith gives me the impression that RISC is a better start for using the rpi as a microcontroller. Indeed, I don’t need multitasking neither graphics for building a large fifo memory.

Sincerely,

Eduard

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

I’m a fan of HP as PCL drivers just work, at least for me,

Depending on the model, I wrote some of the PCL interpreter (fonts, colour, interpretation, hardware acceleration). The reason HP PCL ‘just works’ is that particular HP models are reference implementations – not that the code is available, but they are a defacto standard… this model for colour, that model for black and white, another model for PCLXL. Reverse engineering them was… hard work. The PCL documentation is useless, and the stuff that PCL drivers actually output is pant-wettingly crazy at times.

We used to joke that the “Spec” in “PCL Spec” stands for “speculation”.

or get any printer with postscript support.

Which is the exact opposite. PostScript is the most carefully specced PDL there is. The Red Book is a joy.

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

Steve said

Call the whole team that worked on Windows printing bad names and see what the reaction is :)

I was one of the industry experts contracted by Microsoft to help them create XPS and the print system in Windows 7. I worked with their programming and design team. They. Knew. NOTHING. The stories I could tell would make you cry. For example:

MS: Our customers tell us that PDFs sometimes don’t have the fonts included, and that causes problems, so XPS files must have fonts embedded.
Me: No, you don’t want to do that.
MS: Yes. We require all fonts to be embedded.
Me: No, you really don’t.
MS: Yes. We have decided.
Me: Have you tried writing ‘hello world’ in Japanese and printing to XPS?
…some days later…
MS: OMG IT’S 17MB!!!!!!
Me: Yes.
MS: So Japanese fonts, right, are really big!!!!!!
Me: Yes.
MS: Who knew?!!!!!!!
Me: It’s your font.

I could tell you twenty other examples, but then they’d have to kill me.

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

Is that a direct USB connection to the RISC OS machine or an HP printer with built in network port and then some network printing software?

I use RComp’s netprint and either a ps or pcl driver. I’m not a fan of print servers, so an lpr/jetdirect solution works for me. Never used USB for a printer though. Only parallel a long time ago and network now.

ARM processors are the issue for 26bit support

I’m not talking about 26bit support. I’m referring to 32-bit RO5 applications.

Hum, looks like the current RISC OS after all.

That’s the point.

POSIX, latest GCC, etc.

Although I said I’d prefer to not have POSIX and I don’t care about gcc (and I hate glibc with a passion)

you’ll get a Linux kernel

No you wont. I’ve mentioned my preference for a microkernel, Linux is monolithic. I’m also referring to building from scratch, so no code from Linux will be near it, and if it isn’t POSIX compliant, it not even a *nix system.

None of these are impossible today and the result will be the same with – IMHO – much less work.

Possibly, but I’m not convinced, yet.

Topic: Community Support / Can this be done with RISC OS on a rpi3 ?

If you are not going to be using the desktop then you should probably look at RISC OS Pico too! Its available in the downloads section…

IMHO, it’s too old. Just stick to RISC OS 5.24 and – if needed – use a few tricks to boot directly in your single tasking software.

edit: or was online before you :)

Topic: Community Support / Can this be done with RISC OS on a rpi3 ?

Hello and Welcome!

I am not the most experienced user here and there are a few knocking around with brains the size of a planet who will doubtless be able to tell you straight away if what you want to do is possible.

I will say that there is a port of GCC—just look for GCCSDK.

Also you should possibly consider the DDE available from the store here. It is the original C compiler for RISC OS and it comes with useful debugging tools.

If you are not going to be using the desktop then you should probably look at RISC OS Pico too! Its available in the downloads section…

Other than that I can’t say much more than welcome and hope you enjoy using the OS! :—)

edit: looks like David can type faster than me!

Topic: Community Support / Can this be done with RISC OS on a rpi3 ?

is there a (gcc ?) C of C++ compiler on RISC OS ?

2: GCC and DDE
http://www.riscos.info/index.php/GCC_for_RISC_OS
https://www.riscosopen.org/content/sales/dde

is there a way to read UPD datagrams in a non-blocking mode ?

https://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/11/topics/3801 ???

is it possible to use a hardware interrupt to trigger setting of gpio pins.

Should be.
Nota: http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~riscos/riscos/Pi_LITEr/GPIO-tutorial.htm

The rpi3 is just running this single task.

And RISC OS kernel is single task, so with very predictable timings.

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

It would still be an ARM system.

Modern ARM processors are the issue for 26bit support. You can change the kernel as you want, the issue will still be here. An emulation layer is needed. And IMHO, it’s not important, as old software is… old.

Why? Do they use undocumented API/ABI?

It’s not only API/ABI. These kind of software uses kernel features. So you’ll need to implement ABI + API + HAL calls + SWI approach, etc. Hum, looks like the current RISC OS after all.

I understand what you want to say: with something more mainstream (POSIX, latest GCC, etc.) it would be simpler to get these news features. But let’s face it: at the end of the road, you’ll get a Linux kernel. Now, you can help porting the latest GCC to RISC OS, work on a module for partitions support, rewrite Wimp2 for RISC OS 5, provide a module for WiFi support, etc. None of these are impossible today and the result will be the same with much less work.

Or you can contribute to bounties :)

Topic: Community Support / Pi shutdown, restart - cannot move memory

Service_Reset is still used on RISC OS 5 – it’s issued at the end of ROM initialisation. So under RISC OS 5, only ROM modules and podule modules will see it (and maybe territory modules which are loaded by the ROM?). On <3.5 I guess soft resets would have meant that all loaded modules would have seen it. But unless there’s something naughty issuing it on shutdown, it shouldn’t be the cause of any problems with shutdowns on the Pi.

(The wiki refers to it as Service_PostReset – I think inherited from the terminology used in the StrongHelp manuals. I haven’t checked what the PRMs call it)

Topic: Aldershot / Was 2015 the end of RISC OS?

I’m not a fan of cups, though.

Its my only option for the Canon as its USB and has to be shared with the other computers in the house. Works perfectly with them too and they can print/scan just fine with it. I remember from the last time I tried to get it working though that the general consensus was that RISC OS lacked the right drivers.

I’m a fan on HP as PCL drivers just work

Is that a direct USB connection to the RISC OS machine or an HP printer with built in network port and then some network printing software?