Re: A86: New Shell/Differences between ROM versions

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Re: A86: New Shell/Differences between ROM versions


why must everyone always use acronyms???

my suggestion to someone new to assembly would be to try something
simpler first.  if you're up to it though, good luck!

afaik, the only difference in rom versions is bug fixes.  if you use page
d calls only (or patch your code from there), you shouldn't need to care
about different rom versions.

testing the battery level is done by comparing how fast instructions are
running on the cpu to other parts of the calc.  the rom does this by
setting a mask on the keyboard and waiting for it to expire, i believe
you can also create an interrupt handler and compare the frequency it
gets called to main program speed.

to find a list of prgm and string vars, repeatedly call _FindAlphaDn (or
up), starting with the name 1,0 (i think; 1 being the length byte) and
check the type for each var you find, adding only the ones you want.

as for the longname idea, why not have a chunk of data attached to the
end?  then you could allow people to add their own longnames to programs
that don't have them and it wouldn't interfere with anything.

-josh

On Fri, 7 Jan 2000 20:28:16 EST Appelkore@aol.com writes:
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>I'm new to this list and relatively new to ASM, but for a few years 
>now I 
>have been wishing there was a shell with all the features I wanted 
>that also 
>looked nice, didn't hog a lot of space, and didn't crash all the time. 
>After 
>trying all of them, YAS is the best I found, but it still doesn't fit 
>my 
>needs perfectly. I decided I should make my own.
>
>My shell (tentatively titled ACIDshell, for Advanced Calculator 
>Interface/Directory) is well underway, but still has enough bugs and 
>missing 
>features that I don't feel comfortable releasing a beta yet. My 
>question is 
>this: Where can I find a complete list of the differences between 
>every ROM 
>version of the 86?
>
>Please email me any answers or workarounds to the version differences, 
>any 
>features you would like to see in a new shell, or any other advice or 
>
>assistance you think would be helpful to someone relatively new to ASM 
>doing 
>something relatively complex.
>I am also having problems in the following areas: 85 emulation; 
>support for 
>icons and longnames*; getting a list of programs and strings 
>installed; and 
>testing the battery level. Please email me any suggestions you have in 
>these 
>areas.
>*A longname is a format I am considering where, instead of listing 
>programs 
>by their variable name, showing a string similar to the title string 
>but 
>shorter. After the lines ".dw title" and the less common ".dw icon" a 
>
>programmer would add ".dw longname" and then declare the string 
>longname:
>title:  .db "My Program v4.2 (c)2000 by Me",0
>icon:   .db "11100010", etc.
>longname:   .db "My Program",0
>Thus the title string, containing name/author/version/copyright, need 
>not be 
>displayed except on request, freeing up more screen real estate to 
>list more 
>programs simultaneously. I welcome programmers of games and shells to 
>support 
>this new format, unless you think it's a bad idea. Please email me and 
>tell 
>me what you think of it so I can decide whether to keep it or dump 
>it.
>
>-- Jonathan Marcus
>Appelkore@aol.com
>irc: appelkore
>

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