[Coco] CoCoFEST - Dart Time Sharing System Contest

Wayne Campbell asa.rand at gmail.com
Tue Aug 26 20:23:18 EDT 2014


My observations:

HELLO followed by a user number login are optional in the emulator. I am
certain, for security reasons, the login was required on the original
machine. The commands pdf file has this to say: The simulator at present
makes no distinction about user numbers, and thus ignores this command.

SYSTEM BASIC is the default. If you want to use the Algol language you must
enter SYSTEM ALGOL. I assume that the original system may have been the
same in this regard. The commands pdf says this: Name the system -- limited
to either BASIC (default) or ALGOL.

In the BASIC pdf, it states that the END statement is required. I imagine
there would be errors if this statement is left out. STOP is equivalent to
END, but I do not know that it will suffice in place of END at the end of
the listing. The PIE teach example shows STOP being used in various places,
but the last statement in the listing is END.

Hope this helps.
Wayne



On Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 3:20 PM, Salvador Garcia <
ssalvadorgarcia at netscape.net> wrote:

>
>
>
>  Thanks for your reply Kip. I meant to send this message to the list, but
> my mobile device somehow insist on replying to the original sender. I have
> changed it so that this follow up is received by the group.
>
> I found the documentation that you mentioned. It is here:
>
> http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dartmouth/BASIC_Oct64.pdf
>
>
> Interestingly (or weirdly) enough the error message that I am getting does
> not appear in the listing that presents the possible errors. So either the
> documentation neglected to include it or it is a new error message.
>
> I had an unprecedented moment of sanity and found what my problem is. It
> is the end. (Literally.) It seems that any BASIC program entered into the
> simulator needs to have an end statement. If it does not then it presents
> this unusual message.
>
> I also tried following the procedure that you outlined: Hello, system
> basic and new, but this did not help. In fact from what I was able to
> figure out the login and system basic commands are optional. More testing
> with this before I can verify.
>
> Honestly, I am not liking the simulator. I tend to be a nostalgic fool, so
> having the chance to experience what Dartmouth students did back in 1964
> was breathtaking, but the simulator itself has various problems (or
> annoyances):
>
> 1. When I run it insists on positioning itself partly off screen. The
> simulator's title bar is off screen, so if I want to minimize or move the
> window I can't. I have to resort to Alt-Space, Move to accomplish this.
>
> 2. The simulator's window does not auto paint. If I have another window on
> top of it and move it the simulator's screen stays blank until I have focus
> on it and click inside the window.
>
> 3. The simulator insists on using anywhere from 80 to 95% of the CPU. This
> brings other apps to a crawl. I ended up closing the simulator so I could
> use other apps. In all fairness though, on my Intel quad core the CPU usage
> never went above 25%.
>
> Ok, I tested. I started up the simulator and directly went ahead and typed
> in a small program (two lines, one of which was END) and it ran fine. No
> need to login or specify BASIC. :-)
>
> Best regards, Salvador
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kip Koon <computerdoc at sc.rr.com>
> To: 'Salvador Garcia' <ssalvadorgarcia at netscape.net>
> Sent: Mon, Aug 25, 2014 3:30 pm
> Subject: RE: Re: [Coco] CoCoFEST - Dart Time Sharing System Contest
>
>
> Hi Salvador!
> After starting up the DTSS Simulator, you MUST type BASIC BEFORE doing
> anything else.  If you have not already done so, there is a manual you
> might
> want to read.  I read it awhile back and those 10 errors still get me from
> time to time when I forget the proper login procedure.  By the way, there
> is
> a login in procedure complete with a user number!  I don't exactly remember
> what it is at the moment.  I'm in the middle of repairing some laptops, so
> I
> can't look it up at the moment, by I will check it out later on.  I must
> take care of business first!  :)  Keep trying though, you will get it. Once
> that hurdle is conquered, then you can start having some fun with your
> groundbreaking programs.  :D  By the way the first and foremost program
> everyone MUST type in and run first is the famous
> 10 PRINT"HELLO WORLD!"
> 20 GOTO 10
> 30 END
> Program!  :)  Have fun Salvador!
>
> Kip Koon
> computerdoc at sc.rr.com
> http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Kip_Koon
> http://computerpcdoc.com/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Salvador Garcia [mailto:ssalvadorgarcia at netscape.net]
> Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 1:36 PM
> To: computerdoc at sc.rr.com
> Subject: Re: Re: [Coco] CoCoFEST - Dart Time Sharing System Contest
>
> I downloaded the simulator, but I can't get my program to run:
>
> 10 PRINT "HELLO"
>
> When I run it it produces 10  errors indicating an illegal number in 0.
>
> I then tried loading an existing program, bascos, and this loaded and ran
> fine.
>
> I typed in "new" and entered my next ground breaking program:
>
> 10 FOR I * 0 TO 9
> 20 PRINT I
> 30 NEXT I
>
> The * is an equals sign. For some reason I can't get this symbol on my
> present device.
>
> I then run the program and get the same 10 errors.
>
> I tried saving both programs and loading them into a text editor and this
> works fine. I am not sure what I am not doing right.
>
> Salvador
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>



-- 
Wayne

The Structure of I-Code
http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/The_Structure_of_I-Code

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http://cococoding.com/wayne/


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