[Coco] l2update and bbs dsk images in nitros9 source tree

Mon Feb 10 09:40:38 EST 2014

The original commercial version of NitrOS-9 did contain a manual that described anything new we had added (new Set/GetStat calls, etc.). When we decided to make it free, I know both Alan and I would have some sort of release notes with each version (or new module) that stated what extra things were added (as well as bug fixes, etc.). We also sometimes put the notes up as webpages (you can see an example from my original web page through the Internet Archive wayback machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20020413224533/http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~af960/NitrOS9.html )

Bill and I received the "accidental" level 2 upgrade modules after we were far into the NitrOS9 project... and with no documentation at all. We did start to disassemble the Windint/Grfdrv modules (we noticed the 3d look was in it), but we later abandoned it in favor of keeping NitrOS9 going in the direction it already was going, which was to speed things up as much as possible (Level 2 version 3, while adding a lot of new features, is/was way slower than NitrOS9 was even at that earlier stage). 

I did end up adding a couple of things that we had figured out (filled circle and filled ellipse DISPLAY commands being 2 that I remember), and I think Alan may have done a few too, but we never did finish disassembling what parts we had to figure out what else had been added, and we never did have all of it (until Brother Jeremy got it later). I do know that in order to fit all the new stuff, plus the stuff we added/optomized, that GRFDRV would likely have had to expand to 16K to fit it all in. Of course, the level II upgrade stuff that was released independently by Kevin Darling (RBF undelete, Christmas GRFDRV patch, SCF in-line editing, etc.) prior to NitrOS9's development are all included, so any documentation from those is still applicable. As a side note - we also wanted to implement Chris Dekker's additional stuff that he had in his own package; this included double-wide/double-high fonts and other goodies that are not in NitrOS9 or the Level II upgrade. Again, we were well along with NitrOS9 by the time we saw it, and (particularly in GRFDRV) running out of room.

I know Alan sped up pipes drastically, and he was working on getting named pipes (from what I understand, Chris Burke did the Level II upgrade version), but I can't remember if he finished them or not.

I agree that somebody who is still active in NitrOS9 should (at the very least) make a document of everything that has been added from stock Level II and, ultimately (although it is a huge project), update the existing Level II documentation with all the new stuff.

I really hope Boisy, or Mark, etc. can convince Kevin to get them the source to the Level II upgrade... it would make trying to add those features much easier (vs. finishing disassembling/documenting everything... and we are still not sure we have everything. I distinctly remember Kevin mentioning at one point at one of the Fests that even Brother Jeremy's version wasn't the absolute latest).

L. Curtis Boyle
curtisboyle at sasktel.net

On Feb 9, 2014, at 9:33 PM, Bill Pierce <ooogalapasooo at aol.com> wrote:

> 
> @ Curtis (and anyone else who has knowledge of this),
> After you stated that some of the "Upgrade" features HAD been included into the Nitros9 repo, I started taking a look around.
> In looking through the latest "defs" files, I'm finding quite a few of the system calls and gets/setstat parms that are mentioned in the docs and notes in the upgrade. A lot of these "new" features are the kind of things that poeple often "wish" OS9 had... And they were already there!
> The thing that bothers me, I've stated it before and I'll state it again and again....
> Where's the documentation?
> There's things in the additions that would make handling windows, mouse, get/put buffers, graphics, and much more... much easier. Why was all this stuff added then no documentation created on how to use it or even notes that it was there? The only indication of the existence of these calls is the sparse comments beside the calls in the defs files.
> Pretty soon, no one will be around that knows what these feature are and how they work.
> For instance, were the named pipes ever implemented?
> 
> Just food for thought :-)
> 
> 
> Bill Pierce
> "Today is a good day... I woke up" - Ritchie Havens
> 
> 
> My Music from the Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 & 3
> https://sites.google.com/site/dabarnstudio/
> Co-Webmaster of The TRS-80 Color Computer Archive
> http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com/
> Co-Contributor, Co-Editor for CocoPedia
> http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
> E-Mail: ooogalapasooo at aol.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: L. Curtis Boyle <curtisboyle at sasktel.net>
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Sun, Feb 9, 2014 8:34 pm
> Subject: Re: [Coco] l2update and bbs dsk images in nitros9 source tree
> 
> 
>> From what I recall, it is in there (and is part of WindInt, for the most part). 
> I think the bouncing ball demo let you resize the window on the fly. Boisy, I 
> know Kevin Darling had, at one time, mentioned that he was probably the only one 
> out of the Level 2 upgrade project that had all of the source; have you tried 
> seeing if he would be willing to release it now (I believe the repository has 
> just disassemblies like the ones Bill and I worked on, when we "accidentally" 
> got some of the level II upgrade from Frank Hogg when we were working on the 2nd 
> version of the TC-9 drivers).
> 
> L. Curtis Boyle
> curtisboyle at sasktel.net
> 
> 
> 
> On Feb 9, 2014, at 7:14 PM, Bill Pierce <ooogalapasooo at aol.com> wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Boisy,
>> I've booted the "Br Jeremy" boot disk and played around with it.
>> I really like the look of everything. From the notes I read, there were a lot 
> of things being worked on.
>> Do you know if the :resizable/movable" window driver is on those disks 
> anywhere? Or was that still in planning and not make it to the disks?
>> 
>> 
>> Bill Pierce
>> "Today is a good day... I woke up" - Ritchie Havens
>> 
>> 
>> My Music from the Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 & 3
>> https://sites.google.com/site/dabarnstudio/
>> Co-Webmaster of The TRS-80 Color Computer Archive
>> http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com/
>> Co-Contributor, Co-Editor for CocoPedia
>> http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
>> E-Mail: ooogalapasooo at aol.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Boisy Pitre <boisy at tee-boy.com>
>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
>> Sent: Sun, Feb 9, 2014 7:41 pm
>> Subject: Re: [Coco] l2update and bbs dsk images in nitros9 source tree
>> 
>> 
>> It has always been my intention to fold some of the features of the L2 Upgrade 
> 
>> into NitrOS-9. That’s mostly why those disk images exist in the repo.
>> 
>> On Feb 9, 2014, at 5:29 PM, Bill Pierce <ooogalapasooo at aol.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Tormod,
>>> The "Upgrade disks" are most likely there for safekeeping. They are 
> "possibly" 
>> the only disks ever preserved of the work being done in the 90s by the 
> "Upgrade 
>> Team" before Tandy dropped the Coco and Microware then desolved the team. 
> There 
>> are a few features on those disks yet to be implemented in Nitros9 and some 
> that 
>> were. There are no sources, only the demo disks and many notes in text files 
> by 
>> members of the team, mostly Kevin Darling.
>>> 
>>> Yes, those disks exist on almost every archive on the net, but as in the 
> past, 
>> archives come and go. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Bill Pierce
>>> "Today is a good day... I woke up" - Ritchie Havens
>>> 
>>> 
>>> My Music from the Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 & 3
>>> https://sites.google.com/site/dabarnstudio/
>>> Co-Webmaster of The TRS-80 Color Computer Archive
>>> http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com/
>>> Co-Contributor, Co-Editor for CocoPedia
>>> http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
>>> E-Mail: ooogalapasooo at aol.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Tormod Volden <lists.tormod at gmail.com>
>>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
>>> Sent: Sun, Feb 9, 2014 6:10 pm
>>> Subject: [Coco] l2update and bbs dsk images in nitros9 source tree
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I am cleaning out my TODO list for NitrOS-9 3.3.0 and there are a few
>>> items left. One of them is the presence of disk images under
>>> 3rdparty/packages/l2upgrade/ . I believe these are upgrade disks for
>>> OS-9. So why are they in the NitrOS-9 source repo? I suppose they are
>>> safely archived somewhere else for anyone needing them.
>>> 
>>> Also, under 3rdparty/packages/os9l2bbs/ there is an old os9l2bbs.dsk
>>> image. The build creates its own under
>>> 3rdparty/packages/os9l2bbs/6809l2/ Is the prebuilt image something
>>> checked in by mistake, or does it have something that the created
>>> image does not have?
>>> 
>>> I would be happy to get these blobs out of the source tree.
>>> 
>>> Tormod
>>> 
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