[Coco] C VS Basic Coco

Tue Feb 13 22:00:46 EST 2018

On Tuesday 13 February 2018 21:16:22 phil pt wrote:

> That is good. Why do you help with the project and write the Rs232
> pack for VCC as plugin cartridge? I could use your help with it.
>
On a coco2, running level 1 os9, now nitros9, at /that/ time the aciapak 
driver was all that was needed as the forgotten chip actually made use 
of the bitbanger port. They were effectively in parallel.  So there was 
no need to actually build a new RS232 pack, you just used its driver, 
with a change of port address. No big deal. I have no clue if the 
current version of nitros9 level one can do that, as a lot of stuff that 
was in the aciapak.dr, is not in Sacia.dr, and  likely not in sc6551.asm 
either.

Checking my own last hg pull of nitros9, it looks like the level1 serial 
driver is now named sc6551.asm. But I don't have a clue if it can work 
with the forgotten chip, or with an RS-232 deluxe pack.

But one thing is confusing me (I have many older versions of os9 here) is 
that if I go back in time to where aciapac.dr existed, I find its 
src.asm file is only 11,568 bytes in 2002, fast forward to 
nitros9-3.3.0, in 2016 and sc6551.asm is now 44,713 bytes. But it only 
assembles to 1315 bytes.  So it ought to be doing way more, but I'll be 
damned if I can make the 7 wire hardware flow control work. Looking at 
the assembled size, somethings definitely all aglay.

> On Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 9:09 PM, Gene Heskett <gheskett at shentel.net> 
wrote:
> > On Tuesday 13 February 2018 19:59:08 phil pt wrote:
> > > Let me re-word what I said. There has been a lot of changes that
> > > has been done to the basic compilers sine the 80's. In the 90's
> > > writing code using Cbasic3 increased the execution speed of the
> > > program, Visual basic.Net has come a long way since the 1st
> > > version was release, Real Basic runs very fast so it also depends
> > > on how to write the code.  Developing code using the basic
> > > compilers is only as some people think. For example using one
> > > function routine to handle different process saves memory and cpu
> > > time. Believe me I have been programming since the Coco1 and I had
> > > the changes to use many different basic compilers. since 1985.
> > >
> > > On Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 7:16 PM, James Jones
> > > <jejones3141 at gmail.com>
> >
> > wrote:
> > > > I agree, use what gets the job done and is best for you. I also
> > > > agree that a large class of BASIC language systems are not
> > > > suited for writing programs of any size or complexity. (I
> > > > recently got a copy of the 1985 book *Back to BASIC: the
> > > > History, Corruption, and Future of the Language* by Kemeny and
> > > > Kurtz, the creators of BASIC. It is well worth reading in this
> > > > regard, especially Chapter 4.)
> > > >
> > > > BASIC09, though not perfect, is not in that large class.
> >
> > Story time folks, skip if its not of interest.
> >
> > I have written 2 programs that were in continuous use at the tv
> > station I wrote it for, for nearly 15 years each time. The first one
> > I wrote, was for an RCA 1802 based Cosmac Super Elf, in '78. I made
> > the video for it, and used a large amount of self modifying code.
> > That taught me to keep track of the stack, and anytime I modified
> > the behaviour of a subroutine, the last thing I did in that
> > subroutine was to restore the original value. Once I learned that,
> > it never crashed again that I was made aware of. Because video
> > machine ballistics could change, when I left I made sure there was
> > instructions on how to modify the code in the event newer machines
> > were bought. I checked in 94 when I was 250 miles north in Oregon,
> > an vacation and visiting an Aunt I knew I better go see before she
> > passed. The CE was then Norman Hoatson, who was the CE when I was
> > the ACE in the late '70's. He assured he was dusting it regularly,
> > and that it was still in daily use.
> >
> > That program was written by looking up the assembler nemonic, and
> > entering the hexidecimal value using a hex monitor. No assembler
> > except me.
> >
> > Then, at the station in WV where I finally retired from after 18
> > years, one of our earlier purchases was a Grass Valley Group
> > 300-3A/B production switcher, which came from the J.C.Penny's NYC
> > production studio when they closed it down. But it had spent quite a
> > bit of time in NYC's polluted air, and required lots of maintenance
> > keeping ahead of chips with black oxidized legs.  But that one did
> > not come with the e-disk kit which allowed the tech folks to save
> > the programs they had composed, and reload them the next time they
> > were on duty running a show.
> >
> > But it did come with a manual that fully described the protocol. I
> > looked at that and said to myself, I can do that with a coco2! So I
> > scrounged up a coco2, installed "The forgotten Chip" and wrote that
> > puppy in basic09. It wasn't till several years later we had a chance
> > at the same switcher from KTLA. It was in somewhat better shape, and
> > it came with an e-disk, which I did install, for about 3 days.  The
> > yelling and screaming from the troops in the trenches could not be
> > ignored and they all said to put mine back in, so I did. The coco's
> > 5" screen gave them English filenames instead of 2 digit numbers on
> > a dial wheel, and it turned out that mine was at least 4x faster at
> > a restore due to the baud rate diffs. And it was used until so many
> > of the custom circuits had died in the 300-3A/B that it had to be
> > replaced a year or so after I retired. So they gave me back the
> > machine I had sold to the tv station for $245 all those years ago. I
> > still have that machine and its disks and drives in the basement,
> > its another of those old friends I just can't part with.  Because
> > the com protocol used let me reach in and tickle this and that parts
> > of the circuit, a logic problem could often be identified down to
> > the gate in such and such a chip, which made keeping it ticking
> > along a lot easier. I don't think theres much the coco's can't do as
> > long as you are willing to do it at the coco's pace.
> >
> > So that also spans around 15 years. Thats an EON in a tv stations
> > physical plant, so I think I am justified in being proud of both
> > efforts at the time.
> >
> > Now, I'm just a retired old fart, whose legs are slowly going away
> > from diabetes, playing around with cnc'd machinery. Machinery that
> > was not cnc'd when it was drug in the door. That and careing for my
> > wife, who broke a hip a year ago, and whose been going steadily
> > downhill from COPD since I met her in about 87. We married in '89.
> > Now she is towing an oxygen hose, and incapable of doing the
> > exercises needed to put her back on her feet. Between all that, it
> > sure keeps me out of the bars. :-)
> >
> > --
> > Cheers, Gene Heskett
> > --
> > "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
> >  soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
> > -Ed Howdershelt (Author)
> > Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
> >
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

-- 
Cheers, Gene Heskett
--
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>