|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp A2Pro || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ WELCOME TO THE GEnieLamp A2PRO! ~ """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ NAMEOBJ RTC TRANSCRIPT ~ WINDOW PROGRAMING TIPS ~ ~ 8/16 CENTRAL AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON GENIE ~ ~ APPLE ASSEMBLY LINES TOUR CONTINUES ~ WHO'S WHO IN A2PRO ~ ~ HOT NEWS ~ HOT MESSAGES ~ HOT VIEWS ~ ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ GEnie Lamp A2Pro ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.1, Issue 07 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Publisher...............................................John F. Peters Editor.....................................................Jim Couch Copy Editor...........................................Bruce Maples \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// ~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR] ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~ ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ LiveWire Online ~ ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~ GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: GENIELAMP@GENIE.GEIS.COM ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE A2Pro ROUNDTABLE? <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ August 1, 1993 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF . [DIR] Notes From The Editor. Staff Directory. HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] DEVELOPER'S CORNER ...... [DEV] Is That A Letter For Me? News from A2Pro Developers. RTC WATCH ............... [RTC] A2U CAMPUS GREEN ........ [A2U] A2Pro RTC News. Your GEnieLamp guide to A2U. LIBRARY BIT BONANZA ..... [LIB] NAMEOBJ RTC TRANSCRIPT....[NAM] HOT files you can download! Learn about this powerful tool. LOG OFF ................. [LOG] GEnieLamp Information. [IDX]""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing """"""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier. To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor or text editor. In the index you will find the following example: HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] [*]GEnie Fun & Games. To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index. MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed """""""""""" here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you need immediately following the message. For example: (SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M530) _____________| _____|__ _|O__ |____ |_____________ |Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number| In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page 475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1. A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}. ABOUT GEnie Effective July 1, GEnie's non-prime time connect rate drops """"""""""" to $3.00 per hour, a reduction of 50% from the current rate. The monthly fee has been restructured, and moves from $4.95 to $8.95, for which up to four hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet gateway, multi-player games and chat lines, are allowed without charge. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99014,DIGIPUB and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information. Need more information? Call GEnie's customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" //////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Can you imagine the abuse it would take to jar chips out of their / / sockets packed in a styrofoam case, inside a box, inside a larger / / box full of styrofoam peanuts! It's hard enough to pull one out / / on purpose. :-)" / ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// REALM //// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Publisher """""""""""""""""""""""" By John Peters [GENIELAMP] TOP OF THE PAGE To know me personally, is to know how fanatical I can be """"""""""""""" when it comes to Digital Publishing. Convincing people that there are definite positive advantages to publishing electronically has been a long and frustrating battle, and unfortunately, the battle is far from over. However, that doesn't slow me down any, it just makes me a little more fanatical about spreading the word. Lately, I have been reading articles about Digital Publishing in high-profile publications like Time, Newsweek and the New York Times so clearly, all is not lost. Digital Publishing is finally starting to find its place in the computing world. Along these lines, the Digital Publishing Association (a group of folks who are just as fanatical as I am :) are coming out with their second annual Digital Quill awards competition. Take a look... >>> DPA ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL "DIGITAL QUILL" AWARDS COMPETITION <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Birmingham, Alabama - July 19, 1993: The Digital Publishing Association, the first and only trade organization for the electronic publishing industry, announced the Second Annual "Digital Quill" Awards for Excellence in Electronic Publishing. In making the announcement, Ron Albright, founder and director of the DPA, defined "electronic publishing" as the publication of literature and graphic material in computer-readable, digital format; specifically, materials created on computer and distributed in digital format for other to read through their computers. According to Albright, the term encompasses "everything from plain ASCII text, which can be read on any computer, to complex, hypertext publications that rely on machine-specific programs to view and navigate." The Quill Award competition is open to all authors and publishers, regardless of DPA membership status. The only requirement is that the materials submitted for judging must have been previously published in electronic format. Submitted materials must either have been uploaded to an online system or distributed on disk for reading by computer as digital materials. In clarifying, Albright said "materials that were simply created on computer - most writers use those for composition anyway - do not meet the criteria of having been electronically published for reading and are ineligible." Award Categories """""""""""""""" o Serial Publication - a weekly, monthly or otherwise regularly- scheduled publication that has been issued for at least 6 months (or at least 3 editions) available prior to July, 1993. This category will include both fiction and non-fiction magazines and newsletters. o New Serial Publication - a weekly, monthly or otherwise regularly- scheduled publication that has been issued for less than 6 months but has been published at least for two issues. This category will include both fiction and non-fiction magazines and newsletters and is proposed to recognize and encourage new issues. o Fiction Book - an original (eliminating reprints of the "classics" in digital format - who among us can hope to compete with a digital edition of Shakespeare's classics?) electronically published novel. Length: 50,000 words, minimum. o Non-Fiction Book - an original non-fiction book in digital format. Length: 35,000 words minimum. o Short Story - a single original story appearing either alone or as part of an anthology or magazine and published in digital format. This category shall exclude reprints of stories originally published in a paper publication. Length: 1000 words, minimum. o Non-fiction article - a single originally article appearing either alone or as part of a magazine and published in digital format. This category shall exclude reprints of articles originally published in paper. Length: 1500 words, minimum. o Publishing software - a software program (Shareware or traditionally marketed) designed for publishing text and/or graphics and facilitating their distribution and viewing. Nominations will be accepted from users as well as original authors. o Miscellaneous - this niche will encompass poetry, graphic collections, comics, and other publications outside the standard categories. PRIZES A certificate, suitable for framing, will be awarded to first, """""" second, third winners in each category. In cases where the number and/or quality of submissions warrants, Certificates of Merit will also be awarded. Additional prizes, including cash awards, are under consideration. If available, these will be announced in the future. DEADLINES Submissions will be accepted from original authors or from the """"""""" editors of a publication in which the submitted material appeared. Submissions must be made in digital format (via modem or on disk) to any of the "electronic addresses" listed below. Deadline for submissions is September 30, 1993. Winners will be announced in conjunction with the DPA activities surrounding "Electronic Publishing Month" which is annually celebrated in November. Submit materials to any of the following addresses: GEnie: RALBRIGHT / DigiPub RoundTable (M1395) CompuServe: 75166,2473 MCI Mail: 370-7474 (RALBRIGHT) PRODIGY: DXBD80A You can also upload submissions to the Disktop Publishing Association BBS at 205-854-1660 (1200/2400/9600; 24 hours/day). Materials can be submitted on disk by mailing to: The Digital Publishing Association 1160 Huffman Road Birmingham, AL 35215 Ron Albright Contact: Ron Albright Digital Publishing Association 1160 Huffman Road Birmingham, AL 35215 Voice: 205-856-9510 FAX: 205-853-8478 BBS: 205-854-1660 [*][*][*] If you are interested in learning more about the awards or digital publishing, drop by the DigiPub RoundTable on page 1395. Until next month... John Peters GEnieLamp/DigiPub RoundTable [EOA] [DIR]////////////////////////////// A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF / ///////////////////////////////// By Matt Deatherage [M.DEATHERAGE] ______________________________________________ APPLE II PROGRAMMERS & DEVELOPERS ROUNDTABLE _____ ______ ______________________________________________ /_____|/______\ /__/|__| ___|__| Head Sysop: Matt Deatherage (M.DEATHERAGE) /__/_|__| /_____/ Assistants: Steve Gunn (A2PRO.STEVE) /________|/__/ __ __ __ Greg Da Costa (A2PRO.GREG) /__/ |__|__/______ /_//_// / Todd P. Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW) /__/ |__|________// / \/_/ Jim Maricondo (A2PRO.DYAJIM) LOOKING AT WHO IS BEHIND THE DOOR Those five names on the door can be """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" misleading; there are a lot of people helping provide support for Apple II programmers here in A2Pro. The A2Pro Staff: Matt Deatherage (M.DEATHERAGE) Head sysop C. Stephen Gunn (A2PRO.STEVE) Assistant sysop Greg Da Costa (A2PRO.GREG) Assistant sysop Todd P. Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW) Assistant sysop Jim Maricondo (A2PRO.DYAJIM) Assistant sysop Dave Miller (JUST.DAVE) A2Pro Promotions Chris Budewig (K.FLYNN) A2Pro special projects (8/16-Central) Our RTC hosts, a group that will soon be growing: Hangtime (A2.HANGTIME) HyperBar and Grill (Wed.) Nate Trost (N.TROST) Graphics and Sound (Thurs.) Plus the folks who create that great A2Pro GEnie Lamp each month: Jim Couch (J.COUCH2) GEnie Lamp A2Pro editor Nate Trost (N.TROST) Staff writer The people providing support categories and libraries: Jawaid Bazyar (PROCYON.INC) Procyon, Inc. (#30) Bryan Pietrzak (SOFTDISK.INC) Softdisk (#31) Jay Jennings (PUNKWARE) Softdisk (#31) Morgan Davis (MORGAN-DAVIS) Morgan Davis Group (#32) Joe Wankerl (JWANKERL) GS+ Magazine (#33) Randy Brandt (BRANDT) JEM Software (#34) Marc Wolfgram (M.WOLFGRAM2) Lunar Productions (#35) Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS) The Byte Works, Inc. (#36) And those folks providing help in Category/Library #29: Jim Maricondo (A2PRO.DYAJIM or DYA/Digisoft Innovations DYA) (Twilight II) Steve McQueen (S.MCQUEEN1) Simplexity Software (Desktop Enhancer) Jerry Kindall (QUALITY) Q-LABS (Phantasm) Steve Chiang (S.CHIANG4) DreamWorld Software (DreamGrafix) Joshua Thompson (J.THOMPSON1) METAL/FutureVision Eric Bush (KITCHEN.SINK) Kitchen Sink Software (Microdot) Plus occasional stop-ins from Roger Wagner, Jim Murphy, Steve Stephenson, Seven Hills, Bill Heineman and more, all hanging around to answer your questions and help with your problems. --Matt (*new* graphics/sound programming RTC Thursdays @ 9:30 PM ET!) (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT1, TOP10, MSG:11/M530) [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" By Jim B Couch [J.COUCH2] o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS o A2PRO ODDS & ENDS o WHAT'S NEW? o PROGRAMMER'S CORNER o HOT TOPICS o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>>BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" [*] CAT1, TOP19, MSG{8}...............Apple Assembly Line Magazine [*] CAT1, TOP23, MSG{1}......................8/16-Central Magazine [*] CAT8, TOP8, MSG{96}.......................GS/OS Class 1 Calls [*] CAT9, TOP7, MSG{30}..............Applesoft BASIC help please! [*] CAT15, TOP14, MSG{20}............................Window Manager [*] CAT15, TOP29, MSG{26}..............................ACE Tool Set [*] CAT36, TOP9, MSG{31}.............ORCA/M 16-bit Macro Assembler [*] CAT36, TOP26, MSG{11}.........................ORCA/Disassembler [*][*][*] >>> A2PRO ODDS & ENDS <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" NEW IDEAS IN A2U As the new guy in charge here, I've been busy trying """""""""""""""" to come up with some ideas to keep things hopping around here and I think I've come up with some ideas. It seems we often have these full blown courses that start out real well, but either leave people behind or become too drawn out. So I've decided to try doing some short courses on a variety of subjects and hope that will stimulate participation and involvement. Here is a list of my current ideas: Writing the A2U shell (similar to Generic Start) String Manipulations Handles, Pointers and Dereferencing Using the Window manager Using the Menu Manager Fun with the Control Manager Exploring the List Manager All about the Print Manager Term program scripting Writing Interrupt handlers Intro to animation Programming with MD-Basic Writing T2 and Phantasm Modules Writing Nifty List modules Using Nifty List and GSBug Writing Finder Extensions Hypercard Scripting Writing Shell Utilities Orca Shell Scripting Writing Macros (ORCA/M) As I envision these courses, they could be done in three to four weeks which should make it a little easier for people to take part and should also make it much easier on the professors. These are things that should be useful to just about anyone interested in programming the IIgs and creates a basic foundation upon which to build future full courses. I'm looking for instructors for these courses, so if you are interested or know someone who is qualified and who might be interested, let me know via GE Mail. I will get back to those who are seriously interested with details on compensation, outlines and schedules. Greg [ A2U Guy ] (A2PRO.GREG, CAT22, TOP7, MSG:3/M530) [*][*][*] 8/16 CENTRAL AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON GENIE! As you've probably noticed, """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 8/16-Central is now available for download here in A2Pro. This magazine, published by Ariel Publishing and later by Resource Central, includes all kinds of wonderful information for both eight- bit and sixteen-bit programming on the Apple II. Animation, system software, hardware hacking and more besides. It was one of the first places we all got to know Nate Trost, for example. :) There's been a bit of confusion about what "available exclusively in A2Pro" means, so here's some clarification. 8/16-Central can not be distributed through any other means. You may not upload it elsewhere, pass it around to friends on floppy disk, put it in user group libraries or anything of the sort. This is _not_ freeware nor is it public domain. It belongs to Resource Central, which has decided to try making it available here in addition to selling the back issues on disk through the Resource Central catalog. There are a lot of us who believe that anything they see available for download somewhere is "fair game" -- it can be passed around in any way, uploaded elsewhere and generally treated as free information. We've learned in the past few years that sometimes owners of software want to make it available online but are hesitant to do so because they're afraid they'll lose control of the distribution. Resource Central is taking a gamble by making 8/16-Central available here; please help us show that it's a good thing to do by not passing it around or uploading it elsewhere. If we find out people are passing it around, Resource Central probably has to remove it from online to protect their copyrights on the material. That would be unfortunate for all of us. (Note that there are no reported problems, just some confusion. This is our attempt to head off problems before they start.) ---- Since this material is much more recent than Apple Assembly Line, we felt it was appropriate to contact the authors and make sure they were OK with their information being made available online. This task fell to A2Pro regular Chris Budewig (K.FLYNN), who's been contacting hard-to-find people, or trying to, since about February of this year working on this project. He's also uploaded all of the issues, written the descriptions for the files and put up with me shouting "Where is it? Where is it?" :) I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Chris for all the hours of hard detective work he did tracking down most of the people involved. Without his help, this project would not have happened. Chris may be starting a "tour" of 8/16-Central soon, much like Dave Miller's ongoing tour of Apple Assembly Line. If this is something you'd like to see, let us know! --Matt (*new* graphics/sound programming RTC Thursdays @ 9:30 PM ET!) (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT1, TOP23, MSG:1/M530) [*][*][*] MISSING SOURCE CODE FOUND Sorting out the quarterly (mostly) source code """"""""""""""""""""""""" disks for Apple Assembly Line wasn't always easy, and I didn't always do it right. Specifically, P.GUERTIN6 has pointed out that there are no source code files in the March 1983 archive. This is because I accidentally put them all in the February 1983 archive, not being able at the time to figure out where they were supposed to go. As far as I can tell, all the files are present, just not in the correct archives. I'll fix it after KansasFest, but I thought you'd like to know in case you were getting near those issues in your perusals. --Matt (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT1, TOP19, MSG:11/M530) [*][*][*] WHY READ GENIELAMP A2PRO? During a particularly long session writing my """"""""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp A2Pro columns I began to visualize all kinds of great reasons to read GEnieLamp. These reasons went far beyond the ordinary....such as the A2Pro Lamp lets you know what's new and hot in the library, keeps you up to date of the great discussion in the BB, and highlights the popular and entertaining RTCs. No, I went off the deep end. Therefore, I present: The Top 10 Not So Important Reasons to Read GEnieLamp A2Pro 10. Matt Deatherage's fun-filled column where his views represent neither himself or Apple, but rather the late 18th Century French historian and poet, Voltaire. 9. No Barney (tm) songs....ever. 8. Details of how A2PRO.STEVE (Steve Gunn) was involved in the Burt/Loni breakup. 7. Exclusive ASCII photos of A2 Chief Sysop Dean Esmay greeting an alien UFO outside Podunk, Michigan. 6. Has so much soul that editor Jim Couch is going blind and is now appearing in Diet Pepsi commercials. 5. Great articles on how to make your programs multitask under 6.0.1 using nothing but a new bit in TaskMaster, ordinary dental floss, and common household chemicals. 4. Staff writer Nate Trost is single, more in the Personals section. 3. Fun filled interview with Michael Jackson who reveals that the real reason he's turning white is due to spending too much time staring at ORCA/Disassembler trying to make 6.0 multitask. 2. Todd Whitesel centerfold. 1. Complete listing of Randy Brandt's Buttafucco macro set for UltraMacros. Nate (G/S RTC host and A2Pro Lamp staff writer who is making mental note to take breaks more often and stop drinking Mountain Dew by the keg.....) (N.TROST, CAT1, TOP15, MSG:53/M530) [*][*][*] ULTRA 4 QUIRK DISCOVERED Here's an unusual Ultra Quirk (and it """""""""""""""""""""""" demonstrates the kind of phone calls we sometimes get): In the Quality manual to UltraMacros 4, on page 30 under "Defining Numeric Variables," it gives the example - J:! I no longer have my JEM Ultra 4 manual, but I'd be willing to bet that this example used to say: J:! Apparently somebody went through the JEM manual and changed all the JEM references to Quality without regard to whether the macros made any sense. I thought it was kind of fun (quirky). (B.CADIEUX [ TEXAS II ], CAT34, TOP4, MSG:26/M530) AND HERE IS THE FIX: You're exactly right! It's on page 26 in the old """""""""""""""""""" manual, and says: J:! For any who might be confused, the Compiler regards JEM(Software), without quotes, not as text, but as numeric variables -- in other words, J(S) -- which, in the above macro means J(8), or 89. Jerry (if you're reading here), next printing, change it to: J:! then, at least, it will make sense. :-) | -(+)- | | ...Will (W.NELKEN1, CAT34, TOP4, MSG:27/M530) [*][*][*] >>> WHAT'S NEW? <<< """"""""""""""""""" DDT SOURCE CODE AVAILABLE SOON! I plan to upload the source code for the """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DDT along with a sdescription of the hardware. A number of people have asked me for help in making modifications to the DDT firmware to better fit their needs. If anyone is interested in this idea please post your responses here. Don't look for any source code until after Kansas Fest. I am too busy preparing for my sessions to write up a useful description of the DDT hardware. Hope to see some of you at Kansas Fest. P.S. I may have some special deals on DDTs at Kansas Fest? Depends on my getting busy and getting some ready to sell. Chuck / ProDev, Inc. (CHUCK.K [ProDev], CAT5, TOP5, MSG:48/M530) [*][*][*] RESLIN V0.37 NOW AVAILABLE! I just thought I'd let everyone know that """"""""""""""""""""""""""" I've uploaded ResLin v0.37 -- a significant upgrade from the last version (0.25). Bryan (BRYAN.ZAK, CAT10, TOP24, MSG:1/M530) [*][*][*] SOFTDISK COMPRESSION CODE NOW AVAILABLE SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak] """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I just wanted to let everyone know that I've uploaded source code for decompressing Softdisk Issue Text files. For more information on this format or the source code, stop by Category 31 here in A2Pro! Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak], CAT11, TOP8, MSG:96/M530) [*][*][*] YOUR TOUR OF APPLE ASSEMBLY LINE - DEC. 1980 - VOL. 1, NO. 3 This file is """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" in Library 22, it's AAL.DEC.80.BXY, file #3330. Here's the directory layout for AAL.DEC.80: (Note that there was no ProDOS information supplied in the first issues) Articles/ Front.Page Introduction and cover page SmartDisasms "Intelligent Disassemblers" - an ad/announcement about two Disassemblers for the II IBas.Prty.List "Integer BASIC Pretty Lister" - A program to fancy up the listing of Integer BASIC files Listed.Xprsns "Listed Expressions with .DA Directive" - patch to S-C Assembler to allow .DA directive to have more than one expression BlockMoveCopy "Block MOVE and COPY for Version 4.0" - USR routine for S-C Assembler to copy lines in your source Compare.16Bits "Handling 16-Bit Comparisons" - Tricks and techniques for comparing 16-bit numbers with 8-bit registers PrinterOnError "Keeping Printer On After Error Message" - Patch to S-C Assembler to do just that DOS.3.3/ S.IB.Ptry.Lstr Source for the Integer BASIC Pretty Lister S.PATCH.DA Source for .DA directive patch S.COPY.LINES Source for the line-copy USR routine Setup.CopyLines Exec file to set up the line-copy USR routine When you download this issue, pay specific attention to the 16-bit compare routines. It may take fewer instructions to compare than you thought :) If anyone still uses Integer BASIC (the Apple II ROM version, or the one provided on the DOS 3.3 System Master disk) then the Pretty Lister would be very useful. With a little imagination, it could easily be changed to work with Applesoft BASIC, as well. This routine basically puts every instruction on a new line when listing the program, which makes it much easier to follow. For more information on Your Tour of Apple Assembly Line, see message 4 in this topic. For more information on the Apple Assembly Line project as a whole, see message 1 in this topic. I hope you enjoy this issue! Dave Miller GEM 4.21/PT 3.1 (JUST.DAVE [m530 daily!], CAT1, TOP19, MSG:8/M530) YOUR TOUR OF APPLE ASSEMBLY LINE - JAN. 1981 - VOL. 1, NO. 4 This file is """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" in Library 22, it's AAL.JAN.81.BXY, file #3331. Here's the directory layout for AAL.JAN.81: (Note that there was no ProDOS information supplied in the first issues) Articles/ Front.Page Introduction and cover page - added bonus: patch locations for changing tab stops in v4.0 of the S-C Assembler II How.Move.Mem "How to Move Memory" - Tutorial on moving data around in memory. Includes tricks for moving it as quickly as possible. Computed.GOSUB "Computed GOSUB for Applesoft" - Use variables for line numbers with the GOSUB command COPY.FOR.SCASM "Putting COPY into S-C Assembler II" - letter from a reader (name isn't given) describing how to make the COPY command described in the previous issue a real command in S-C Assembler II instead of patching through the USR vector EDIT.CMD.SCASM "EDIT Command for S-C Assembler II" - Edit command that lets you _edit_ the line, rather than retyping it DOS.3.3/ S.ASoft.BLTU Disassembly of the MOVE routine in the Applesoft ROM S.General.Move Sample source of a MOVE routine to replace the one found in the Applesoft ROMS (it's faster) S.Amper.GOSUB Source for the Computed GOSUB routine S.EDIT.Command Source for EDIT command for S-C Assembler II The most worthwhile portions of this issue are the Memory Move routines and the Computed GOSUB routine (unless you still use the S-C Assembler II, in which case those added commands will be quite useful :) The memory move routines given here are speedy. 'Nuff said :) These tricks are intended for 8-bit, and I know faster ways to move memory with a 65816, but this was intended for a 6502 :) If you use Applesoft for a lot of programming, this GOSUB routine will very certainly come in handy. I've often wished for such a feature myself :) For more information on Your Tour of Apple Assembly Line, see message 4 in this topic. For more information on the Apple Assembly Line project as a whole, see message 1 in this topic. I hope you enjoy this issue! Dave Miller PT 3.1 Editor (JUST.DAVE [m530 daily!], CAT1, TOP19, MSG:9/M530) YOUR TOUR OF APPLE ASSEMBLY LINE - FEB. 1981 - VOL. 1, NO. 5 This file is """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" in Library 22, it's AAL.FEB.81.BXY, file #3343. Here's the directory layout for AAL.FEB.81: (Note that there was no ProDOS information supplied in the first issues) Articles/ Front.Page.Misc Introduction and cover page - also BUG REPORTS for programs in the previous issues, and info on how to get the S-C Assembler II to stuff object code into memory that's protected (such as the language card) AppleNoiseSound "Apple Noises and Other Sounds" - creating sound effects with the Apple speaker. Multiply.6502 "Multiplying on the 6502" - a faster way to multiply 16-bit values than the routine in Apple ROM. AS.Str.Swapper "A String Swapper for Applesoft" - & command to swap two variables. GRAM.Hello.AS "Two Boots are Better Than One" - How to make your disk boot on any Apple II when you don't know if it has AppleSoft or Integer BASIC in ROM. GRAM.Ftr.Laumer "The Future of Personal Computers" - an article about all the new 16 and 32-bit chips coming out and what it will mean to the home computer industry. (written circa 1980) GRAM.Buy.Printr "Buying a Printer for Your Apple II" - humorous tale of a search for a new Epson MX-80 printer. DOS.3.3/ S.Multiply Source for the 16 bit multiplication routine S.String.Swap Source for Applesoft variable swap command S. Eight source files with various sound routines. The Sound stuff is really neat! If you like playing with sound, you'll be interested in this! If you're just interested in some neat sounds, the sounds created by these programs are great. If you do any Applesoft programming, the swap routine will be really helpful. It fixes the memory problem created by using a temporary variable since the ROM version of Applesoft creates a new storage space every time you store a string. There were a couple articles in this issue which really had nothing to do with Assembly programming, but they're great anyway! I especially liked the "Future of the Personal Computer" article. If nothing else, it's great nostalgia! For more information on Your Tour of Apple Assembly Line, see message 4 in this topic. For more information on the Apple Assembly Line project as a whole, see message 1 in this topic. I hope you enjoy this issue! Dave Miller - GEM 4.21/PT 3.1 (JUST.DAVE [m530 daily!], CAT1, TOP19, MSG:10/M530) [*][*][*] >>> PROGRAMMER'S CORNER <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""" HOW DO I USE DINFO ON 5.25" DRIVES? I'm having a problem making a DInfo """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" call on a 5.25" drive. Everything seems to be set up OK, but about 90% of the time I get a diskSwitched error. Is there something I have to do to make DInfo work reliably? Somebody here must have run into this problem before? I hope. Walker (W.ARCHER2, CAT8, TOP8, MSG:96/M530) RETRY THE CALL Walker, you need to check GS/OS Device Driver Reference's """""""""""""" chapter on the 5.25" driver. There is no hardware to know if a disk has been switched, so the driver return a disk switched error for _all_ calls if the previous access was more than one second ago. When you get a disk-switched error, you're supposed to retry the call once and see if it succeeds. If it does, GS/OS is just letting you know a disk switch happened. If it doesn't, you'll get an error you should return to the user. --Matt (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT8, TOP8, MSG:97/M530) [*][*][*] APPLESOFT BASIC QUESTIONS I received a couple of questions from an """"""""""""""""""""""""" Apple IIe user who is programming in Applesoft. He is trying to switch between 80 column and 40 column modes from within an Applesoft program. Is there a way to do this? If so, how? He also asked if there is a way to prevent control-C from halting the program and to cause reset to reboot rather than going to the monitor. Essentially, he wanted to prevent anyone from halting execution of the program and listing it. I know that the reset vector can be changed, but I don't remember how to do it or whether it can be done from inside an Applesoft program. Its been years and years since I have played with Applesoft and I can't locate any of the reference materials that I have that might help. Any assistance is appreciated. John (J.AMBURGEY, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:30/M530) APPLESOFT BASIC ANSWERS To change to 80 columns, use: PRINT """"""""""""""""""""""" CHR$(4)"PR#3": PRINT CHR$(25); To change back to 40 columns, use: PRINT CHR$(21); To prevent Control-C from stopping the program, you can use ONERR GOTO. However, there are bugs in Applesoft's error handling which prevent you from resuming exactly where you left off without some fancy programming. To force Control-Reset to reboot, use: POKE 1011,0 (QUALITY, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:31/M530) [*][*][*] STANDARDIZED SERIAL DRIVER SPECS NEEDED Since it seems obvious that a """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" supported, application- independent, high- performance, standardized serial driver interface is not going to be done by Apple before development funds get cut off, it's up to the development community as a whole to get down to business and write specs. I'll be at KansasFest, and barring an as-yet-unnamed roommate who might want to go to bed (ack! deviant!) I'll be holding an impromptu session of my own on this very subject. The basics, as far as a mechanism for arbitration of the ports that does not conflict with AppleTalk and does not get clobbered by the existing firmware, _and_ can work with multiple concurrent applications, has been determined. What has yet to be determined is a general interface design to the Open/Read/Write/Close/Control functions. I'm leaning toward a tool interface, being capable of much less overhead that the GS/OS interface (especially since one can call individual tools directly, bypassing the Dispatcher). Specifics need to be considered, so anyone who is interested should be thinking hard about this. (According to my KFEst packet, this means you, Bennett and Gunn :-). Details will of course be posted to GEnie after the conference. Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT12, TOP6, MSG:95/M530) TOOL INTERFACE IS NOT THE WAY TO GO >>> PROCYON.INC """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > I'm leaning toward a tool > interface, being capable of much less overhead that the GS/OS interface > (especially since one can call individual tools directly, bypassing the > Dispatcher). What are you, nuts? :) Unless you steal a system tool set number (or unless Apple, at some points, opens up guidelines for using system tool numbers without stepping on other people's code, which is not at all a given), a user tool is only available to applications, not DAs or other component code, unless that code manually loads a _second_ copy and calls it without going through the tool dispatcher, which wastes code space, memory and development time. Providing a GS/OS device driver interface lets people treat it just like any other character device, which I firmly believe is what most programmers would want. If you want to provide faster access to some routines, you make DControl/DStatus calls that return entry points for direct access and those who wish to use them can. --Matt (*new* graphics/sound programming RTC Thursdays @ 9:30 PM ET!) (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT12, TOP6, MSG:96/M530) [*][*][*] HELP NEEDED WITH WINDOW CREATION Today's question: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" How do you create a multi-windows environment. I thought that creating a separate Window Record for each window would do it, but whenever I draw Window B, it fills the contents of Window A with the contents of Window B. And when I draw Window C, it fill the contents of Windows A&B with the contents of Window C, etc, etc, etc. Using only one window at a time, the program works fine. Closing windows works in the reverse. Close Window C and the other Windows revert back to B. Close Window B, and the final Window reverts back to A. Hints, suggestions, recommendations. R.Sant (R.SANT1, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:20/M530) BE SURE TO USE SETPORT TO DRAW TO THE CORRECT WINDOW You probably need to """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" do a SetPort(myWindowGrafPortPtr) in order to make your drawing commands go to the correct window. I _never_ forget to do the GetPort/SetPort stuff. (Stop laughing, Bryan!) Jay (PUNKWARE, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:21/M530) EACH WINDOW HAS A SEPARATE DRAWING ROUTINE If you're using TaskMaster, """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" each window has a separate drawing routine that TaskMaster calls to draw the contents. (If you're not using TaskMaster, you have to draw the window contents yourself anyway.) It sounds to me like you're using the same routine to draw all the windows but not checking inside the drawing routine to see which window it is you're drawing. In other words, if Window C is the front window, that's always what you're drawing, even when you're updating windows B and A behind it. Could that be it? --Matt (*new* graphics/sound programming RTC Thursdays @ 9:30 PM ET!) (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT15, TOP14, MSG:22/M530) STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MULTIPLE WINDOWS Your answer is correct as to """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" what I was/am doing. We spoke (typed) of this in the conference on Sunday night, and I have tried to implement what you were trying to relay to me. I have stored the handles of the allocated blocks for the text in the RefCon of the window record. But how do I retrieve it? In order to use the GetWRefCon function, I need to know which window pointer is the current window it is updating. I presume it goes through the window list, bottom to top (most recent window first). At the end of my update routine I used the following code.... PushLong #$0000 _GetNextWindow PullLong WindowPtr ORA WindowPtr ;OR HighByte/LowByte to check for Nul BEQ Return ;0 = No more windows PushLong #$0000 PushLong WindowPtr _GetWRefCon PullLong FileHandle JSR Deref ;Lock, Dereference, Store Pointer Return RTL I thought this would re-assign the pointer for the drawing subroutine so that I could continue using the same subroutine, just modify the pointers between updates. However, all this did was lock my system up. Any further guidance, chastisement, or required reading would be helpful. I must admit that I am slightly confused about this updating process and using multiple windows. Sincerely, R.Sant (R.SANT1, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:23/M530) GETPORT IS WHAT IS NEEDED The window you're drawing in is the current """"""""""""""""""""""""" grafPort. To get the window record, simply call GetPort. --Matt (at KansasFest) (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT15, TOP14, MSG:24/M530) A GETPORT CODE SAMPLE Like Matt said, when your content draw procedure is """"""""""""""""""""" called, it is the current grafport, so you can do something like; phb phk plb phl ; result space _GetPort plx ply stx theWindowPtr sty theWindowPtr+2 phl ; result space phy phx _GetWRefCon sty theWindowPtr+2 ply stx theRefCon sty theRefCon+2 Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak], CAT15, TOP14, MSG:25/M530) IT IS AMAZING WHAT 5 LINES OF CODE CAN DO! Well, I tried it & I liked it. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Amazing what 5 lines of code can do for your life. Works like a champ. On to bigger & better things. Next phase is to learn how to mathematically graph in a window. So I'll be reading my SANE book for awhile, and back with more questions. Thanks again for the help. I'll dedicate my first complete work to you. R.Sant (R.SANT1, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:28/M530) [*][*][*] WHERE IS A LIST OF SYSTEM ERRORS? Where does one find a listing of system """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" errors? I get a system error $0201 trying to launch a certain application but can't find a reference to this error number (or any other system errors for that matter) in my manuals. Mark Wade (M.WADE7 [Mark], CAT20, TOP3, MSG:51/M530) CHECK THE PROGRAMMER'S REFERENCE FOR SYSTEM 6 True system errors are """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" generally (always?) in the range $00 to $FF. The error $0201 is the error for out of memory, reported by the Memory Manager, and that's almost certainly where it came from. The most complete list I know of for Apple IIGS error codes is in an appendix in "Programmer's Reference for System 6.0." Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS, CAT20, TOP3, MSG:52/M530) [*][*][*] >>> HOT TOPICS <<< """""""""""""""""" ANOP IS SUCH A PAIN... Mike, """""""""""""""""""""" If you happen to delve back into the ORCA/M assembler to fix any of these bugs it'd be *REALLY* nice if you would change things so that we could have labels on a line by themselves. Having to specify ANOP is such a pain... Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak], CAT36, TOP9, MSG:31/M530) A SECOND ON ANOP BEING A PAIN I'll second what Bryan just said. ANOP has """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" annoyed me ever since I switched over from Merlin Pro to Orca/M. I don't even mind being required to use colons after labels -- it's having something in the opcode field because that makes it look like there is a real instruction there when I am skimming the code quickly, and I end up going to great lengths to position my ANOPs off of the usual opcode column so that they will create a visual break that I can see later. Todd Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW [growf?], CAT36, TOP9, MSG:32/M530) A NUMBER OF PEOPLE DISKLIKE ANOP REQUIREMENT I _really_ dislike the anop """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" requirement too. I end up skipping lines for whitespace, though Todd's idea sounds good. I always miss the common sense solutions :( Jay (JAY.KRELL, CAT36, TOP9, MSG:33/M530) ANOP 'HATERS' ABOUND! Yeah, add my vote to the "anop"-haters :-) """"""""""""""""""""" < Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak], CAT15, TOP29, MSG:32/M530) APPLE AND IT'S TECHNOLOGY Michael, to address your non-ACE concerns """"""""""""""""""""""""" briefly (and if you want to continue this part of the discussion, we should move it out of the ACE topic into something more suitable, like a new "standards" topic in Category 16: Apple owns most of its technology and therefore it decides where it wants it placed. Things like Macintosh Services on UNIX and QuickTime for Windows are bringing some of Apple's APIs to other platforms, but by your reasoning if Apple chooses not to do that, it should publish all the algorithms so other people can do it. For example, by your argument, if Apple doesn't choose to make QuickTime available for a given platform (for argument, let's say the NeXT) then they should publish the description of the proprietary Apple Video compression ("road pizza") so someone else could do it. That's not necessarily logical -- it means Apple's lost a competitive advantage because they won't get revenues for their proprietary work as implemented on other platforms, and it also means compatibility becomes a problem because it's harder to revise code that deals with published algorithms than those that deal with private ones and still keep it working with the old stuff. "But I'm only interested in it for Apple II computers" may be true, but publication is publication. There's built-in system software support on the IIgs and sampled sounds are simply not that prevalent on the eight-bit machines because of the memory requirements and the lack of decent-quality sound hardware. This bit about discrimination against eight-bit types is true but overstated. You sound as if people are deliberately using incredibly powerful and convenient mechanism such as resources and ACE just to keep things out of the hands of eight-bit computer owners. The truth is that the IIgs is simply more powerful, and the eight-bit computers will not have access to the things the IIgs does. ProDOS 8 is never going to support resource forks, for example. ProDOS 8 has about 10 free bytes in the kernel, scattered over the language card areas. If you can figure out how to support a new storage type in ten bytes, I'd like to know how. --- Back to the specific -- if you're looking for a compression method for sounds for eight-bit computers, you can try to figure out how ACE works and take the (reasonable) risk it won't change now, or you can come up with your own and possibly do even better for the eight-bit machines where memory is even more significant. Even if Apple decided to publish the algorithm description, someone would have to write it up and publish it and that isn't a priority for the folks working on Apple II stuff at the moment. --Matt (*new* graphics/sound programming RTC Thursdays @ 9:30 PM ET!) (M.DEATHERAGE [A2Pro Leader], CAT15, TOP29, MSG:33/M530) ALGORITHMS, INTERFACES, ECT SEEN DIFFERENTLY I agree with much of what """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" you say, but place value differently on things like interfaces, algorithms, implementations, etc. Clearly, many in the industry share Apple's point of view, and it keeps the "reverse engineers" fully employed! Back to the subject of the ACE algorithms--Andy Fadden says in lesson 2 of "Hacking Compression..." that ACE tools implement the CCITT G.721 ADPCM standard, so I'll go look that up. So much for proprietary! Thanks for your attention. -michael (M.MAHON [Michael], CAT15, TOP29, MSG:34/M530) [*][*][*] >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" Mike Westerfield was recently asked what a dissasembler was, and what it could do. I though his answer was a great introduction to the whole concept. (And a useful reminder about the need for backups!) I have reproduced the original question and Mike's answer here. -ED. WHAT EXACTLY DOES A DISASSEMBLER DO? What exactly does a disassembler do? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Does it take an object file and create assembly code? Can it or _anything_ take a program file and create an object file? Due to a HD crash and corrupted backup disks I've lost 1 1/2 years worth of upgrades on a program I'm developing- all the source code is gone. :~( I can save some things if I can just recreate the .root and .a object files from the program itself! Hope is almost lost. Rick Adams (R.ADAMS48, CAT36, TOP26, MSG:11/M530) Category 36, Topic 26 Message 12 Mon Jul 19, 1993 BYTEWORKS at 17:07 EDT A disassembler can take an executable program and generate source code. It generally takes some work to get it into a completely useable form, since you will probably want to add meaningful data labels, comments, and use reasonable DC statements for various data formats, but the disassembler gives you some easy ways of putting these in. Going from EXE or S16 files to OBJ files is possible, but you do loose a lot of information. There is no pre-written program I know of that does the job. It would be about as easy to use a disassembler, anyway. I _have_ used the disassembler to recover a small part of a program in a similar situation. Since you supposedly wrote the code, you'll have a good idea what labels to use and how to break the program up, and that will make your job a lot easier. The disassembler may not be the ideal solution (dare I say it? Backup, backup, and backup again, for the best solution to disk crash, but it's the only choice short of rewriting the program. For what it's worth, most people go through what you are going through at least once. That's what makes us all so fanatical about backups. There are no fewer than 8 copies of the project I'm working on now, scattered over networks, my local hard drive, and floppies. I suspect you're going to be one of the converted, and do the same thing from now on. :) Mike Westerfield [EOA] [DEV]////////////////////////////// DEVELOPER'S CORNER / ///////////////////////////////// News from the A2Pro Online Developers """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Jim B.Couch [J.COUCH2] >>> ONLINE SUPPORT IN A2PRO <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CAT TOP COMPANY === === ======= 29 INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS ONLINE 2 About DYA/DigiSoft Innovations Online 8 About Simplexity Software Online 14 About Quality Computers Q-LABS Online 20 About DreamWorld Software Online 26 About METAL/FV Software Online 32 About Kitchen Sink Software Online 30 PROCYON, INC. 31 SOFTDISK PUBLISHING 32 MORGAN DAVIS GROUP (MDG) 33 GS+ MAGAZINE 34 JEM SOFTWARE 35 LUNAR PRODUCTIONS 36 THE BYTE WORKS Each month this column feature highlights and news from various developers who provide support via A2Pro. [*][*][*] >>> NEWS FROM THE INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" TWII MODULE SOURCE AVAILABLE SOON! Full Orca/C source code to "Ball", a """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" sample Twilight II module, will be released at KansasFest '93 at the Twilight II seminar. Be there!! It will be uploaded here afterward. Coming soon: Orca/M, Orca/Pascal, and Merlin sample source, and T2 IPC documentation. <>> NEWS FROM PROCYON INC. <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" APPLETALK LIBRARY UPLOADED I just uploaded ATalkLib.BXY, an AppleTalk """""""""""""""""""""""""" library for use with C. The library contains routines for accessing the AppleTalk firmware in the IIGS, and also comes with three sample utilities which demonstrate its use: lprps - send raw data to a printer (can be used to download PostScript files to a printer); nbplist - prints a list of entities on the network; and papstat - returns printer status strings. This one's for you, Mr. Desrochers :-) The code shows some points not thoroughly covered in the AppleShare Programmer's Reference. Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT30, TOP5, MSG:15/M530) TCP/IP NETWORKING SYSTEM FOR GNO PROGRESSING RAPIDLY I just wanted to let """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" everyone know that progress on the TCP/IP networking system for GNO has been phenomenal. Not only does the system support SLIP, it also supports MacIP (the standard for transmitting Internet packets over AppleTalk). So far, the utilities which utilize the internet software are tftp and a simple version of telnet. tftp is "trivial file transfer protocol", in which the 'trivial' means more trivial implementation than trivial functionality :) telnet is the program that allows direct communication to Internet services, such as email, news servers, remote logins to other machines on the net, and more. We'll probably be packaging up a special TCP-only version of GNO that looks a lot like the University of Illinois "NCSA Telnet" package currently available for Macs and PCs. Many possibilities of GNO/ME are still in the imagination stage, but the Internet connectivity software I described here is an example of what is being done _now_, and an example of our continued support for the Apple IIGS. Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT30, TOP5, MSG:17/M530) GNO DOCUMENTATION IDEAS SOLICITED I was wonder what you folks thought of """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" documentation; specifically, printed vs. on-line. The GNO system is getting so large that full printed documentation for all system and library calls would (oops, also all the utilities) be frivolous for non-programmers. And yes, there are a fair number of non-programmers using GNO these days, and there will be more as software like TCP/IP is released for GNO. So, what I'm wondering is whether to make full printed docs optional, and to provide full docs on disk, viewable with the 'man' utility. I'd hate for GNO's manuals to begin to rival those of SunOS, which are highly intimidating and prone to generate massive tech-support calls :-) Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT30, TOP6, MSG:25/M530) [*][*][*] >>> NEWS FROM SOFTDISK PUBLISHING <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" PSSST, NEED A HARD DRIVE? Hey! Do you "need" a SyQuest drive? How about a """"""""""""""""""""""""" Floptical? Would a CD-ROM drive allow you to finally read all those fris, er developer CDs that Apple sends you? How about a LaserWriter instead of the good ole ImageWriter? An extended keyboard? A bigger hard drive? A SuperDrive and SuperDrive card? ??? Just think, we often pay enough for a SINGLE submission that you could buy any of the above items! Just think how many cool things people like Bill Tudor and Nate Trost can buy since they've submitted more than once! It's probably a lot easier than you think folks...:) And this isn't just for GS programmers -- we want your 8-bit programs as well! Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak], CAT31, TOP2, MSG:27/M530) SOFTDISK DECOMPRESSION SOURCE CODE AVAILABLE I just uploaded some source """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" code demonstrating how to decompress Softdisk Issue Text. (On some issues of Softdisk G-S we use a proprietary format for the documentation in order to save some disk space.) There are two parts to the source code: a snippet demonstrating how to call the routine, and the routine itself. Typical usage is something like this: phl >> NEWS FROM GS+ MAGAZINE <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GS+ PUBLISHES SOURCE CODE FOR ALL IT'S PROGRAMS! DID YOU KNOW that """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GS+ Magazine publishes SOURCE CODE for all its programs? It's true!!! I ran across an individual sunday night in the A2Pro chat area who didn't know that, so I figured that I'd share the fact with the world. This means that if you're looking for some source code, you might want to pick up GS+ Magazine and take a look. In case you're interested, I've uploaded a demo of our Cool Cursor v2.0 program in the A2 (not A2Pro) library and hopefully it'll get released soon. The source code for the real version is available from GS+ Magazine - you get it when you buy the program for just $9.50. What a bargain! (JWANKERL [Joe], CAT33, TOP4, MSG:39/M530) [*][*][*] >>> NEWS FROM LUNAR PRODUCTIONS <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" UPDATE TO FOUNDATION DEVELOPER'S KIT AVAILABLE There is an update to the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Foundation Developer's Kit in A2Pro Library 35 which should make Foundation editor development a lot easier. We have put together an ORCA compatible library for Foundation that provides function- style callback support. If you are familiar with the old parameter block structures, which are similar to making GS/OS calls, you'll have to agree that they can be a bit ugly in C and Pascal. Foundation.Lib provides a second means to make all of the callbacks to the Foundation Shell from an editor in a more natural way from high level languages. For example, the old way to release a resource looked like this: fResRefRec refRec; refRec.pCount = 2; refRec.resType = rType; refRec.resID = resID; fReleaseResource(&refRec); The new call will save a bit of typing and read a lot easier too: fReleaseResource2(rType, rID, 0); The upload contains all the interface files required for C and Pascal. Assembly programmers CAN use the libraries as well, but for the time being you'll have to cook your own interface for pushing the arguments on the stack. Marc Wolfgram Lunar Productions (M.WOLFGRAM2 [Lunar Host], CAT35, TOP3, MSG:6/M530) [*][*][*] >>> NEWS FROM THE BYTE WORKS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ORCA/M SYSTEM CALL DOCUMENTATION AVAILABLE ONLINE If you are writing """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" programs from ORCA/M that use the nre libraries and do text I/O, or if you want to call compiled subroutines from assembly language, or make any other system calls, check out file 3445. It documents the various system calls in the new libraries. Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS, CAT36, TOP9, MSG:36/M530) [*][*][*] ORCA SHELL UPDATE? Is there a new orca shell update in the works anytime """""""""""""""""" soon? Don Elton (delton) or delton@pro-carolina.oau.org (DELTON, CAT36, TOP10, MSG:118/M530) ORCA SHELL HAS HAD MINOR UPDATES It's had minor updates a couple of """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" times. The latest version is shipping with the updates for 6.0.1. I forget the version number; I think it's 2.0.2, now... Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS, CAT36, TOP10, MSG:121/M530) [EOA] [RTC]/////////////////////////////// RTC WATCH / ///////////////////////////////// A2Pro Real Time Conference News """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Nate C. Trost [N.TROST] >>> A2PRO EXPANDS WEEKLY RTC LINEUP! <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" FOUR NEW RTCS ADDED! In a move to expand A2Pro's already great lineup of """""""""""""""""""" programming Real Time Conferences _four_ new RTCs are being added to the weekly lineup. Now you can tune in for great programming discussion _SIX_ times a week! It's all happening in A2Pro, THE online resource for Apple II programmers! A2PRO RTC LINEUP """""""""""""""" SUNDAY -- A2Pro Sunday Night Jam (HOST: Matt Deatherage) 8:30 Eastern Time Our Sunday RTC is geared toward general programming discussion and good old fashioned chitchat. The perfect place for a relaxing evening of A2Pro Fun. MONDAY -- The GS/OS Garage (HOST: Dave Miller) 9:30 Eastern Time Where's the place to chat about everyone's favorite operating system? Right here in A2Pro every Saturday with Dave Miller. Just pull on into the garage for Real Time GS/OS! WEDNESDAY -- HyperBar and Grill (HOST: Hangtime) 9:30 Eastern Time Join HyperCard master Hangtime and the infamous online personality CommThingie in this fun-filled RTC of hypermedia and whimsy. It's always interesting at the HyperBar and Grill! THURSDAY -- Graphics and Sound (HOST: Nate Trost) 9:30 Eastern Time If you're into programming pretty pictures, awesome animations, sizzling sounds, magnificent music....Thursday's Graphics and Sound RTC is the place to be! FRIDAY -- Getting Started with Programming (HOST: Nathaniel Sloan) 9:30 Eastern Time Just getting into programming? Moving from the eight-bit world to the GS? Playing with Applesoft for the first time? A2Pro's Beginners Night RTC is for you! Stop by for help, suggestions, encouragement and conversation. SATURDAY -- Front Line Assembly (HOST: Brian Wells) 9:30 Eastern Time Do you drool at the thought of opcodes? Are your dreams filled with visions of LDA, STA, and PHA? Do you want to understand assembly and learn just why people love it so much? Join Brian Wells as he explores the ancient art of assembly language programming in A2Pro. [EOA] [A2U]////////////////////////////// A2U CAMPUS GREEN / ///////////////////////////////// Your GEnieLamp A2Pro guide to A2U """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Nate C. Trost [N.TROST] >>> DATA COMPRESSION COURSE COMPLETED! <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" FINAL DATA COMPRESSION LESSON UPLOADED A2U Professor Andy McFadden has """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" uploaded the final lesson in his Data Compression course. All twelve lessons in this popular and highly successful course are now available in the A2Pro library. Lesson twelve gives an overview of writing compression modules for the HardPressed automatic disk compression software published by Westcode. If you missed these lessons when they were first uploaded, check them out now! Thanks to Andy McFadden for an excellent course that makes data compression much easier to understand and implement. Data Compression Lesson File Index: LESSON 12: #3425 LESSON 11: #3087 LESSON 10: #3076 LESSON 9: #3065 LESSON 8: #3050 LESSON 7: #3006 LESSON 6: #2998 LESSON 5: #2984 LESSON 4: #2997 LESSON 3: #2956 LESSON 2: #2955 LESSON 1: #2933 [*][*][*] 8/16 CENTRAL NOW AVAILABLE IN A2PRO LIBRARY! The 8/16 Central magazines """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" on disk are now available for downloading in the A2Pro Library. This is a A2Pro _exclusive_! Look for an index of all the available issues in this months Bit Bonanza. Be sure to download file #3382 for a complete index of every issue of 8/16 Central. If you're an advanced programmer or a beginner, assembly or high level, eight-bit or GS, you'll find something useful in 8/16 Central, check it out! [EOA] [LIB]////////////////////////////// ONLINE LIBRARY ///////////////////////////////// HOT Files You Can Download """""""""""""""""""""""""" By Nate C. Trost [N.TROST] >>> THE BIT BONANZA <<< """""""""""""""""""""" A2 University FILES """"""""""""""""""" File #3425: A2U.COMP.12.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/9/93 by FADDEN About 11.5K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) Lesson 12 of Hacking Data Compression. Gives an overview of HardPressed's compression modules. Final lesson in the Data Compression A2U course. [*][*][*] A2/A2Pro SPECIAL FILES """""""""""""""""""""" File #3444: A2PROLIBADB.BXY (ALL) Uploaded on 7/14/93 by M.DEATHERAGE About 75K (d/l time approx. 7 minutes 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This file contains an AppleWorks database file listing all public files in the A2Pro libraries as of noon EDT on July 14, 1993. Download this file for a convenient listing on your desktop of everything available in our fantastic library! It's ready-to-use for GEM users; just drop it in your GEM 'LIB' directory and follow the GEM instructions to mark a whole bunch of files for downloading or getting long descriptions and let GEM do all the work! File #3417: A2NDX9307DB.BXY (ALL) Uploaded on 7/4/93 by A2.BILL About 14K (d/l time approx. 1 minute 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is the index of A2 categories and topics as of June 30, 1993, in AppleWorks database (ADB) form. File #3412: A2NDX9307TX.BXY (ALL) Uploaded on 7/1/93 by A2.BILL About 14K (d/l time approx. 1 minute 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) An index of A2 categories and topics as of June 30, 1993, in plain text (ASCII) form. [*][*][*] UTILITIES """"""""" File #3443: COPYFORK.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/13/93 by BRYAN.ZAK About 4K (d/l time approx. 4 minutes @ 2400 baud) Yet another Richard Bennett creation. Merlin command for copying data/resource forks. Includes documentation and a help file. File #3442: INSTALL.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/13/93 by BRYAN.ZAK About 3K (d/l time approx. 3 minutes @ 2400 baud) This is another Richard Bennett creation. This little diddy installs CDAs, NDAs, Control Panels and Inits by asking IR to do the dirty work. It's a Merlin utility. File #3441: RESLIN.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/13/93 by BRYAN.ZAK About 65K (d/l time approx. 6 minutes 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is another of Richard Bennett's creations...ResLin 0.37 Open resource forks and be able to edit many aspects (although it is not a full-featured graphical editor such as Genesys or Foundation) of resources. Other features like copying a resource to another file and other various resource fork maintenance options are in here. Includes documentation and "Reslin Extras" sample source. File #3421: IPC.SPY.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/8/93 by BRYAN.ZAK About 12.5K (d/l time approx. 1 minute 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is another little gem from Richard Bennett that creates "snapshots" of the all the IPC traffic going on in the system. If you are using IPC and would like to see just who is sending what, this thing is VERY handy! Documentation is included. File #3420: MINITALK.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/8/93 by BRYAN.ZAK About 20K (d/l time approx. 1 minute 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is the latest revision of Richard's excellent little CDA term program (1.4). Documentation is included. File #3405: SP.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 6/24/93 by BRYAN.ZAK About 17K (d/l time approx. 1 minute 45 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is Shellplay version 0.71. It uses Free Run Mode oscillators to obtain higher quality than most Mod players for the IIgs. Documentation is included. This program requires a Shell such as ORCA. File #3398: MERLIN2TXT.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 6/20/93 by BURGERBILL About 10K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) Tired of having to Re-Tab merlin source files when reading it with the Orca Editor or AppleWorks GS? This EXE utility will convert all the "Space" tabs used by Merlin into real tabs so the source can be imported into EgoEd, AppleWorks, Orca/M or Word Works. Source included. File #3397: FIXCCOMMENT.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 6/20/93 by BURGERBILL About 11K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) Tired of getting "C" source from other machines and finding it full of "//" style comments that Orca/C won't deal with? Use this EXE utility on those source files to automatically convert all // comments to /* --- */ style comments. Source is included. File #3395: DAC522CON.BXY (ALL) Uploaded on 6/19/93 by M.MAHON About 7K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) Source for a 5-bit precision, 22 KHz. "carrier" software DAC (or "player") for playing 11 KHz. digitized sounds with good fidelity through the 1-bit (yes, it's not even 2-bit ;-) speaker of ANY Apple II! ORG on a page boundary for PC-relative branch timing. 1012 bytes long. This is FREEWARE. File #3385: TELCOM.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 6/18/93 by PROCYON.INC About 72.5K (d/l time approx. 7 minutes 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) TelCom is a freeware 16-bit (text-based) communications program that supports VT100, Xmodem and Ymodem. It's the 16-bit comm program of choice for GNO users because it's small and fast. It is also adequate for most general telecommunications users. [*][*][*] INFORMATION/DOCUMENTATION """"""""""""""""""""""""" File #3428: FDEVKIT2.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/11/93 by M.WOLFGRAM2 About 44.5K (d/l time approx. 4 minutes 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is an update to the callback section of the Foundation Developer's Kit. It includes a new ORCA compatible library, FOUNDATION.LIB to provide function-style access to all 41 Foundation 1.0.3 editor callbacks. This library can be used for editor development for Foundation 1.0.3 or earlier. [*][*][*] SOURCE CODE """"""""""" File #3422: SOFTDISKTXT.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/8/93 by SOFTDISK.INC About 7.5K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) On many issues of Softdisk G-S we are forced to use a proprietary format for our documentation. This format is basically a Teach document with the data fork compressed using a derivative of Huffman encoding. This archive contains source code for decompressing such files, along with a brief bit of code detailing the process. File #3446: M16.CLIB.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 7/15/93 by JAY.KRELL About 2.5K (d/l time approx. 20 seconds @ 2400 baud) This file contains ORCA/M macros for the ORCA/C library. [*][*][*] PROGRAMMING LIBRARIES """"""""""""""""""""" File #3406: ATALKLIB.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 6/26/93 by PROCYON.INC About 70K (d/l time approx. 7 minutes @ 2400 baud) This is a simple AppleTalk access library for programming network utilities in C. Source is provided for this library as well as for three sample utilities: lprps - send raw data to printer, nbplist - list entities on the network, and papstat - return printer status. Shows how to easily access AppleTalk. [*][*][*] 8/16 Central """""""""""" Thanks to Resource Central, A2Pro has exclusive online distribution rights to 8/16 Central! 8/16 Central is packed with valuable articles, source code and goodies for Apple II programmers of all skill levels and languages. File #3382 contains indexes for _EVERY_ issue of 8/16 Central. We highly recommend you download this file as a reference to help you find issues of interest. Every issue is now in the A2Pro library: October 91: #3448 September 91: #3447 August 91: #3427 July 91: #3426 June 91: #3416 May 91: #3415 April 91: #3408 March 91: #3407 October 90: #3396 September 90: #3393 August 90: #3392 July 90: #3391 June 90: #3387 May 90: #3386 April 90: #3384 March 90: #3383 INDEX : #3382 NOTE: Due to an oversight 8/16 Central issues Nov. 90-Feb. 91 were not in the A2Pro library as this issue went to press. They should be available by the time you read this. [*][*][*] APPLE ASSEMBLY LINES QUICKINDEX """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" This month's index covers AAL issues from Volumes 3 and 4 (Oct 82-Sep 84). 3367 V3N1 Oct.82 (20.5K) AAL.OCT.82.BXY DOS 3.3 catalog arranger, why you need macros, converting toolkit source to S-C, S-C assembler goodies and more! 3368 V3N2 Nov.82 (35K) AAL.NOV.82.BXY Sound patterns, digitized speech, fast primes, Applesoft program locator, REPEAT/UNTIL for Applesoft and more! 3369 V3N3 Dec.82 (37.5K) AAL.DEC.82.BXY Relocatable JMPs and JSRs, adding bit-control to the monitor, 65C02 preview, garbage collection in arrays and more! 3370 V3N4 Jan.83 (42K) AAL.JAN.83.BXY Super Scroller, adding decimal values from ASCII strings, programming the language card and more! 3371 V3N5 Feb.83 (46K) AAL.FEB.83.BXY ASCII string adding, endless alarm, Apple IIe notes, Applesoft INPUT tuner and more! 3372 V3N6 Mar.83 (36.5K) AAL.MAR.83.BXY PTRGET and GETARYPT, macro-building macro, division tutorial, prime benchmarks and more! 3373 V3N7 Apr.83 (38.5K) AAL.APR.83.BXY Patching DOS 3.3 for fast LOAD and BLOAD, general purpose patch installer, 'ORG' macro and more! 3374 V3N8 May.83 (41K) AAL.MAY.83.BXY Displaying character generator EPROMS, ][+ chip reference, finding address references and more! 3375 V3N9 Jun.83 (56K) AAL.JUN.83.BXY Spiral screen clear, binary to decimal conversion, reformatting text, ampersand monitor caller and more! 3388 V3N10 Jul.83 (44.5K) AAL.JUL.83.BXY 6502 mini-assembler in Applesoft, speeding up text file I/O, monitor patch for ASCII display and more! 3389 V3N11 Aug.83 (40K) AAL.AUG.83.BXY Using aux memory on the IIe, speeding up spirals, reversing getting and storing nibbles and more! 3377 V3N12 Sep.83 (41K) AAL.Sep.83.BXY Jump vectoring, generating machine code with Applesoft, calculating base addresses, 80-column ASCII Monitor dump and more! 3429 V4N1 Oct.83 (65.5K) AAL.OCT.83.BXY Large assembly listings to text files, lower case titles, counting lines and more! 3430 V4N2 Nov.83 (44K) AAL.NOV.83.BXY Commented listing of ProDOS 8's disk nibblization routines, shapemaker enhancements, ProDOS 8 clock drivers and more! 3431 V4N3 Dec.83 (32K) AAL.DEC.83.BXY More ProDOS 8 disassemblies, Aztec C info, generalized GOTO and GOSUB, and more! 3432 V4N4 Jan.84 (40.5K) AAL.JAN.84.BXY Code profiler, DOS patches to avoid interrupt problems, online with Steve Wozniak and more! 3433 V4N5 Feb.84 (41K) AAL.FEB.84.BXY Listing buried messages, fast scrolling on 80-column screens, macro to generate quotient/remainder table for Hi-Res and more! 3434 V4N6 Mar.84 (40K) AAL.MAR.84.BXY Faster table lookups via redundancy, changing VERIFY to DISPLAY, fast garbage collection and more! 3435 V4N7 Apr.84 (38K) AAL.APR.84.BXY CRC subroutine, more clocks, evening with Woz, burning and erasing EPROMs and more! 3436 V4N8 May.84 (40.5K) AAL.MAY.84.BXY Random numbers for Applesoft, Apple IIc, decimal floating point arithmetic, making a difference map and more! 3437 V4N9 Jun.84 (40K) AAL.JUN.84.BXY 18-digit arithmetic (pt 2), more random number generators, booting ProDOS with a modified ROM, using CRCs and more! 3438 V4N10 Jul.84 (41.5K) AAL.JUL.84.BXY 18-digit arithmetic (pt 3), prime sifter, sorting and swapping, 'gotchas' on the Apple IIc and more! 3439 V4N11 Aug.84 (35K) AAL.AUG.84.BXY 18-digit arithmetic (pt 4), enabling and disabling IRQ from Applesoft, slow chips and more! 3440 V4N12 Sep.84 (46.5K) AAL.SEP.84.BXY 18-digit arithmetic (pt 5), faster ampersand routines to zero arrays, putting messages on the screen and more! [EOA] [NAM]////////////////////////////// NAMEOBJ RTC / ///////////////////////////////// Learn About This Powerful Tool! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Jim B. Couch [J.COUCH2] >>> NAMEOBJ RTC TRANSCRIPT <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" _____ ______ /_____|/______\ /__/|__| ___|__| /__/_|__| /_____/ /________|/__/ __ __ __ /__/ |__|__/______ /_//_// / /__/ |__|________// / \/_/ The Apple II Programmers and Developers Roundtable -------------------------------------------------- Real Time Conference Transcript ------------------------------- Guest : Andy Wells Company : Lunar Productions Topic : NameOBJ Copyright (c) 1993 by the Apple II Programmers RoundTable on GEnie. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Everyone Andy Wells is currently working (or done with) NameOBJ, which will allow you to add standard Procedure Names to your Object Module Files... But here to explain a whole lot more about that is Andy.... Take it away... Ok.. For those who aren't aware of some of the features of both GSBug and Nifty List, object code being traces or listed by either of them can show you the names of the various subroutines as you are coming to them. Basically, any JSR, JSL, JMP, JML, (I haven't checked BRA and BRL yet) will check for specially coded pieces of code. Adding these names is very simple when writing assembly code, but none of the higher level languages have a way to put them in the code at all. Enter NameOBJ. What NameOBJ does is read the OBJ files created by these compilers (or the assembler), check the type of the segment to make sure it's code, and adds the segment name to the beginning of the OBJ segment (in a separate file of course). This new OBJ file can then be linked to create an executable program.. Another neat thing about it is you can take the libraries that come with APW or ORCA, extract the individual OBJ files, add names, put them back together. This gives you library routines with names in them. Very nice when tracing C or Pascal. Another interesting point.. Unless there's some change made to the structure of OBJ files (unlikely), NameOBJ will work for any new languages as they become available (for instance, Modula-2).. I guess that's the highlights.. If anyone has any specific questions, I'll be glad to answer any of them (unless it's like "Can I have the source for it?" :) So, it's kind of like an improved ORCA Disassembler then? No.. Not at all. It's function is to aid in debugging, not to disassemble code.. Usually, you will already have source, and when you're trying to locate a bug, sometimes you can lose track of where you are. This allows you to see where you are by allowing GSBug or Nifty List to show you the name of the routine you're in, or are about to enter.. Ok. I sometimes use ORCA/D to check out the way other languages than assembly look in assembly and where the subroutines actually go. This is very nice for when you have routines that you know work fine. You can just X over those.. How do we get it? I think that one can best be answered by Marc.. Lunar Productions is marketing a package that contains NameObj among other nice stuff... NameOBJ will be available from Lunar Productions later this month. $39.95 list. You can email your order to me M.WOLFGRAM2, or call 414/549-9261 (evenings please). And what does that $40 buy me? NameOBJ includes the nameobj utility, NiftyList by Dave Lyons, and Apple's own GSBug. That way all the utilities that use names are in one place. A full manual covering all three utilities is included. Is there a demo version, by chance? No.. A demo would have to do everything in order to show you what it does, so a demo would defeat it's own purpose.. We could put together some samples showing the difference that names make. No actually, I was wondering what prompted you to write NameOBJ? do you do most of your programming in C or Pascal, or did you just see a hole in the market, or what? Well, actually, it was a comment (by a certain someone present) that was made relating to it. I've fairly recently gotten into C and the comment made me wonder just what it would take to do it. NameOBJ was originally written in C (1.3), but it was way too slow. I converted it to assembly, and enhanced it from there.. About the demo - Remember how the Beagle brothers used to put little EXEC demos of their upcoming programs, kind of a slide show of what can be done? That's what I meant. Could be good advertising. (maybe Hyperstack it?) I think that was what Marc might have been thinking about Actually, I was thinking about putting together a small sample source, and providing object and executable code with and without names... Eddie: Do you use GSBug or NiftyList now? That would include C, Pascal (and maybe Modula-2) source, not to mention assembly?? I have the GSBug init installed but don't really use it unless it pops up. If and when you get into writing and debugging programs, you will find it quite valuable.. Nifty List is almost indispensable when it comes to locating stuff, making tool calls, etc... NameOBJ makes using Nifty List and GSBug a lot nicer. It's easy to get lost debugging code, and having names appear in GSBug is like putting up street signs. The third indispensable program would (IMHO) be the Exerciser CDA. Saved my bacon often enough by allowing me to close files that shouldn't be open... :) I think the idea of code with and without names is spiffy, but be sure to include source code so the names make sense to those viewing the demo. :) A DebugString call to say "Look at this" would be helpful as well. Maybe a BRK or too in the program (tell people about it) so people don't have to guess for a place on the Four Finger Salute... And, make sure they're aware of the use of the down arrow to bypass the BRK.. The code doesn't have to crash -- just show you how it's easier to trace with names than without. Using DebugString means if you don't have GSBug installed, the demo completes without doing anything destructive. Well Matt, they gotta get into the debugger somehow!! Thanks, Matt... Steve, brk is my preferred instruction. Or in C: asm { brk 0xea }; but DebugString makes sense. A demo would be virtually meaningless without GSBug or Nifty List installed.. True, but there's no reason to crash to show the product. :) Ok.. Just a suggestion toward Lunar Productions here.. I'd like to see a Disassembler that supported DebugStrings.. They look nasty when I look at my code with Orca/Disasm... Any possibility of this? What's so nasty? Just hit the $7771 with SA-W, and the next line with SA-P. I meant to say the shell version of the disassembler. I use shell 2.0. The disassembler don't work there.. There is a fix for it in the library that I wrote. I guess you don't want to do the DC's then.. Its no biggie Just wondering... Anyway, Paul Elseth (who wrote the disassembler) says he'll be updating it. The only problem is getting Mike W to send him the bug list! Ok.. Guess What! There is a free copy of NameOBJ that is going to be given away soon... Someone needs to first /raise their hand.. the first _ELIGIBLE_ person to do this will get to answer a question.. to win the prize... Eddie! You got your hand up first... Question: When does A2PRO hold its Weekly "JAM!" RTC? Just the day is fine. I would venture to say Wednesday? maybe? If you can name the person in this room who is teaching a course on Resources in A2 University (Hint - He publishes a Resource Editor) then we can give the prize to you..... I know that one! That is Marc, I believe... Alright! Congratulations! You just got a free copy of NameOBJ when Marc finishes the Manual! :-) Thanks for coming! As always, It pays to come to A2PRO RTC's What an honor, I hope I can live up to it. Thanks a lot. /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "I recently tested THREE stand-alone grammar checkers for use / / at our newspaper office. I simply ran their own documentation / / through them, and canned all three when they failed their own / / tests. If the authors of expensive PC software don't believe / / in using their own product, I don't either." / //////////////////////////////////////////////// A.FASOLDT //// [EOA] [LOG]////////////////////////////// LOG OFF / ///////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp Information """"""""""""""""""""" o COMMENTS: Contacting GEnieLamp o GEnieLamp STAFF: Who Are We? GEnieLamp Information GEnieLamp is published on the 1st of every month """"""""""""""""""""" on GEnie on page 515. You can also find GEnieLamp on the main menus in the ST (475), Macintosh (605), IBM (615), Apple II (645), A2Pro (530), Unix (160), MacPRO (480), Geoworks (1050), BBS (610), CE Software (1005) and the Mini/Mainframe RoundTables. GEnieLamp is also distributed on CrossNet, Internet, America Online and many public and commercial BBS systems worldwide. GEnieLamp pays for articles submitted and published with online GEnie credit time. Upload submissions in ASCII format to library #42 in the DigiPub RoundTable on page 1395 (M1395;3) or send it to our GE Mail address, GENIELAMP. We welcome and respond to all GE Mail. To leave comments, suggestions or just to say hi, you can contact us in the DigiPub RoundTable (M1395) or send GE Mail to John Peters at [GENIELAMP] on page 200. On Internet our address is: GENIELAMP@GENIE.GEIS.COM >>> GEnieLamp STAFF <<< """"""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp o John Peters [GENIELAMP] Senior Editor/Publisher """"""""" ATARI ST o John Gniewkowski [J.GNIEWKOWSK] Editor """""""" o Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] ST Staff Writer o Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] ST Staff Writer o Richard Brown [R.BROWN30] ST Staff Writer o John Hoffman [JLHOFFMAN] ST Staff Writer o Al Fasoldt [A.FASOLDT] ST Staff Writer ATARI ST/TX2 o Cliff Allen [C.ALLEN17] Editor/TX2 """""""""""" ATARI [PR] o Bruce Faulkner [R.FAULKNER4] Editor/GEnieLamp [PR] """""""""" IBM o Robert M. 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SysOp \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// Material published in this edition may be reprinted under the follow- ing terms only. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to registered computer user groups and not for profit publications. All articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Opinions present herein are those of the individual authors and does not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or staff of GEnieLamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy. Please include the following at the end or the beginning of all reprints: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// (c) Copyright 1993 T/TalkNET Online Publishing and GEnie. To join GEnie, set your modem to 2400 baud (or less) and half duplex (local echo). Have the modem dial 1-800-638-8369. When you get a CONNECT message, type HHH. 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