Re: [Ql-Users] QL Calendar 2021
2020-12-26 16:08: Dilwyn Jones via Ql-Users escribió/skribis/wrote/scrit: > I've put together a little QL-themed calendar for 2021 - The QaLendar. Very nice, looks really good. Thank you, Dilwyn. Happy new year to all. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] E-mail etiquette: New subject, new message
Hello. Probably most of you know that e-mail messages contain, in their metadata, a unique message identifier and also the unique message identifier of the responded message, if any. These identifiers allow the automatic hierarchic organization of messages into threads. Sometimes in this list, messages that start a new subject, actually are "responds" to other unrelated messages (even several years old). That is unlogical, has no advantage, breaks the sense of the threads and makes reading the list more difficult. For example, the recent announcement of the 16th Sinclair QL Italian meeting is a "respond" to the announcement of the 15th meeting (posted in 2018-10), which was a "respond" to the announcement of the QDOS/SMS reference manual 4.1 (posted in 2016-09). And then, three days later, the announcement of SMSQ/E 3.35 is a "respond" to the announcement of the 16th Italian meeting... As a result, without reason, both recent and interesting announcements belong to (and are "hidden" in) a thread started more than three years ago, and therefore they don't appear as two independent new threads at the top of the current hierarchy of messages in 2020-02, as they should. I know some webmail services don't care about the message identifiers and use the subject fields instead in order to recreate and display the threads, but that's not the way e-mail is supposed to work. Perhaps that is the reason some users don't realise the trouble caused by writing a new message by "replying" to whatever previous unrelated message, instead of writing an actual new message. Changing the subject in a thread only makes sense when the actual respond naturally leads to a different topic, but there's a helpful convention to mark that cases: "Re: New subject (Was: Old subject)". Please remember a basic rule of e-mail (lists) etiquette: New subject, new message; only respond to a message if you actually want to respond to what that message contains. Thank you in advance. Kind regards. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL Adventure Game Released
En/Je/On/In 2020-01-09 08:45, peet vanpeebles via Ql-Users escribió/skribis/wrote/scrit: > Here is my completed game (at last!) For you all to enjoy for free, > I've also included the source files, design manual, my working notes, Thank you Peter. I love text adventures. I'm trying it with SMSQmulator. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] QL World scans
Dilwyn Jones via Ql-Users escribió en/skribis je/wrote on/scrit in 2019-03-04 19:52: > Klaus Frank in Denmark has sent me a disk with further scans of QL World > magazines. > > All of the 1992 and 1993 issues, plus the final five issues from 1994, when > the magazine ceased publication. > > Download them from http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/mags/index.html Thank you to Klaus for all the work. I have kept all my QL World issues from 1987 to 1994, with the hope I could scan them someday. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Knoware.no
pjwitte via Ql-Users escribió en/skribis je/wrote on/scrit in 2019-05-13 14:54: > Just to let you know that Knoware is up and running again after ten years > www.knoware.no Great news. Thank you for sharing. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] A polite request
En/Je/On 2018-02-14 19:40, Norman Dunbar via Ql-Users escribió / skribis / wrote : > Please, please, please do not "hijack" a thread. Don't reply to a > thread and change the subject to something completely unrelated. I agree. That is important. I support your request. Some times, email users _reply_ to whatever message they are reading, change the subject and write a message on a totally different topic... That makes some things more difficult for others, especially on email lists. All email messages have a metadatum in its header containing the unique identifier of the replied email, if any. That is how email clients can sort messages hierarchicaly. The problem is some web-mail services (including Gmail), or even some "actual" email clients, thread messages _also_ by the subject line... I guess that's why some users are not aware of the problem. But threading by subject line is a cosmetic trick: the real link between messages is still there, in their internal header. Of course, sometimes it's necessary to change the subject in the middle of a thread, but only when the conversation _naturally_ leads to a different topic. In those cases, the change helps to identify the topic branches in the hierarchy. And there's a convention for that: Subject: Re: Original topic Subject: Modified topic (Was: Re: Original topic) Hope this helps. > If you start a new thread by replying to another, and change the > subject, your threaded topic ends up hidden within the original topic Exactly. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Another topic.
En/Je/On 2016-07-11 20:03, Urs Koenig (QL) escribió / skribis / wrote : > Recently most discussions on ql-users and qlforum were about Rich's Software > Preservation Project and Copyright. Even I have a clear opinion on all that > I will not write it down here for two major reasons: > > 1. English is not my native language and I feel a bit uncomfortable to > find 100% the right words. Also to write it down that it clearly expresses > what I think my need some considerable amount of time, which I do not have > or do not want to spend at the moment > > 2. I better spend my QL time with doing QL stuff than to discuss the > above. That's also my case, Urs. Beside, some months ago I moved temporarily to a place where Internet connection is difficult (only an unreliable and slow GPRS network is available), so I'm practically out of the web until September. Well, I can use a text browser like Elinks if needed, or even a graphic browser like Vimprobable (with images and scripts off), but in practice web forums and most sites are so heavy that they are unusable for me at the moment. My only regular connection to the world is email and email lists. That's why all this has surprised me a lot. I don't know what has been happening in the Spanish and English QL forums last months. I know only what I've read in this email list. I understand there can be different opinions about practical and legal issues, but I think the work done by Rich is most valuable, and anycase he deserves respect. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] Brouhabouha Forth
I've prepared a repackaged distribution of Brouhabouha Forth, a Forth-94 Forth system for QL, written by Ewald Pfau in 1991-1994. Main changes: The QDOS header of the executable was lost, and it has been restored. The documentation has been edited and manually converted to Asciidoctor (then automatically converted to HTML, EPUB, PDF and TXT). The source files have been renamed after a modern convention. The system itself is distributed in QL media images (.flp and .win), in order to preserve the executable header. In order to respect the distribution conditions of the program, all original files are included in their own directory. TAR.GZ and ZIP archives can be dowloaded from my site (where you can also read the README file with all details) and Dilwyn Jones': http://programandala.net/en.program.brouhabouha_forth.html http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/language/index.html I've tried Brouhabouha Forth on SMSQmulator. Any report on other platform will be appreciated. Regards, -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Instrutions for running SMSQmulator on Raspberry Pi
En/Je/On 2016-02-16 19:27, Ian Burkinshaw escribió / skribis / wrote : > Got it working now. What was the problem? > Working is a Pi with the 7" touchscreen and on screen keyboard > Florence. so a portable QL with no keyboard or mouse. What did you use to make the Pi portable? I built my own portable Pi and I'm very happy with it, I'm using it as my main computer. http://programandala.net/en.computer.raspesis.0x07.html -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Instrutions for running SMSQmulator on Raspberry Pi
En/Je/On 2016-02-16 17:52, Ian Burkinshaw escribió / skribis / wrote : > Tried double clicking no luck. That depends on your desktop, window manager or file manager be configured. But if you use any common combination of those it should work out of the box. > Tried the command line, again no luck get the error report 'Error: > Unable to access jarfile' then the path of the SMSQmulator.jar file > which is /home/pi/downloads/SMSQmulator.jar. Which I can see in the > file manager. > > Tried with both with and without the sudo at the start of the command line. Seems a permissions issue, but if so it should work with `sudo`. Have you tried the command in the directory where you unpacked SMSQmulator? I think I had a similar problem in 2014 and finally created a loader: #!/bin/sh # ~/bin/smsqmulator.sh # Loader for SMSQmulator cd ABSOLUTE-PATH-TO-SMSQMULATOR/ java -jar ./SMSQmulator.jar & cd - exit 0 But I've just tried this from the home directory and it works for me: java -jar ABSOLUTE-PATH-TO-SMSQMULATOR/SMSQmulator.jar & -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] BogoMIPS benchmarks
Some interesting BogoMIPS benchmarks from the Spanish QL Forum (http://foro.speccy.org/viewtopic.php?f=15=4687): QL with GoldCard (1): 1.62, 1.62, 1.62, ... QL with SuperGoldCard (2) : 5.83, 5.83, 5.83, ... QemuLator (3): 96.55, 97.25, 96.55, 97.61, 97.08 QPC2 (3): 123.56, 123.98, 123.56, 123.56, 123.70, 123.27 SMSQmulator (3): 52.32, 49.98, 49.43, 50.45, 49.43 Notes: (1) GoldCard -> Motorola 68000 16 MHz. (2) SuperGoldCard -> Motorola 68020 24 MHz. (3) PC - Intel Core2 Quad 2.33 GHz - Windows 10. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] SMSQmulator on RPi2 (Re: Tynemouth Software QL keyboard USB interface)
En/Je/On 2016-02-07 16:40, Wolf escribió / skribis / wrote : > >SMSQmulator 8216: > > > > 5.62, 5.62, 5.56, 5.06, 5.64... > I wouldn't have thought this it would make such a big difference. Me neither. It seems Oracle Java 8 is 200% faster than openjdk 7 on Raspberry Pi. > I regularly test and also run SMSQmulator under openjdk as well, and > their speeds are as near as makes no difference, but this is on PCs, > not on a raspi. It seems Oracle developed a specific implementation for ARM on Raspi, and they did a good job. Personally, I don't like to install propietary software on my system without a good reason, though, but SMSQmulator seems a good one :) I hope openjdk will catch up, or maybe other alternatives are available. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] SMSQmulator on RPi2 (Re: Tynemouth Software QL keyboard USB interface)
En/Je/On 2016-02-05 21:54, Norman Dunbar escribió / skribis / wrote : > https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81=101543 it > looks like oracle java 8 has been installed in Raspbian since the 15th > Feb 2015 release. Thank you. It's in the non-free component of the Raspbian repositories. I just installed it, and SMSQmulator runs remarkably faster. I tested the BogoMIPS (Raspberry Pi 2): SMSQmulator 7216: 5.50, 5.57, 5.53, 5.14, 5.58... SMSQmulator 8216: 5.62, 5.62, 5.56, 5.06, 5.64... That's much faster than open-jdk 7, I'm impressed. I wonder if this way SMSQmulator would be usable also on Raspberry Pi B. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] SMSQmulator on RPi2 (Re: Tynemouth Software QL keyboard USB interface)
En/Je/On 2016-02-05 15:23, Wolfgang Lenerz escribió / skribis / wrote : > in general it's best to use the latest version of java. The JIT has been > improving from version to version, generally making the latest versions > the fastest. I still have to investigate how to install Oracle Java 8 on Rasbian. > >> I got 2.53 bogomips for SMSQmulator with the basic RPi2 setup. > > Ugh. > I think Duncan meant a Bogomips under Smsqe. Thanks. Done. I run it several times, and got 2.61, 2.60, 2.61, 2.61... -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] SMSQmulator on RPi2 (Re: Tynemouth Software QL keyboard USB interface)
En/Je/On 2016-02-05 04:04, matras...@aol.com escribió / skribis / wrote : > Which version of Java have you installed? java version "1.7.0_95" OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea 2.6.4) (7u95-2.6.4-1~deb7u1+rpi1) OpenJDK Zero VM (build 24.95-b01, mixed mode) > Have you overclocked the RPi2 and does it speed up SMSQmulator significantly. No, I didn't try overclocking yet. > I got 2.53 bogomips for SMSQmulator with the basic RPi2 setup. How do you get that measure? I never heard of BogoMIPS, but I've investigated what it is, and get the following: $ dmesg | grep Bogo [0.002128] Calibrating delay loop (skipped), value calculated using timer frequency.. 38.40 BogoMIPS (lpj=192000) [0.154506] SMP: Total of 4 processors activated (153.60 BogoMIPS). $ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep Bogo BogoMIPS: 57.60 BogoMIPS: 57.60 BogoMIPS: 57.60 BogoMIPS : 57.60 -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] SMSQmulator on RPi2 (Re: Tynemouth Software QL keyboard USB interface)
En/Je/On 2016-02-04 09:29, matras...@aol.com escribió / skribis / wrote : > Spent a bit of this morning setting up SMSQmulator on the RPi 2. It > seems to be usable so far. Yes, it's fast enough to be usable. It's the only QL emulator I use, I never succeded in compiling or executing uQLx-arm on RPi, but anyway SMSQmulator is more interesting for me as development platform. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Assembly Language eComic - Issue 3 now available.
En/Je/On 2016-01-30 14:40, Norman Dunbar escribió / skribis / wrote : > the latest somewhat exciting issue of the Assembly Language eMagazine > is now available for download. > > qdosmsq.dunbar-it.co.uk/downloads/AssemblyLanguage/Issue_003/Assembly_Language_003.pdf Thank you. I already use your articles and documentation to learn 68000 and I found them most useful. I have just posted about them in the Spanish QL forum (http://foro.speccy.org/viewtopic.php?f=15=4679). By the way, you say you use the DocBook format. Do you use a special editor, or write the XML directly? Do you know Asciidoctor (http://asciidoctor.org)? It's a processor for an improved version of AsciiDoc, a light markup, easy to write and legible, which can represent any DocBook feature. You can translate the source directly to DocBook, HTML, PDF; and, with other tools (e.g. Pandoc), also to any format you need. I use Asciidoctor for almost any kind of document, as I find it very productive. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] SuperForth Reversi on GitHub
Gerry Jackson has put on GitHub the sources of his game Reversi, written in SuperForth. It's version 1.8, newer than the one originally published in 1985. https://github.com/gerryjackson/QL-Reversi There are chess an go games written in Forth but as far as I know there's no other reversi in Forth. Perhaps some day someone will convert it to standard Forth or other Forth system. Probably the sources of version 1.2, which included many comments, will be restored from the scanned manual. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] lower bound of common heap allocated space
En/Je/On 2016-01-23 07:41, Wolf escribió / skribis / wrote : > Once the memory is allocated, A0 points past the header, as Per said. > > So, at -4(a0) you will find chp_flag, not chp_len. So the header is "normal", i.e. its offsets are positive. Thank you for the details. I 've removed the markers anyway. It works fine. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] lower bound of common heap allocated space
En/Je/On 2016-01-22 20:57, pjwitte escribió / skribis / wrote : > Whenever the user requests a block of memory in the Common Heap, the > request is rounded up to the nearest 8 bytes and a 16 byte header is > added. The header looks like this: > > chp_len equ$ longLENgth of space in common heap, > including header > chp_drlk equ$0004 longpointer to DRiver LinKage (allocated > space) > chp_nxfr equ$0004 longrel pointer (-4) to NeXt FRee space > (free_space) > chp_ownr equ$0008 longOWNer job id (-1 if not owned) > chp_flag equ$000c longaddress of FLAG byte, set when space > released > chp_end equ$0010 > > The address returned in register a0 by the MT.ALCHP/sms.achp call > points past this header to the start of the usable area, so relative > to this, chp_len is located at -4(a0). So those field offsets are used downwards, from the address of chp_len, which is right below the reserved space. Thank you for the explanation. Now I see those keys are in their own file in the SMSQ/E sources. I didn't have them in my files. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] lower bound of common heap allocated space
I'm extending SuperForth -- the first version of the library is already online, http://programandala.net/en.program.sfera.html, also on GitHub. Unfortunately, the old Forth-83 Standard imposed a 64 KiB memory space and 16-bit cells, what doesn't make sense for QL, so SuperForth uses special words to access the QL memory outside its own 64 KiB. But it lacks words to allocate memory from the common heap, so I'm implementing it. I extracted the relevant code from Mark Knight's SystemKit/KnightKit (1994, 1995, public domain), and adapted it. All the S*BASIC stuff (parameters passing and checking) is unnecessary: include 'inc_macros_asm' include 'inc_labels_asm' code 'aallocate',aallocate_end ; ( d -- da ior ) movem.l a0-a3/d2,-(sp) ; save the SuperForth registers pop_l d1 ; get the required space addq.l #4,d1 ; add 4 to number of bytes, for marker move.l #-1,d2 ; this job will own the memory moveq #mt_alchp,d0; select mt.alchp, grab some heap memory trap#1 ; call it to reserve the memory tst.l d0 ; was there an error? bmi.s aallocate_error ; if yes, error move.l #'grab',(a0); put marker in the area reserved. adda.l #4,a0 ; add 4 to base, avoid overwriting marker move.l a0,d1 movem.l (sp)+,a0-a3/d2 ; restore the SuperForth registers push_l d1 ; push the address moveq #0,d0 ; signal no error push_w d0 ; push the ior code next aallocate_error ; d0 = ior movem.l (sp)+,a0-a3/d2 ; restore the SuperForth registers push_w d0 ; push the ior code next aallocate_end equ * At the moment I prefer to to duplicate code at both possible exit points, for speed. Besides, I will remove the "grab" marker, which is used as an address check before releasing the space, because a Forth programmer is supposed to know what he's doing anyway :) But I've seen a similar code by Simon N. Goodwin, in his DIY TK (volume H, file "memory_asm", keyword `reserve`), where he stores the marker this way: moveq#24,d0 MT.ALCHP trap #1 Allocate RAM tst.ld0 bmi.sreturn_fp Return error code move.l #'Bufa',-4(a0) Identify this block This uses the long word below the address of the free space, just returned by the trap. My doubt is: Why is that lower space supposed to be free? It may belong to a previous allocated space, or to a node of the heap structure. Am I missing something? Is there a "safe gap" between allocated spaces? So far I've not found this information in the low-level documentation I have. Norman Dumbar includes similar code in his Programming Series, but of course without the checking marker. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] QL SuperForth descendant on GitHub
Gerry Jackson has put on GitHub the sources of his almost finished QL SuperForth cross-compiler, which he started based on the original SuperForth. Most of the sources are common, so it's most useful to understand SuperForth. https://github.com/gerryjackson/QL-SuperForth Probably also the sources of the "real" SuperForth, published by Digital Precision in 1985, will be rescued from the original 5'25 floppy disks and published. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] Looking for Ewald Pfau
I'm looking for Ewald Pfau, an Austrian programmer, the author of Brouhabouha Forth, a Forth-94 system for Sinclair QL, which he wrote in 1991-1995. I've searched the web but only found a few references and two abandoned email addresses. Maybe he reads the email list or someone knows him. Thanks -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] screen info in assembly
Thank you everybody for all the useful information. I'm writting a small library for SuperForth, in order to make the development of a project easier. The big part is written in Forth, but some low level words are written in assembly for speed. Now I'm starting adding some features of SMSQ/E. In fact I'm learning 68000 during the development. I programmed and still program a lot in Z80, but I never started learning 68000 when I used my real QL or the QXL. Now I'm using SMSQmulator. I already had Dilwyn's Display toolkit in my boot, but didn't remember it includes the keywords whose code I need, and the sources. I've done the first tries adapting the relevant code. One of the beauties of Forth is parameters are ready to use on its own stack, what makes unnecessary most checkings and manipulations. Beside, Forth uses channel ID numbers directly, without the abstraction of the SBASIC channel numbers. So the main task consists of removing the SBASIC stuff from the relevant code and interfacing with the Forth stack. I have some new doubts I'll consult in separate messages. Regards. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] screen info in assembler
En/Je/On 2016-01-14 10:27, George Gwilt escribió / skribis / wrote : > The keys for the contents of the block are held in “keys_con” a copy > of which is in EasyPeasy. That file is not in peasp02.zip (I downloaded it also from your site, just in case). Anyway, the keys you mention are in the file of the SMSQ/E sources. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] screen info in assembler
En/Je/On 2016-01-14 10:27, George Gwilt escribió / skribis / wrote : > The information is in the CON linkage block. The address of this block > is at $C4 of the system variables (usually $28000). Is there a key for that $C4 offset? The only $C4 I've found in all keys files I have are ut_windw and pt_ptrok, which have nothing to do with this. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] screen info in assembler
Hi all, I need some help. Which is the easiest way to get the screen info from assembly is SMSQ/E? I mean, what `scr_base`, `scr_xlim`, `scr_ylim` and `scr_llen` do in SBASIC. I've found the code of those keywords in the SMSQ/E sources, and I'm studying it in order to remove the SBASIC stuff, but I'm wondering if someone has done this before. Thanks. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] SuperForth 2.0 sources and manual?
In 2011 we had a discussion on this, but it seems it ended without confirming the availability of the sources of SuperForth and its manual: http://www.mail-archive.com/ql-users%40lists.q-v-d.com/msg10662.html http://www.mail-archive.com/ql-users%40lists.q-v-d.com/msg10667.html Does anybody know anything? -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] SuperForth 2.0 sources and manual?
En/Je/On 2016-01-02 15:26, Wolf escribió / skribis / wrote : > Isn't that what you want: > http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/language/index.html (search for superforth) No, I mean the sources. I'm writting a library for SuperForth. I needed to decode some of its words and I saw strange things: http://programandala.net/en.text.2016.01.02.superforth_words.html I will try to contact the author, Gerry Jackson, to ask some details. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] How to copy a directory tree?
I forgot how to copy a directory tree with real directories. I'm using SMSQmulator, and I need to copy the contents of a .win file to a bigger one. But `wcopy` or the QPAC2 tools just copy the files with filename pseudo-directories, the old way. I think there was a way to do this, but I can not remember. I'm searching the QPC Keywords manual, but I've found nothing yet. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] symbolic links in NFA directories of SMSQmulator 2.14
I'm trying SMSQmulator 2.14 on Raspberry Pi 2. So far everything works fine, and I'm impressed by the fact the speed is enough for useful work, considering it's written in Java and the RPi is a slow machine. But I've found something strange about `dir` and the NFA device. In order to find out the error condition I've done several tests, and it seems the problem arises when any directory of a native file sytem path associated to a SMSQ/E device is a symbolic link. Example 1: nfa_use 1, "/tmp/ql/mnt/data/" nfa_use 2, "/tmp/ql/ql-LINK/mnt/data/" Where "ql-LINK" is a symbolic link to "/tmp/ql/", and "data/" contains "info_txt" (a file) and "basic/" ( a directory). `dir nfa1_` works fine, it shows the directory as usual: info_txt basic -> But `dir nfa2_` produces this: _txt _**UNKNOWN** -> Example 2: nfa_use 1, "/home/myuser/temp/ql/mnt/data/" nfa_use 2, "/home/myuser/temp/ql-LINK/mnt/data/" Where "ql-LINK" is a symbolic link to "/home/myuser/temp/computer/ql/" (where "mnt/data/" is) and both "data/" directories contain "info_txt" (a file) and "basic/" (a directory). `dir nfa1_` works fine: info_txt basic -> But `dir nfa2_` produces this: ata_basic -> ata_text_txt Happily, it seems file access is not affected. This works fine on both examples above: copy nfa1_text_txt,con_ copy nfa2_text_txt,con_ The SMSQmulator documentation includes a detailed explanation of the NFA and NSA devices, including the filename rules, but no mention to symbolic links. Has anybody found any other issue about them? -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
[Ql-Users] Email list about Forth on Sinclair computers
An email list has just been created to discuss the Forth programming language on Sinclair computers: http://programandala.net/en.forth-sinclair.html Any QL user with an interest in Forth is welcome. In the Spanish QL users group there were three of us, including me, that programmed the QL in Forth. By the way, there's also a new email list to discuss Forth in Spanish: http://programandala.net/es.forth-es.html -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Email list about Forth on Sinclair computers
En/Je/On 2015-11-02 16:10, Rod H escribió / skribis / wrote : > If we're talking about Forth on Sinclair computers let's not forget > about the Forth version "Tree-Forth" that was implemented on the ZX81 > and the TS1000. This was a rom that could replace the BASIC rom I never heard of it. It sounds great. A ROM is the best option. I'll try to find the documentation of that system. > For the Spectrum there was Abersoft Forth from Melbourne House. This is the full disassembly I did some months ago: http://programandala.net/en.program.abersoft_forth.html > Also very nice. But much nicer and powerful with this: http://programandala.net/en.program.afera.html ;) -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List
Re: [Ql-Users] Assembly eMagazine - Latest News
En/Je/On 2014-12-03 20:42, Norman Dunbar escribió / skribis / wrote : The various ASCII Art diagrams have been redone as dot files which then get converted to png images with Graphviz. A nice tool when yo can get your head around it! You describe the diagram you want and it draws it for you. I've used Graphviz for several projects. It's great but tricky as you say. The original articles have been run through a tool called db2latex which takes my original source files in Docbook XML format, Do you edit DocBook XML files directly?! Have you tried the AsciiDoc format? It's an ASCII light markup representation of DocBook. The original implementation of AsciiDoc (http://asciidoc.org/) is written in Python. There's a more recent one in Ruby, Asciidoctor (http://asciidoctor.org). It's backward compatible with the AsciiDoc format, but adds many new features; and the engine is much faster and powerful. http://qdosmsq.dunbar-it.co.uk/downloads/QLToday/QL_Assembly.pdf. Impressive. Many thanks, Norman. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Unicode translation of QL char 181 (0xB5)?
En/Je/On 2014-10-24 08:15, Marcel Kilgus escribió / skribis / wrote :
I don't think there is a ready character for it, but it can probably
be constructed ('COMBINING DOT BELOW' (U+0323) and 'LATIN CAPITAL
LETTER TONE TWO' (U+0423) for example).
Thank you. I never tried combining Unicode chars before. I need it for a
webpage and it works great in HTML notation:
#424;#803;
It seems the UTF-8 encoding of this combined char is not properly
rendered by WebKit browsers, so I'll keep the HTML notation.
it has been replaced with the Euro sign on later OS versions like
SMSQ/E.
I forgot it. Anyway, in this case I need the old version.
--
Marcos Cruz
http://programandala.net
___
QL-Users Mailing List
http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Unicode translation of QL char 181 (0xB5)?
En/Je/On 2014-10-24 00:09, Tobias Fröschle escribió / skribis / wrote : Ah. Someone looking into VFAT? No [:)]! I'm finishing a website engine I've written in Forth, for my own website, in order to substitute the previous one I wrote in PHP some time ago. There are some modules that highlight any kind of program sources and insert them into the web pages, so specific character translation is needed for every platform. That unused QL character was still pending in my code, and, believe it or not, it appears in an old program of mine I show on the website. Could be (although that’s a „real“ „S“) Unicode Hex U+1E63 Uppercase Version U+1E62 Thank you. I tried it, but happily the combination proposed by Marcel looks almost exactly as the original character. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Unicode translation of QL char 181 (0xB5)?
Does anybody know the Unicode char code of QL char 181 (0xB5)? I don't know its name. It looks a reversed S with a dot below it. I've searched several Unicode charts and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unicode_characters, but didn't see it. Thank you. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] News from DJ
En/Je/On 2014-08-05 10:55, Dilwyn Jones escribió / skribis / wrote : I've added this suggestion to the bottom of the Magazines page now. Would it be possible for you to check the text is correct I find it clear and instructive. One detail: I'd write .zip (quoted and with dot) instead of zip, as you did with .cbz, I mean, both with the same format, just in case a novice user could get confused about the dot. By the way, for certain uses, a ZIP archive is more accessible than a PDF file. For example, to manipulate individual images, or to view them with a special image viewer, or to OCR some pages with command line tools, or to create a new volume from extracted articles... Getting the images back from a PDF is possible but not so immediate. My point is: ZIP archives are valuable even when a PDF version is available. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] News from DJ
En/Je/On 2014-08-04 11:19, Dilwyn Jones escribió / skribis / wrote : I suggest an easier alternative: The filename extension can be changed to .cbz; then a comic viewer will open the file, and you can read it as comfortably as with a PDF viewer. I get enough people asking me how to open a PDF without adding to the proliferation of little known formats! I understand. My suggestion was just a simple trick that may be useful for certain users; I didn't mean you to publish CBZ files. Anyway, CBR (images packed with RAR), CBZ (images packed with ZIP) and other CB* flavours are just ordinary compressed archives with a different filename extension; they are the standard way to distribute scanned comics, but the content makes no difference, it can be a magazine, a book, a photo album... There are free readers around for the most common platforms. Maybe a note in your page about that possibility would save you some questions?: If you rename the '.zip' filename extension to '.cbz', you will be able to read the files with a comic book reader program such as MComix, QComicBook or cbrPager (for Linux); or [I don't know, but there are a lot of them] (for Windows); or [...] (for OSX)... But maybe you would receive new interesting questions about how to change the filename extension... :) -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] News from DJ
En/Je/On 2014-08-03 16:56, Dilwyn Jones escribió / skribis / wrote : I’ve added a new page to my website where I hope to include scanned copies of QL-related magazines. Thank you! These are downloaded as zipped collections of scanned pages, one jpeg file per page. If anyone would like to make these into PDFs, please feel free! I suggest an easier alternative: The filename extension can be changed to .cbz; then a comic viewer will open the file, and you can read it as comfortably as with a PDF viewer. scan copies of other QL related magazines, copyright situation permitting Do you know what's the copyright situation of Sinclair QL World? -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] QL Power Supplies
En/Je/On 2013-02-10 15:23, Rich Mellor escribió / skribis / wrote : Does anyone have a stock of QL power supplies that they would be willing to sell ? I do. I send you the details apart. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Plastic Feet for Sinclair QL
En/Je/On 2013-02-02 09:04, Rich Mellor escribió / skribis / wrote : Does anyone have spares of the plastic feet used to raise the back of the QL ? I have 2. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Nascent project: Cross-platform SuperBASIC derivative.
En/Je/On 2012-02-28 13:48, Lee Privett escribió / skribis / wrote : SpecBAS does sound like something you cough up I'm sorry, I'm not sure to understand what you mean. I didn't know that expression. I found this in thefreedictionary.com: --- Phrasal Verb: cough up Slang --- 1. To hand over or relinquish (money or another possession), often reluctantly. 2. To confess or disclose: When he saw that the police might arrest him, he coughed up the details of what he had seen. --- re·lin·quish --- 1. To retire from; give up or abandon. 2. To put aside or desist from (something practiced, professed, or intended). 3. To let go; surrender. 4. To cease holding physically; release: relinquish a grip. --- As I said, the project is not mature yet, and still hardly usable beside testing, if that's what you mean. But it's under active development and has a great potential. Its author developed BASin for years, a successful and popular IDE for Sinclar BASIC, written in Delphi for Windows. That's a guarantee for this new and more ambitious project. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Nascent project: Cross-platform SuperBASIC derivative.
En/Je/On 2012-02-23 10:40, Stephen Usher escribió / skribis / wrote : need for a modern equivalent to the old home computer systems and the BASIC language which came on them. On the home computer front, On the scientific front, I forgot to mention the SpecBAS project by Paul Dunn (http://specbas.co.uk). It's a BASIC interpreter based on the old ZX Spectrum's BASIC, but much improved, more powerful and multiplatform. It is still alpha but looks quite promising. I think it soon will suit the needs you mention. There are binary packages for Windows, Linux (Intel) and the Pandora's Ångström (http://openpandora.org). It's written in Free Pascal and it's open source, so it can be compiled for other platforms as well. In fact I'm considering SpecBAS as an alternative to SBASIC for a couple of game projects under development. The source code conversion would not be difficult, and the benefits would be remarkable: wider audience; easier programming of sounds and graphics; and the chance to be able to contribute to an open and evolving project. Marcos ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Nascent project: Cross-platform SuperBASIC derivative.
En/Je/On 2012-02-23 10:40, Stephen Usher escribió / skribis / wrote : need for a modern equivalent to the old home computer systems and the BASIC language which came on them. I miss such a tool too. I agree it would be very helpful on home computing, computing learning and professional fronts. This makes me remember an article I mentioned here some time ago: http://www.osnews.com/story/23464/Why_Johnny_Can_t_Code http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2006/09/14/basic/ To this end, I see SuperBASIC as a very good starting point, which needs to be extended with modern data structures such as compound variables and proper variable scoping. Right, but writing a new language is a huge task. Another approach could be to adapt an existant multiplatform BASIC such as FreeBASIC (htt://www.freebasic.net). It's a compiler, so a layer of macros and preprocessor commands could do the task to some extent. But of course a compiler would make things more complicated for the final user. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] JPG question
En/Je/On 2012-01-23 14:24, François Van Emelen escribió / skribis / wrote : Op 22/01/2012 20:23, Dilwyn Jones schreef: Would be interesting if the new viewer could be accessed from other programs in a direct mode like Photon, e.g. Would be very useful too. I miss a lot a SBASIC command to show a JPEG image in a window. As far as I know, only the BMPCVT extensions by W. Lenerz provide commands to show an image file in a certain window. I use BMPCVT in one project of mine, but BMP files are huge, what is inconvenient. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Fw: A runtime version of QPC2?
En/Je/On 2011-12-09 14:48, Marcel Kilgus escribió / skribis / wrote : Marcos Cruz wrote: I see a contradiction here, Marcel: George's proposal sounds reasonable to me too, but you say probably there won't be any more paid upgrades, what means the actual end of QPC2's commercial life. If there's no comercial life left for QPC2, then I think there's no reason for a compensation. I don't see any contradiction. Maybe I misunderstood, but I think George suggested to compensate you for the **future** copies of QPC2 that won't be sold if the program becomes without charge. So, if you already think there will be no payed upgrades any more, then I see no reason for that arrangement. That's what I meant by contradiction. When was the last paid-for upgrade? That was 10 (TEN!) years ago. Everything after that I did for free. So according to your reasoning QPC was already at the end of its commercial life in 2001? No, it wasn't. Though there haven't been payed upgrades for ten years, the program itself has been in the market and people was able to purchase it. Of course its market is so small that there's little chance, if any, for new sells, so it mainly depends on upgrades. But anyway, in my opinion the end of a product's commercial life is more a personal decision of the author or the seller. The fact a program is rarely sold doesn't mean that it must change its status, of course. 3) If the answer to 2) is negative, would you publish at least a gratis unlimited version of QPC2? (Again, it seems the SMSQE/E's license is a limitation here). Eventually this was my plan. With some incentive this eventually could move to sooner, but I haven't decided ANYTHING yet. Ok. That explains the contradiction I saw: So you think a money compensation could be reasonable not because of the lost of future sells (that there won't be anyway) but by itself, a kind of compensation for all the done work, or just for the fact publishing an unlimited gratis version sooner. [Sometimes it's hard for me to get or properly explain certain subtle details because my English still lacks many nuances.] Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] OpenDocument (Re: QaLendar 2012)
En/Je/On 2011-12-08 20:13, Malcolm Cadman escribió / skribis / wrote : Hi Dilwyn, It is worth installing Open Office, anyway. It has all the features and is easy to use. Right. Besides, it's risky to use propietary **secret** formats for our personal documents. The reasons would be too long to explain here, but anyone interested can find all the details in the web. The OpenDocument format is public, an ISO standard, and so it's well documented, what makes it secure and gives you the freedom to choose the program you like the most. It's also a warranty for the future. Both the new LibreOffice (http://libreoffice.org) (which I prefer) and OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org) are great, but there are many others programs that work with OpenDocument files (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument_software), e.g. the nice and simpler AbiWord (http://abisource.com). Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Fw: A runtime version of QPC2?
En/Je/On 2011-12-07 16:28, Marcel Kilgus escribió / skribis / wrote : Geoff Wicks wrote: I would guess that not many copies, if any, of QPC2 will be sold in the future. That being so, it might be worth while offering Marcel a sum of money in place of these. This could be attractive to Marcel if he reckoned that it was worth more than he would get from the future sales. It would, I suggest, be of interest to the present body of QLers in that it may well attract new users and give the QL a new lease of life. creating a special runtime version of QPC is currently beyond my free time budget. I'm open to George's proposal however, it sounds pretty reasonable to me. I'm pretty sure there won't be any more paid upgrades. I see a contradiction here, Marcel: George's proposal sounds reasonable to me too, but you say probably there won't be any more paid upgrades, what means the actual end of QPC2's commercial life. If there's no comercial life left for QPC2, then I think there's no reason for a compensation. Besides, I have some questions, just to focus the discussion a bit more: 1) Why do you think there won't be any more paid upgrades? You cannot (or don't want, what is understable) to dedicate more time to QPC2? Or do you think no (new) users will be interested any more? 2) If there won't be any more paid upgrades, would you publish QPC2 with a free software licence? That's not uncommon when a propietary program reaches the end of its commercial life. That would preserve QPC for the future because new people would be able to continue your work. (I know the SMSQE/E's license is a limitation; but let's suppose it will became true free software). 3) If the answer to 2) is negative, would you publish at least a gratis unlimited version of QPC2? (Again, it seems the SMSQE/E's license is a limitation here). [Note for people not acquainted with free software: to avoid misunderstandings, I use free in the sense of free speech, not free beer; for free beer I use without charge or gratis instead. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software] Marcos ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Fw: A runtime version of QPC2?
En/Je/On 2011-12-08 15:43, Malcolm Lear escribió / skribis / wrote : I really can't believe we are still stuck with this out of date ridiculous licence that's killing any chance of a future for SMSQ/E. In my opinion, that's the main point we must be conscius of: There's no future this way. The QL platform will die with us, the people who use(d) the actual computer. Beside my personal use, I see no motivation for writing software for a commercial system (SMSQ/E) that people actually and practically cannot use. There are too many free alternatives out there... We have several emulators to run old software. That's nice and great. But, beside unremarkable exceptions, only we (the old QL users) are interested in running old QL programs... To be able to run old programs is necessary to preserve the legacy, but it's not enough to survive. I want to remark a especially sad aspect I see in this situation: Today a lot of people write new and interesting programs for old platforms... and everybody can use them because there are many free emulators for those systems. But many (if not all) old platforms of the 1980s and 1990s are not powerful enough to for the modern needs, so people write for them more or less the same kind of software they wrote in the old times, mainly games. On the contrary, the QL system has evolved a lot since it was born. Of course it cannot compete with current native solutions in many fields, but it has many nice features and it's powerful enough to be a suitable alternative in certain software projects. But in practice any new programs (even free and gratis) could not be published because the needed system to run them is commercial... Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Fw: A runtime version of QPC2?
En/Je/On 2011-12-07 10:48, Daniele Terdina escribió / skribis / wrote : You can use SMSQ/E with Q-emuLator, I know, but you have to purchase it (the Gold Card version). Am I right? That's what I meant. Thanks to the QLPAK format, currently Q-emuLator is more suitable than QPC2 for distributing QL software for non-QLers, but with almost all limitations of the original machine (speed, screen, QDOS...); well, you can use a Minerva ROM, what is an improvement. there would be at least three clauses in the current SMSQ/E license preventing users from redistributing SMSQ/E for free with their SBASIC code:The SMSQ/E binary can only be distributed by resellersResellers need to provide support for SMSQ/EResellers need to pay 10 euros for each copy to Tony Tebby In other words, to distribute a free SMSQ/E runtime with your program, you would need to first register as a reseller (the easy part), cover for the 10 euros for each copy out of your pocket, and be on the hook to provide SMSQ/E support even though you are giving it away for free. Thank you. I didn't rememeber the precise details, but I read about all this some time ago... ...and it still sounds plain Midle-Age to me :) In my opinion, such arrangement could work in the early 1980s (before the Internet and before the free documentation and software licenses) but today it's impossible to promote a software platform that way -- on even keep it alive! No new users will ever come, no matter how potentially useful for certain tasks (or for developing certain software projects) a modern QL can be. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Fw: A runtime version of QPC2?
En/Je/On 2011-12-05 17:53, George Gwilt escribió / skribis / wrote : If QPC2 were freely available at no cost the difficulties of the demo version would, of course, disappear. A complete freely available QPC2 (even if it will remain propietary software) would (partly) solve the problem to distribuite new SBASIC programs that need no limitation at runtime: The QPC2 executable and the SMSQ/E binary (configured ad hoc) could be packed together with the WIN file and a BAT file. Something similar would happen with a free unlimited version of Q-emuLator (and the QLPAK format is perfect for that), but SBASIC could not be used, because of SMSQ/E. I would guess that not many copies, if any, of QPC2 will be sold in the future. I agree. But don't forget the potential future upgrades. I think most of the registered users would be willing to pay for any new improved version. I am. it might be worth while offering Marcel a sum of money in place of these. This could be attractive to Marcel if he reckoned that it was worth more than he would get from the future sales. It would, I suggest, be of interest to the present body of QLers in that it may well attract new users and give the QL a new lease of life. Where would the money come from? If that could be the solution some day, I suggest we could simply do a collection. Is it unrealistic? I don't know. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] A runtime version of QPC2?
En/Je/On 2011-12-03 09:59, j...@supanet.com escribió / skribis / wrote : It would be possible to set up QPC2 so that clicking an icon it would It would also be possible to create an environment which mimicked windows It also possible to create a live CD which would you boot you up into All you say is true. But it's not exactly what I miss. In other words, I'd like to be able to say: Look, I wrote this in SBASIC; you simply need this free executable to run the source (or the WIN). Or: Why don't you try SBASIC? It's easier and simpler than the language you are using, but still very powerful and suitable for your project; and anyone will be able to run your program simply using this free executable. Meanwhile, the modern QL and its potential will remain to be an obscure and inaccessible secret of a small group of (registered) initiates -- until their total extinction :) Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] A runtime version of QPC2?
Hi all, I'd like to share some thoughts and an idea about QPC2 (what Marcel may tell if it's feasible or not). SBASIC is a great tool, powerful enough but still comfortable, and SMSQ/E provides many of the features normally needed to write modern programs. Since I returned to the QL, I have started some new projects in SBASIC. Even if my main motivations are fun and learning, and the programs will be published as free and gratis software when finished, sometimes I think it's a waste of time because nobody will buy QPC2 (or Q-emuLator + SMSQ/E) just to try them... In the case of my favourite projects, text adventures in Spanish (a small community), the potential QL users in Spain that would like to try such a game are two or three... If the same game was written for a popular platform, and could be executed almost out of the box, there would be dozens of potential players (what means also more eyes to look at the code and contribute bug fixes or ideas). There is a gratis demo of QPC2. But it's inconvenient for programs that need to save and restore the current position between game sessions (well, the player could hibernate the whole host system with QPC2 running). And anyway QPC2 is not easy to setup and use for people who even don't know what a QL is. (The same applies to Q-emuLator; I mean, not the QL emulators are the problem, but the concept of an emulator itself, combined with the special issues of the QL platform). I realized this when, some months ago, I announced a new SuperBASIC program to the Spanish community of interactive fiction (http://caad.es). In order to try my program, some people installed the demos of QPC2 and Q-emuLator following my detailed loading instructions, but they never had used a QL before and after many doubts and problems I had to write a more detailed guide on how to boot QL programs with both emulators and different file formats (http://programandala.net/es.artículo.2011.05.30.arrancar_programa_de_ql). Even then, the task was not simple for people who just want to double-click (or command-line) the file and play, without tinkering with the uncommon issues and needs of that QL thing they never heard of. That's why recently I've been thinking about the benefits of a runtime version of QPC2 with the following features: * Easy to boot SBASIC programs with, in plain source or WIN files. * No limitation for running one SBASIC program. * Limitations to make it impossible to use it for programming. * Config files (would be great). And something like this: QPC2.EXE path\my_progam_bas QPC2.EXE path\my_progam.bas QPC2.EXE path\my_program.win QPC2.EXE path\my_program.cfg If the parameter is a WIN image, the system mounts it as WIN1_ and run the boot file; if the parameter is a SBASIC file, its directory is mounted as DOS1_ before running. QPC2 doesn't have config files yet, but they could be used to boot too. Of course additional parameters may be used. And there's the question about the screen mode. The runtime QPC2 would not have the limitation the current demo has, but it could not be used for programming. The registered version would be still needed for any serious work; and the demo version would still be needed to try QPC2 before registering. The actual limitation of the runtime version could be a useless SBASIC command line, or something similar (making certain keywords useless, only one SBASIC task, limiting the number of tasks...). Just to illustrate my general idea: If I write, let's say, a program in Python, the user has to install a Python interpreter into the system (with the optional libraries needed) and give one single command, that's all. If QPC2 could be used that simple way to execute SBASIC programs, I think I'm not the only one who would feel more motivated to write some software for the outside (real) world, that way promoting the language itself and the platform. In my opinion, SBASIC so far is useful (or even usable) only for registered QPC2 and SMSQ/E users. I suggest this idea for QPC2, not for Q-emuLator, because QPC2 provides a whole and modern QL environment, while Q-emuLator has a very different approach. Anyway, the Q-emuLator's new file format, QLPAK, makes it much easier to use QL software for people not familiar with the platform, what is the point. I guess things are not so easy as I think (or hope), and maybe the way QPC2 and SMSQ/E boot makes all this impossible. I just wanted to share and discuss the general idea. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] OT - The great man - Steve Jobs
En/Je/On 2011-10-10 10:07, Norman Dunbar escribió / skribis / wrote : I never had a Spectrum+, was that actually Sinclair or had Amstrad taken over by then? I can't remember. ZX Spectrum+ (1984-10) was Sinclair's, just a normal ZX Spectrum with a QL style keyboard and a reset button. The ZX Spectrum 128 (1985-09), was developed in conjunction with Sinclair's Spanish distributor, Investrónica. The ZX Spectrum +2 (1986), was the first one by Amstrad. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Digital Precision Super Forth (+ Reversi)
En/Je/On 2011-06-13 10:47, Neil Riley escribió / skribis / wrote : Anyhow, I'm more than happy to post my copy to you Rich. I was about to post my manual this afternoon. Since your manual is more modern and your are nearer, I think mine is not needed. I'll keep it anyway. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Digital Precision Super Forth (+ Reversi)
En/Je/On 2011-06-13 10:50, Rich Mellor escribió / skribis / wrote : Not sure - I don't have access to any good quality scanners anymore to be able to do this - I have a feeling it is black ink on fairly dark blue paper! The blue colour actually is quite light, kind of cyan. I think it would be easy to scan the pages and get legible black and white pictures. But OCR could be not so easy, because it seems the original was printed with a dot matrix printer. Maybe with high resolution scanning and a good OCR program. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Text adventure in Spanish ported from ZX Spectrum
I've finished a port from ZX Spectrum, a text adventure in Spanish. If someone is interested, the details are in The Sinclair QL Forum: http://qlforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3t=163 Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Superforth and Reversi
En/Je/On 2011-06-13 13:03, Dilwyn Jones escribió / skribis / wrote : Might have spoke too soon. I don't know if this is the manual, on Javier's site: http://www.speccy.org/sinclairql/archivo/docs/prog/SuperForth_Reversi_DP.pdf It is, but the second page of the contents list (4th page of the manual) is missing in that copy. (Also the 2nd page is missing, but it was a Super Media Manager ad). Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Digital Precision Super Forth (+ Reversi)
En/Je/On 2011-06-13 10:13, Rich Mellor escribió / skribis / wrote : I have now received an email back from Gerry Jackson - he has confirmed that SuperForth / Super Reversi and Digital C are all now public domain, so I will send a copy of the files across to Dilwyn. What about the source code? Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Digital Precision Super Forth
En/Je/On 2011-06-11 17:56, Rich Mellor escribió / skribis / wrote : Does anyone have the manual for Super Forth by Digital Precision - I cannot find it in the DP collection! I have two SuperForth original manuals (blue pages). The SuperForth 2 manual I ordered from DP because it was not included in the DP collection. I remember the first letter I received from DP about the DP Collection offer was not clear about the manuals that were not included; it didn't mentioned SuperForth, so I supposed its manual was bundled in electronic form. When I received the disks I remember I complained about the missing manual and the misleading information, but I had to buy the manual anyway. The second manual belongs to SuperForth version 1, with appendix for version 2 (appendix on white pages, not sure if photocopies). It was a later gift from a QL fellow that left the QL scene. The contents of both manuals are the same (SuperForth 2's manual has the appendix already included in blue pages, and some typos have been corrected, that's all). I can send you the older one (SuperForth version 1 plus appendix for version 2) just for the shipping cost. Marcos -- http://programandala.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] PDQ C compiler (was: C68 from 1994)
En/Je/On 2010-12-16 15:26, Peter Graf escribió / skribis / wrote : Petri Pellinen wrote: But after a closer look, I see that I really need the PDQ C I have three disks with C68 3.05. I think they must be around the year you mentioned. I can't confirm because I can't use them with my laptop, but I could get disk images from them with other computer if you need. Marcos -- http://programandala.net http://alinome.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] new ISO 8859-1 QL font
En/Je/On 2010-12-14 12:55, Dilwyn Jones escribió / skribis / wrote : Nice to see the page mentions my font editor! 4 mentions on one page can't be bad... Your Code Page 437 font saved me some drawing, and the Font Editor was useful too. I always cite and link the works that helped, inspired or somehow contributed to mine. Little tip for anyone trying to download the font: Internet Explorer tries to display it as a text file if you click on the link. It will save better if you right click on the link and use the Save Target As... Thank you for pointing this out. I don't use IE; I use Chrome, Elinks, Firefox and Opera (in that order). I did a quick check: all of them except Chrome try to display linked files of unknown type. I think it's not a clever behaviour. A solution is to pack the files with zip or gzip, as I usually do with some kind of files; then the browsers certainly download them. This font and the conversion listing could be useful for me too, as some Welsh accented characters (e.g. w and y with circumflex) aren't available in the normal character set. Glad to know! Yes, it's annoying when certain characters in your language are missing. Besides, the main advantage for me is a more comfortable development with external tools. Marcos -- http://programandala.net http://alinome.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Arrange
En/Je/On 2010-11-30 15:46, Urs Koenig (QL) escribió / skribis / wrote : Bob Spelten wrote: Does Windows or Linux have such a facility? Windows does. Just press the right mouse button on an empty spot on the taskbar to get an action menu. Just a distinction: In Windows, the kernel, the graphic system and the GUI are inseparable parts of a whole, so it's right to say *Windows* have such a facility. But in Linux, the kernel, the graphic system and the GUI are totally independent programs. So, any GUI feature depends only on *the GUI you use*: there are many window managers and several desktop environments to choose from. Of course most of them have such a facility to rearrange the windows. Marcos -- http://alinome.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Why we can't code (Re: A small machine code program...)
En/Je/On 2010-11-27 16:33, gdgqler escribió / skribis / wrote : I wonder how many machines other than QL would allow Marcel's fantastic one lined SuperBASIC program to operate immediately by typing in the line and then RUN. Beside the QL, I use the following three machines, and all of them allow that: ZX Spectrum (1982): 1 FOR i=1 TO 100: PRINT i,FIZZBUZZ(1+4*(i/3-INT (i/3)0) TO 4+4*NOT (i/5-INT (i/5))): NEXT i RUN Jupiter Ace (1982): : GO 101 1 DO I . I 3 MOD 0= IF . FIZZ THEN I 5 MOD 0= IF . BUZZ THEN CR LOOP ; GO SAM Coupé (1989): 1 FOR i=1 TO 100: PRINT i,FIZZBUZZ(1+4*(i MOD 30)TO 4+4*NOT i MOD 5):NEXT i RUN But there are many more -- in fact most old micros. I think it's sad we were able to do that with most micros of the 80's, while we certainly cannot with any modern computer. Nowadays we have to install a bloated and complex OS and a bloated and complex programming language in order to type one single command! That's one of the many reasons I love retroprogramming so much. I remember an excellent article I read some months ago, concerning this issue. Its title is Why Johnny can't code: Original by David Brin: http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2006/09/14/basic/ Reviewed by Kroc Camen: http://www.osnews.com/story/23464/Why_Johnny_Can_t_Code Marcos -- http://alinome.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] A small machine code program...
En/Je/On 2010-11-27 02:32, Marcel Kilgus escribió / skribis / wrote : 1for i=1to 100:print i!FIZZ(to 4*not i mod 3);BUZZ(to 4*not i mod 5) This is pure awesomeness, I wish I had thought of that! It's Forthness :-) I'm used to think in Forth in any other programming language. But now that I've seen this trick, I hereby steal it and improve it to 1FOR i=1TO 100:PRINT i!FIZZBUZZ(1+4*(i MOD 30)TO 4+4*(i MOD 5=0)) It seems unbeatable... I wish I had thought of that! ;-) Marcos -- http://alinome.net ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
