83 replies to this topic

[rocky007]

again me.... im searching the xcom basic compiler and the sst expanded basic compiler... somebody can help ?

[matthew180]

Did you look around on WHTECH?

ftp://ftp.whtech.com/

Also, I think Owen has a BASIC computer he uses, so maybe he will chime in with some details.

[rocky007]

matthew180, on Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:19 PM, said:

Did you look around on WHTECH?

ftp://ftp.whtech.com/

Also, I think Owen has a BASIC computer he uses, so maybe he will chime in with some details.

yes i checked, i found the user manual of these compiler, but not the compiler itself.
( i found one basic compiler but it doesn't seems to be SST or XCOM, i will checked more deeply this evening)

UP : the one on whtech is the SST version. Xcom looks very interesting ( compiling unmodified Xtended basic command, sprite, etc..)

Edited by rocky007, Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:09 AM.

[Opry99er]

I use Harry Wilhelm's BASIC compiler. John Chase did a BASIC game called Bouncing Babies and compiled it to assembly recently. Walid (Vorticon) did a game called TI Puck. You can DL Wilhelm's compiler on tigameshelf.net.

Warning:
No SPRITEs

[rocky007]

Opry99er, on Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:49 AM, said:

I use Harry Wilhelm's BASIC compiler. John Chase did a BASIC game called Bouncing Babies and compiled it to assembly recently. Walid (Vorticon) did a game called TI Puck. You can DL Wilhelm's compiler on tigameshelf.net.

Warning:
No SPRITEs

exactly, no sprite... the SST one can compile everything ( if the program is recoded with correct syntax ).

I'm tryging it right now, but not working :

- i edit correctly the basic games, through the editor, run it and save in SST output
- i start the compiler, enter the filename, output file, starting adress and calling name and then the compiler start to compile.... Compiling 274 , and then break with error "Bad Line number in 2840 "

I tryed everything : use editor under XE, Basic + Mini memory, Basic + E/A, changing the starting adress , using a simple program like :

1 let a@=5
2 print a@
3 goto 2

followe strictly step by step from user manual, but impossible to compile...
somebody already had this problem ?

Edited by rocky007, Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:42 PM.

[rocky007]

update :

i tryed with Classic99 and Win99/4a, compiling phase don't work. i tryed on real TI99 with CF7+, and it worked, it compiled the basic program.

So, after i tryed the last phase, the loader, and again the program break with errors...

I suppose it's maybe incompatible with CF7+ ( CF7+ routine maybe taking some memory used by the compilator) ? really strange...

Edited by rocky007, Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:58 PM.

[Tursi]

hmm.. I can't speak for Win994A, but Classic99 does use a different VRAM layout than the average console, as it doesn't create DSR buffers in VRAM (in that respect the memory layout is the same as for a cassette-only system). I just learned a few minutes ago that the CF7 also uses a few extra bytes of VDP memory.. maybe the compiler is sensitive to this?

It's possible to fake the memory layout in Classic99 using the debugger. When at the colorbar page, load the debugger, and type "8370=37d7" in the memory box near the bottom, and hit apply. Until you reset the emulator it should then run with the reduced VRAM of a disk system.

[rocky007]

Tursi, on Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:11 AM, said:

hmm.. I can't speak for Win994A, but Classic99 does use a different VRAM layout than the average console, as it doesn't create DSR buffers in VRAM (in that respect the memory layout is the same as for a cassette-only system). I just learned a few minutes ago that the CF7 also uses a few extra bytes of VDP memory.. maybe the compiler is sensitive to this?

It's possible to fake the memory layout in Classic99 using the debugger. When at the colorbar page, load the debugger, and type "8370=37d7" in the memory box near the bottom, and hit apply. Until you reset the emulator it should then run with the reduced VRAM of a disk system.

thanks, but it's not working... after doing this, i have "MEMORY FULL" error message.

[Tursi]

hmm... I think I'll avoid going further down that road till I have disk controller support

[unhuman]

Certainly the XCOM compiler might be interesting if someone could find it.

Anyhow, *HOW* do I use Wilhelm's BASIC Compiler? It's a .bin file and I do all my magic in Classic99. There appears to be zippy documentation for the compiler, so... Can you guys help me get it up and running?

Thanks - Howie

[Opry99er]

I'd say rename .bin to .arc and try to unarc it using ARC303G... I seem to remember that I had to do that... maybe.

If that doesn't work, let me know... I'll try to find my copy, zip it up, and send it over.

Edited by Opry99er, Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:10 PM.

[Opry99er]

Here's the zipped COMPILER diskette. enjoy

Attached Files

•  HWCOMPILER.zip   42.91K   24 downloads

[unhuman]

Opry99er, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:18 PM, said:

Here's the zipped COMPILER diskette. enjoy

Haha - your unarc instructions were good enough. I'm compiling now - or so I think. This could be fun....

Or maybe not. When I try to run the Assembler, I get I/O ERROR 00 IN 20 - which it's trying to...

"RUN LD.4.1FW"

Which ain't right.

-H

Edited by unhuman, Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:31 PM.

[Opry99er]

Did some research and some testing over the last half hour or so... Wilhelm's assembler is designed to run from Funnelweb. You can just take "TEST/S" and assemble it with Classic99's built in Ed/Asm. it will assemble nicely. Just take the assembled object code and run it through "CLOADER". All you have to do is run "CLOADER" in XB, and it will take your object code and will give you an option to either:

A) make it an XB program
B) make it an EA5 program

I went ahead and did it with the White Noise program and it is MUCH faster. =) Video below.

[unhuman]

While I couldn't get it to work, I started attempting to play around also with Harrison's as well... I get to the RAGASM step and then it kicks out:
2386 I/O ERR COPY FILE
2239 DSK1.BLOXSRC
ASSEMBLY COMPLETED

However, it doesn't give me the object file it claims to (probably the error?)

Getting back to Wilhelm's, using the E/A Assembler, I get *TONS* of INVALID REGISTER errors. There were other errors too, but they scrolled off screen.

Obviously, I have no idea what I'm doing, otherwise, but.... It don't work.

Even with the errors, I ran the CLOADER and it completed... The XB program just froze and EA5 turned the screen green and was done also.

-H

[Opry99er]

There's a possibility you tried to compile with an unsupported BASIC command or that you used a non-integer in your program. The DOCS on disk are pretty explicit about the limitations. Try to compile this---

10 CALL CLEAR :: CALL SCREEN(7)
20 A=1
30 PRINT "WILHELM'S COMPILER"
40 PRINT A
50 A=A+1
60 GOTO 40

It should work beautifully.

[Opry99er]

I also thought of something... Are you using Option "R" in the assembler?

When it asks you for options, type "R" and it will work. That's an important step.

[unhuman]

Hrmm... Still playing, but perhaps if I was careful with the doc, I would've gotten no errors. I needed to include OPTIONS during assembly - then I got no errors. However, the doc is unclear in that it says

Options?.
RC.
Space<enter> (Be sure the only option
is ""R"").

Which is it? R or RC?

I'm going to try just R. RC assembled just fine but when running the CLOADER, it gave UNRECOGNIZED CHARACTER IN 181.

Otherwise I'll break down and try something simpler....

-H

Opry99er, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:15 PM, said:

There's a possibility you tried to compile with an unsupported BASIC command or that you used a non-integer in your program. The DOCS on disk are pretty explicit about the limitations. Try to compile this---

10 CALL CLEAR :: CALL SCREEN(7)
20 A=1
30 PRINT "WILHELM'S COMPILER"
40 PRINT A
50 A=A+1
60 GOTO 40

It should work beautifully.

[unhuman]

Looks like it's just R!!!

My game is working... Just too damn fastly!

[Opry99er]

Man, great news!!! Yep-- the first successful assembly experience is cool. Can't wait to play your game. Tursi came up with a way to put these assembly EA5 programs from Wilhelm's compiler into cart form.

[unhuman]

Hrmmm... I have cart stuffs... Just need an eprom eraser and I'd be good to go. Oh - and to learn how to use my burner... but fun is on the way!

[Opry99er]

Dude--- great... Great to hear man. Also--- feel free to experiment with multiple-statement lines in your BASIC listings. This compiler is quite flexible as long as you obey the few limitations it imposes...

Glad someone else is using the compiler... It's too cool to go unused.

[unhuman]

Well, we just need to get some genius to get the source for this beast and add sprites. Or get Strawberry or... See if I can get Harrison's to work or something...

[Opry99er]

Harry said he would be happy to open this thing up for improvements. Spoke with him several months ago. He was surprised anyone was still using his compiler.

[Opry99er]

Hey buddy... you should make up a little vid of your program running at BASIC speed and then at assembly speed. =) Kind of a before-after kind of thing... How fast is it? Unplayable? I like that kind of stuff.

In a series of tests I conducted on this compiler last year, some functions were more than 70 times the speed of their BASIC equivalents. Most are between 20-40 times faster....

I did a speed test video...

XB---160 seconds
compiled---8 seconds

***see below:

Edited by Opry99er, Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:53 PM.