From amh@hp835.mitek.com Fri Aug 7 11:35:32 1992 Newsgroups: comp.windows.x From: amh@hp835.mitek.com (Abel Hernandez) Subject: xtrs80 1.0 Utilities Keywords: xtrs TRS80 Organization: OpenConnect Systems, Dallas, TX Distribution: usa Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1992 21:38:13 GMT A few months ago somebody posted xtrs-1.0 I have since then manage to figure out how to use the cassette emulation part of it. I then started typing in small BASIC programs and CSAVEing them thur the cassette emulator. I immediately noticed a need for CLOADing old BASIC programs off of my TRS80. So I came up with a simple header that adds the 0's and sync byte, and filename to any TRS80 Disk Basic program. This header needs to be in the beginning of the Disk Basic program. I called my header program leader.bin All of the Disk Basic programs that I transfer over I rename to *.bin So, to added this header to a program on a Unix machine: cat leader.bin android.bin > andriod.bas To load this into the xtrs80 emulator: On Unix machine type: cassette at cassette prompt type: load andriod.bas On xtrs80 type: CLOAD You should see the familiar *'s blinking in the right top corner of the xtrs80 screen as it loads in. These Basic programs run pretty slow, so then I decided to write a converter program to convert the TRS80 Disk Object programs to be able to load them into the xtrs80 using the SYSTEM command. Maybe these program would run a little be faster. Well, no, but I'm supplying the convert program anyway for those that would like to see their object programs run on the xtrs80. The converter program runs only on a IBM-PC MSDOS compatible machine. I'm supplying the source code for those that would like to convert it over to run on Unix or whatever. The converter program converts a TRS80 Disk Object program to a SYSTEM loadable format. It adds the 0's and sync byte required. Also, it uses the 1st 6 characters of the filename as the name to use in the conversion. It replaces the 01 and 02 block header codes to 3C and 78h and also calculates the checksum. Any other block header codes other than 01 or 02 are treated as comments. (METEOR by Big Five Software has such a comment) It took longer than necessary to make this converter program work because my source of information on the Disk object format was wrong! :( My source of information came from "TRS-80 Assembly Language" by Hubert S. Howell Jr. Under Chapter 17 "Disk Files" page 156 shows the format for a object program file as having a checksum byte after every block. Well, it does not. I didn't notice this until I tried converting the game ATTACK/CMD by Big Five Software and the block ended in the middle of some text. To use the convert (CVTCMD) program, type in only the filename without the extension. The default extension of CMD will be used. The newly created program will be with the same filename, but with an extension of BIN. I'm also supplying DUMPCMD. This program will display all the header codes and blocks read from a CMD file. This is just in case you're having problems with one of the object program you're trying to convert. Since I don't think I can post Andriod Nim, SnakeEggs, Duel-N-Droids, and the Dancing Demons by J.B. Christopherson or METEOR, ATTACK, COSMIC, GALAXIA by Big Five Softwares, without getting in trouble (or will I?), I'll just have to post a program I ported over from a S-100 system running CP/M. I call this program OMNIBUG. I doesn't stand for a program with all the bugs, but instead a program that can help find all the bugs (yea right :^) ). Anyway, I did this about 15 years ago so I can't really remember all the details, but I modified the program in such a way that it still thinks its running under CP/M instead of TRSDOS. I modified the reading and writing of disk files to the TRSDOS format, etc. Of course this doesn't do you any good under Level II Basic. This program is really a very powerfull debugging program that will: disassemble using mneumonics * assemble using mneumonics * trace absolute addressing * relative addressing etc, It does alot more than MON4, STATMON, etc Too bad I never really tried to sell it back then. I'll supply the docs if I can find them on disk. But the command are somewhat similiar to the MSDOS debug program. BTW I'm running xtrs80 on a DEC3100 machine with the DISPLAY going over to an IBM-PC running an X-Window emulator: ExceedPlus from Hummingbird. Maybe that's why it's so slow, that the games are not really playable. Well it's almost fast enough to play, but not really. I have a whole bunch of games and utilities for the TRS-80 including NewDOS DOSPlus, MultiDOS, LDOS. Oh yea, I got TRSDOS too. :) I also have Orchestra-80, a very good music editor/player for the TRS80 I was the one who managed to develop a $5 D/A converter that just happened to work with the Orchestra-80 program without having to buy their $80(?) program/board. They really hated me for giving my schematic out at one of the TRS80 meetings after their demo of Orchestra-80. I hope they have forgiven me since it's been about 15 years ago!!! Does anyone remember the Electric Crayon by PERCOM Data? It was a box that would connect to the TRS80 printer port and a color TV. You would then have color for the TRS80 using their Basic language. I worked for PERCOM so I managed to get one and it still works! I think I was the 1st one to offer reverse video for the TRS80. I put an ad in the MicroComputing magazine back in 1978 for the schematic and instructions for adding reverse video to the TRS80. I was only charging $2 for this information. This didn't really get me rich. But after that, everyone else jumped on the band wagon and started offering reverse video too. I also have the hi-speed modification, lower case, joystick, light pen, double density, and get this: 5 meg hard drive from PERCOM Data. I didn't know what to do with so much storage! Anyway, I hope my leader.bin file and convert program helps. The above utilities are posted at comp.binaries.ibm.pc -- Abel M. Hernandez OpenConnect Systems amh@hp835.mitek.com Carrollton (Dallas), Tex "Any sufficiently advanced BUG is indistinguishable from a Feature."