Force Command : kinda like command.com from 1985 (no TIPI required!)

[+pixelpedant]

I am getting the error "failed to configure XB" when attempting to load XB programs.

 

 

Seemingly regardless of all other configuration considerations.  The same error is produced regardless of whether a file by that name exists (and exists in the current path), regardless of whether XBMOD and XBADDR are set (and set to valid values).  The XB command does not seem to attempt to load an XB image via the FinalGROM at all, under my present circumstances. 

 

FG99 TIXB_G does successfully load TI Extended BASIC version 110 (or a few other versions of Extended BASIC I have there, likewise). 

 

But with XBADDR set to 25458 and XBMOD set to TIXB_G any attempt to load a BASIC/XB file results (invariably) in "failed to configure XB".

 

Any ideas?

 

[dgrissom]

45 minutes ago, pixelpedant said:

I am getting the error "failed to configure XB" when attempting to load XB programs.

 

 

Seemingly regardless of all other configuration considerations.  The same error is produced regardless of whether a file by that name exists (and exists in the current path), regardless of whether XBMOD and XBADDR are set (and set to valid values).  The XB command does not seem to attempt to load an XB image via the FinalGROM at all, under my present circumstances. 

 

FG99 TIXB_G does successfully load TI Extended BASIC version 110 (or a few other versions of Extended BASIC I have there, likewise). 

 

But with XBADDR set to 25458 and XBMOD set to TIXB_G any attempt to load a BASIC/XB file results (invariably) in "failed to configure XB".

 

Any ideas?

 

It's working OK on my setup.    I don't have any storage devices but the TIPI and SAMs on this computer.   Latest Force Command.  My FinalGrom99 XB name is TIXBG.

 

 

  

 

[+jedimatt42]

@pixelpedant that error comes from not being able to open for write TIPI.FC.FC/XB

 

There are a few support files to get the XB command to work and they have to live in the TIPI.FC. directory.. 

 

https://github.com/jedimatt42/fcmd#installation

 

It has been a while since I have (looked at) this... I should make that easier/stand out more ..  

 

(edit: I've just updated the wiki reference for the XB command to point this requirement out, and tie in that error message)

[+pixelpedant]

Thanks, Matt!  Yes, that fixed it.

[+jedimatt42]

I found a bug in forward references to labels... somewhere along the line I removed 'goto' from the set of commands that allow the script file to remain open.. but it requires that it remain open if it is a forward reference so it can scan ahead from where we are... anyway... 

 

I discovered this 'cause @pixelpedant asked about adding something like an ONKEY A,B,C WALK,RUN,JUMP sort of command that cuts down on the if statements. 

 

I started thinking you should be able to do something close already with the variable substitution:  

 

INPUT:
READKEY K
GOTO MENU$(K)
GOTO INPUT

MENUA:
echo A was pressed
goto END

MENUB:
echo B was pressed
goto END

END:
echo done

but I have to release the fix for the forward references first... 

 

if MENU$(K) doesn't match a label, an error will be printed, so you'd need to use the ANSI codes to make sure the READKEY happens somewhere other than the last line of the screen, or it'll scroll and screw up the pretty menu you might have built... 

 

I'd still entertain the ONKEY idea... but this might be a start ( once I release the goto fix - I have it (foreward references) fixed, but looking at another issue before releasing it... )

[+jedimatt42]

Update v1.29 - in post #1. 

 

Happy Halloween! 

 

FG99 and XB commands will uppercase your module name before sending it to the FinalGROM. 

Foreward references in GOTO statements work again. This should allow the scheme in my previous post to work... 

 

update to fix/enable api for color handling... cleaned up a bunch of the color code... 

[dgrissom]

Printing files from within Force Command.

 

I had been looking for an easy way to print DV80 text/script files to the TIPI's "PI.PIO" printer.  "ED" and "TYPE" work well to view a these files.  Most Editors have a "Print" menu item. 

 

Thought it would be nice to have a DOS style redirection  as "TYPE filename > lpt1:".  (Think that is the format?  Been a while since I used it.)

 

jedimatt42's "ED" command provides the mechanisms.  Open a file, example:  ED MYFILE.  After it opens press CTRL+W to write the file.    Erase the current file name and substitute PI.PIO for the filename and when the cursor comes back the printed PDF is available in the TIPI pdfs directory.  Use CTRL+Q to exit and continue working.

 

All this is done from the TI console.   Pretty slick!

[+jedimatt42]

Update 1.31 - 

 

an input routine stopped accepting characters at <= 'z'... so you couldn't enter URLs into VIRGIL99 that contain '~'   

 

Update FCMENU to understand the environment variable 'FCM'   if FCM=QUIT, (case sensitive I believe) then FCMENU will quit upon resuming (or entering) - The purpose of this is so you can launch a script from FCMENU that sets up your environment, device mappings, and current directory or whatever else, and then exits the menu in the command line with all that setup preserved... FCMENU will clean up this variable when it consumes it. 

 

https://github.com/jedimatt42/fcmd/wiki/fcmenu#environment-variables

[dgrissom]

5 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

Update 1.31 - 

 

...

 

Update FCMENU to understand the environment variable 'FCM'   if FCM=QUIT, (case sensitive I believe) then FCMENU will quit upon resuming (or entering) - The purpose of this is so you can launch a script from FCMENU that sets up your environment, device mappings, and current directory or whatever else, and then exits the menu in the command line with all that setup preserved... FCMENU will clean up this variable when it consumes it. 

 

https://github.com/jedimatt42/fcmd/wiki/fcmenu#environment-variables

Slick!  Works well for me!

[PeBo]

On 5/6/2019 at 9:13 PM, jedimatt42 said:

Force Command - a command line OS in progress by Jedimatt42 for the TI-99/4A.   You can informally call it Jedimatt42's DOS, or Matt's DOS. However its name is 'Force Command' 

I'd shower you with praise for this kick-ass set of tools, but providing real "game-changers" to the TI community has kinda been your thing for a while...

So I'll just say "Kudos and Thanks"

[+OLD CS1]

1 hour ago, PeBo said:

I'd shower you with praise for this kick-ass set of tools, but providing real "game-changers" to the TI community has kinda been your thing for a while...

So I'll just say "Kudos and Thanks"

I think he will take "thanks" in the form of beer, wings, or some combination of both at gatherings.

[dgrissom]

49 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

I think he will take "thanks" in the form of beer, wings, or some combination of both at gatherings.

He seems to like ko-fi! 

https://ko-fi.com/jedimatt42

 

DG

[xahmol]

Wow! Have been inactive on the TI front for some months as I was concentrating on Commodore 128 projects, and seems this project has been skyrocketing meanwhile. See I have much catching up to do.

 

As I now also joined the SAMS bandwagon, will start back reading this thread carefully soon. Already started with compiling the latest FCMD build and installing it on my TIPI and FinalGROM99.

Good stuff, thanks!

[WhataKowinkydink]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:49 PM, jedimatt42 said:

@pixelpedant that error comes from not being able to open for write TIPI.FC.FC/XB

 

There are a few support files to get the XB command to work and they have to live in the TIPI.FC. directory.. 

 

https://github.com/jedimatt42/fcmd#installation

 

It has been a while since I have (looked at) this... I should make that easier/stand out more ..  

 

(edit: I've just updated the wiki reference for the XB command to point this requirement out, and tie in that error message)

Ah, so this is why i can't get XB to work.  Are there plans to do alternatives to having the files live in TIPI.FC. ??

I've been having trouble getting the FG99 command to work (i get a beep and blank cyan screen and when i soft reset with FinalGrom there is no #2 entry in the menu), though i strongly suspect I'm doing something wrong.  Has a manual started to materialize yet or just the wiki at this point?

Thanks for putting this together, it's exciting to see a new command line OS come to the TI.  😎

[arcadeshopper]

Ah, so this is why i can't get XB to work.  Are there plans to do alternatives to having the files live in TIPI.FC. ??

I've been having trouble getting the FG99 command to work (i get a beep and blank cyan screen and when i soft reset with FinalGrom there is no #2 entry in the menu), though i strongly suspect I'm doing something wrong.  Has a manual started to materialize yet or just the wiki at this point?

Thanks for putting this together, it's exciting to see a new command line OS come to the TI. 

The FG99 command should just load another cartridge you put in the name of the cartridge right? Case sensitive

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

[+jedimatt42]

If you have use cases for enhancing the manual ( which is the Wiki.. the wiki quite a bit of a manual... ) I'm happy to write up guide pages on the wiki for examples of how that use case might be performed. Surely there are things that are too obvious to me, to realize they need explanation to others, since I'm too close to it.

 

As for XB and not requiring the TIPI.FC. directory with the stuff on the companion disk... The entire XB command depends on a handful of mechanisms only provided by TIPI. So I'm going to assume you have a TIPI when using that command... 

 

The FG99 command does not depend on TIPI. But it does depend on the user providing unverifiable input that aligns with the names of files in the same directory as the Force Command cartridge on the FinalGROM99's sd-card.

 

 

 

 

[WhataKowinkydink]

8 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

The FG99 command does not depend on TIPI. But it does depend on the user providing unverifiable input that aligns with the names of files in the same directory as the Force Command cartridge on the FinalGROM99's sd-card.

Thanks for the reply.  My understanding is that the syntax is FG99 <case_sensitive_filename_on_SD_card> - without the .bin extension.  I also seem to recall reading/hearing that only one version of the Extended BASIC cart could be called.  Is this correct?

[WhataKowinkydink]

Alright, so i tested it out with a cart (in this case Personal Record Keeping) that resides in the same directory and it appeared to work, but PRK hung after going past the main menu.  I also noticed some strange behavior with TI Writer hanging and squawking after having used Force Command and exited it with the exit command and resetting the FinalGROM (incidentally PRK does the same hanging after using Force Command and exiting, only loading correctly after a hard reset). 

[+jedimatt42]

4 hours ago, WhataKowinkydink said:

Thanks for the reply.  My understanding is that the syntax is FG99 <case_sensitive_filename_on_SD_card> - without the .bin extension.  I also seem to recall reading/hearing that only one version of the Extended BASIC cart could be called.  Is this correct?

Correct syntax. 

 

The details on using other XB versions require details that are on the wiki.   You have to set some environment variables correctly to select the version of XB to use. Details are on the wiki.

[+jedimatt42]

2 hours ago, WhataKowinkydink said:

Alright, so i tested it out with a cart (in this case Personal Record Keeping) that resides in the same directory and it appeared to work, but PRK hung after going past the main menu.  I also noticed some strange behavior with TI Writer hanging and squawking after having used Force Command and exited it with the exit command and resetting the FinalGROM (incidentally PRK does the same hanging after using Force Command and exiting, only loading correctly after a hard reset). 

Does hard reset mean power off/on, or does it mean causing a hardware reset signal, such as physically pulling a cartridge or pressing the finalGrom99 reset button?

 

I'll have to look at how much memory resetting I perform on exit. I've tested with fbForth and various XBs, and EA. So maybe those other programs are making more initial power-on state assumptions.

 

 

[+jedimatt42]

IDK... I cannot identify which cartridge on my FG is personal record keeping, since they are named things like phmXXXXX, so I cannot test with the FG99 command  --- so someone will need to translate that for me or point me at the translation documentation somewhere... 

 

--

 

For future purposes, people would be right to assume I do not have the cartridge images you are playing with. And do what they can to make it clear and easy for me to reproduce your problems... You should also assume I don't have the manuals for your old TI software, and was about 11-13 when I last tried to use it, if the box art was snazzy enough to raise my interest. 

 

-- 

 

But, I CAN go into Force Command, exit, with the exit command. Reset the FinalGrom99 menu using the cartridge button, and then go pick Personal Records and go in and create a "record type?" add some data, save and load the data... seems fine. 

[dgrissom]

26 minutes ago, jedimatt42 said:

IDK... I cannot identify which cartridge on my FG is personal record keeping, since they are named things like phmXXXXX, so I cannot test with the FG99 command  --- so someone will need to translate that for me or point me at the translation documentation somewhere... 

 

--

 

 

I found an online reference:  PHM3013

I agree with you about the naming. I appreciate the folks that created the cartridge files.  However, it does make it difficult to identify the specific files.

[+jedimatt42]

So, with phm3013G.bin in the base directory of my FinalGROM99 SD-Card, I can go into ForceCommand, type:

 

FG99 PHM3013G

 

and it loads just fine. From there, I'm at the TI TITLE screen, I can pick 2 to enter Personl Records, and then load a data file such as TIPI.PRK1, edit a record, save the data file again... seems to be fine... 

 

This is clearly a TI BASIC program, you can observe as it scans for keyboard input, TI BASIC performs a DSR search for CALL subroutine implementations. I think if the FinalGROM99 loads the cartridge, it is not likely to have any data initialization issues, as TI BASIC will initialize all the VDP and scratch pad the way it likes. So I would recommend cleaning the cartridge port next... 

 

 

[WhataKowinkydink]

7 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

Does hard reset mean power off/on, or does it mean causing a hardware reset signal, such as physically pulling a cartridge or pressing the finalGrom99 reset button?

 

I'll have to look at how much memory resetting I perform on exit. I've tested with fbForth and various XBs, and EA. So maybe those other programs are making more initial power-on state assumptions.

Power off/on :)
 

4 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

So, with phm3013G.bin in the base directory of my FinalGROM99 SD-Card, I can go into ForceCommand, type:

 

FG99 PHM3013G

 

and it loads just fine. From there, I'm at the TI TITLE screen, I can pick 2 to enter Personl Records, and then load a data file such as TIPI.PRK1, edit a record, save the data file again... seems to be fine... 

 

This is clearly a TI BASIC program, you can observe as it scans for keyboard input, TI BASIC performs a DSR search for CALL subroutine implementations. I think if the FinalGROM99 loads the cartridge, it is not likely to have any data initialization issues, as TI BASIC will initialize all the VDP and scratch pad the way it likes. So I would recommend cleaning the cartridge port next... 

Interesting.  Okay, guess i'll give the cart port a  cleaning then :D

Thanks..!

[WhataKowinkydink]

Well, that would explain why i thought the wiki was on the terse side: i had missed the "Index" with additional details in the upper right.  :-/

 

I found the details on Extended BASIC, and hopefully that should clear everything up.   Thanks again 👍