apc Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) Hi, I put some asm code together to make Config loader: It uses HSIO routines by HiassofT for faster load (on not modded Atari). Short video: https://youtu.be/kgvbemvtdDg In case of interest I will prepare disk image to test and share the code. Jan Edited March 16, 2021 by apc 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 6 minutes ago, apc said: Hi, I put some asm code together to make Config loader: It uses HSIO routines by HiassofT for faster load (on not modded Atari). Short video: https://youtu.be/kgvbemvtdDg In case of interest I will prepare disk image to test and share the code. Jan Awesome! I use Hias's routines that are a part of the U1MB, but this would make config load faster for everyone! Excellent. -Thom 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apc Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 To test it, attached are versions with high speed SIO autorun-cloader.atr included and without it autorun-cloader-nohs.atr. Put it on your TNFS server or SD card and insert image into disk slot 1 and boot. I think for the version with HSIO included it would be nice to detect if the SIO is already patched, and then skip bundled routines if patched SIO is detected. How to easily detect patched SIO, check the content on $E459, other location(s)? Source code: https://github.com/a8jan/fujinet-config-loader Jan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 12 hours ago, apc said: To test it, attached are versions with high speed SIO autorun-cloader.atr included and without it autorun-cloader-nohs.atr. Put it on your TNFS server or SD card and insert image into disk slot 1 and boot. I think for the version with HSIO included it would be nice to detect if the SIO is already patched, and then skip bundled routines if patched SIO is detected. How to easily detect patched SIO, check the content on $E459, other location(s)? Source code: https://github.com/a8jan/fujinet-config-loader Jan Paging @HiassofT ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiassofT Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 The easiest way is to check the contents of $CFF0-$CFFF. If the OS is patched the first 4 bytes contain the string "Hias", followed by version number and date. eg 48 69 61 73 20 31 2e 33 32 20 32 30 30 34 32 38 Hias 1.32 200428 so long, Hias 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 2 hours ago, HiassofT said: The easiest way is to check the contents of $CFF0-$CFFF. If the OS is patched the first 4 bytes contain the string "Hias", followed by version number and date. eg 48 69 61 73 20 31 2e 33 32 20 32 30 30 34 32 38 Hias 1.32 200428 so long, Hias So wait, the high speed code can't work on the 400/800 ? -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiassofT Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) The highspeed code works fine on 400/800 but the ROM patch needs about 1k of ROM space - the only possibility to get that much space was to reuse the international character set. Actually it's possible to patch the 400/800 OS, patchrom for the PC supports that, but it will create a 16k ROM - you can use that in an XL or probably also in an incognito, but not on a stock 400/800. so long, Hias Edited March 18, 2021 by HiassofT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 @apc this is fantastic! the process could be sped up even more by having CONFIG.COM compressed, with e.g. exomizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 (edited) 37 minutes ago, pirx said: @apc this is fantastic! the process could be sped up even more by having CONFIG.COM compressed, with e.g. exomizer As long as whatever method is used will also work on 400/800 systems... That is a hard requirement for me, I see no reason to exclude 1/3rd of the installed base just because somebody thinks that the only systems that exist are 130XE's... -Thom Edited March 20, 2021 by tschak909 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 (edited) exomizer cuts the baby better than in half. i do not know if it works, but proof of concept is worth exploring! command: wine exomizer-3.1.0/win32/exomizer.exe sfx sys -t168 CONFIG.COM CONCOMPR.COM Edited March 20, 2021 by pirx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Hello guys There are more high speed routines than the one Hias wrote. Some OSses even have high speed code built in. There must be some way to check for high speed code without checking for specific high speed code. Sincerely Mathy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apc Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 3/20/2021 at 3:12 AM, tschak909 said: As long as whatever method is used will also work on 400/800 systems... Config Loader should work on 400/800 as far as there is enough RAM for Config itself I cannot test myself, I am not owner of those diamonds. At least I tested with Altirra. The Config was successfully fast loaded by Config Loader on 400 with 48K RAM. On 3/20/2021 at 3:43 PM, pirx said: exomizer cuts the baby better than in half. i do not know if it works, but proof of concept is worth exploring! I like the idea but the attached crunched COM file does not work for me. I am trying to load it as regular COM/XEX. I'm doing something wrong? 14 hours ago, Mathy said: There are more high speed routines than the one Hias wrote. Some OSses even have high speed code built in. There must be some way to check for high speed code without checking for specific high speed code Yes, check one by one all possible specific speed code routines ? Really not sure if it's doable (in simple way) to detect all possible routines. It may not be necessary to check at all ... The Config Loader bundled with HiassofT's routines is calling those routines only when loading Config, bypassing ROM routines (stock or modded) just to get this one program loaded. No patch is installed, no vector is modified. When Config is started, ROM routines (stock or modded) are used again. Is it a problem? Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 1 hour ago, apc said: I like the idea but the attached crunched COM file does not work for me. I am trying to load it as regular COM/XEX. I'm doing something wrong? yes, it does not work, i haven't got energy to check it, so this is only a silly proof of concept (that compression is very effective for the current CONFIG.COM. I've never used exomizer sfx, but was compressing/decompressing the data myself. I'll look a bit where it is loading, possibly some conflict arises. And yea, CONFIG.COM does not work on A400 16KiB, so 48KiB is the right target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) CONF_EX.COM Yea, this one works, I used fatastic (albeit a bit tricky to use) Superpacker from the A8 god TeBe: http://madteam.atari8.info/uzytki/sp.7z Superpacker works like a charm under wine. But when looking on the font change I am afraid it uses XL RAM, so no good for production use due to Thomas' (reasonable) requirements. Edited March 21, 2021 by pirx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Ha! XL RAM usage is configurable, moved the data around and this should do the job. Turned off decrunch effect. Turning off the screen would get it a bit faster, too. CONF_EX3.COM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apc Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 There is a version with loader and compressed Config: autorun-cloader-zapped.atr However I'm no sure I used SP properly. Compressed config: config.xex The result is.. we saved 3 seconds to load smaller file and it takes 2 seconds to get it decompressed (divisor 0) Some measured numbers to load the Config: original Config at 19200 = 15s compressed Config at 19200 = 8s Loader + compressed Config at 19200 = 9s (cost of banner) Loader + Config, divisor 0 = 6s Loader + compressed Config, divisor 0 = 5s Loader + Config, divisor 8 = 10s Loader + compressed Config, divisor 8 = 7s Both methods nicely boosts the Config loading, best when combined ? Jan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) nice with divisor=0 depacking is barely faster than loading. exomizer is not the fastest in depacking, possibly lz4 would be better. It compressess the most, but it might be more optimal to go for a bit worse compression and a faster decompression. Also turning off the screen for depacking could cut decompression time ~20-30% Edited March 21, 2021 by pirx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Hello apc 6 hours ago, apc said: Yes, check one by one all possible specific speed code routines ? Really not sure if it's doable (in simple way) to detect all possible routines. That's not what I meant. There has to be a way to test of the computer is going to use high speed. If you test for the presence of a routine, you are likely to forget one (or somebody comes up with a new one) and you probably need space for going through all the possible routines. Sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apc Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Hi Mathy, Understand. Some code for detection can be prepared, tested, etc. The point is, I hope, I don't really need to detect it for the purpose of the Config Loader (as explained above). I thought it would be nice to detect and skip routines bundled with Loader. For now I will keep it as nice to have if no arguments to change it to must have Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirx Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) years ago we did something like this in our version of MicroSpartaDos (checking for various turbo routines), but later we found out basically the only one making any sense was the one with '?' command (Speedy?) oh, also it would be better to load compressed data to higher memory by setting `load_addr` to $6c00, one memory copy less. and `buffer` to $9100, so it starts with BASIC ON. added LZ4 compressed file, maybe it will get faster? ----------------------------------------- and now for something (barely) completely different: it should be possible to glue the turbo routine and banner into a single file with compressed CONFIG.COM for an untimate pleasure and speed-up - one file looku-up less :)))) if @tschak909 gets a command line commands for his makefile he could incorporate this development easily into the official FJN firmware :] conf_ex4.xex conf_lz4.xex Edited March 22, 2021 by pirx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apc Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) 23 hours ago, pirx said: conf_ex4.xex 9.26 kB · 2 downloads conf_lz4.xex 11.18 kB · 2 downloads Attached LZ4 is winner in decompression speed, but the file is slightly larger. EX4 is smaller but slower to decompress (seems it does not work with BASIC ON). Now it's hunt for deci-seconds ? ATR with the above LZ4 packed Config: autorun-cloader-lz4.atr 23 hours ago, pirx said: it should be possible to glue the turbo routine and banner into a single file with compressed CONFIG.COM for an untimate pleasure and speed-up - one file looku-up less :)))) Agree, further optimization possible - banner is currently loaded as uncompressed bitmap, sector 361 is read twice (by PicoBoot, then by Loader), etc. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to spend much time with fine tuning... E.g. If bundled together, the result might not be able to run as standalone program from DOS anymore, PicoBoot routines called by Loader will not be present in memory. Solution would be to include those routines into Loader, increase it's size, compress it, etc. etc .. Looks like extra effort with some chance to save 1 sec. Will keep it on TODO list and glad to support if anyone can explore and progress in this area of improvements 23 hours ago, pirx said: if @tschak909 gets a command line commands for his makefile he could incorporate this development easily into the official FJN firmware :] @pirx Can you provide packer program command line parameters? @tschak909 for the config/autorun.atr build process, if some utility should be added (like packer), do you need Linux, WSL or native Windows binaries? Jan Edited March 23, 2021 by apc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 14 minutes ago, apc said: Attached LZ4 is winner in decompression speed, but the file is slightly larger. EX4 is smaller but slower to decompress (seems it does not work with BASIC ON). Now it's hunt for deci-seconds ? ATR with the above LZ4 packed Config: autorun-cloader-lz4.atr 90.02 kB · 0 downloads Agree, further optimization possible - banner is currently loaded as uncompressed bitmap, sector 361 is read twice (by PicoBoot, then by Loader), etc. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to spend much time with fine tuning... E.g. If bundled together, the result might not be able to run as standalone program from DOS anymore, PicoBoot routines called by Loader will not be present in memory. Solution would be to include those routines into Loader, increase it's size, compress it, etc. etc .. Looks like extra effort with some chance to save 1 sec. Will keep it on TODO list and glad to support if anyone can explore and progress in this area of improvements @pirx Can you provide packer program command line parameters? @tschak909 for the config/autorun.atr build process, if some utility should be added (like packer), do you need Linux, WSL or native Windows binaries? Jan source code. I do dev on WSL, but @mozzwald may use something different. -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozzwald Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 4 hours ago, apc said: if some utility should be added (like packer), do you need Linux, WSL or native Windows binaries? The release firmware from fujinet.online is built on Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apc Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Updated disk image with handcrafted Config Loader using LZ4 boot code aka "Frankenstein loader" ? autorun-lz4.atr Config load time: 3.5s with divisor 0 or 4.5s with divisor 8 Big thanks to @xxl ? for his LZ4 boot code! Jan NB: Need to find a way to automate the build process of this baby and think how to make it runnable (not only boot-loaded) under Frankenstein not-ready DOSes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxl Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 ? nice. 15 minutes ago, apc said: NB: Need to find a way to automate the build process of this baby and think how to make it runnable (not only boot-loaded) under Frankenstein not-ready DOSes LiteDOS 3.x reads LZ4 binary/executables so... it could be done ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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