PSYS on the Geneve

[+hloberg]

I have no idea how I managed to miss seeing this before but I came across a PSYS directory in some old Geneve stuff I have. From what I see it's the P-Card(p-system) from the TI99 for the Geneve? It looks to be when I run but I haven't any documentation on it. Anyone had docs on it or used or know about it?

 

psysgeneve2.zip

[+hloberg]

guess I should 'at'  @9640News since it's listed as myarc code. looking through it I found it marked as UC pascal and a date of 1991. so it looks like a port of the p-card stuff for the geneve. I wonder how you copy files to it since the p-system files are a FIAD.

[+9640News]

32 minutes ago, hloberg said:

guess I should 'at'  @9640News since it's listed as myarc code. looking through it I found it marked as UC pascal and a date of 1991. so it looks like a port of the p-card stuff for the geneve. I wonder how you copy files to it since the p-system files are a FIAD.

I wish I could give you an answer, but I am not a PSYSTEM user to know how it is used.  I should add that to this date, I have never seen anyone write a single program, even a "Hello World", with the system.

Beery

[+InsaneMultitasker]

@dhe might know.  If I recall correctly, I added the PSYS on/off command to modify MDOS ttyout behavior at his request long, long ago.

[+hloberg]

34 minutes ago, 9640News said:

I wish I could give you an answer, but I am not a PSYSTEM user to know how it is used.  I should add that to this date, I have never seen anyone write a single program, even a "Hello World", with the system.

Beery

well then, a challenge, "hello world" in a p-system on the Geneve. that is, if the documentation for the TI-99/4a P-system can be used with the Geneve p-system.

[globeron]

I also will try later on (to add to my  youtube TI99Videos channel of systems that can run/emulate UCSD-Pascal)

 

maybe this thread is helpful and there is a pcode tool for windows.

 

 

[globeron]

On 9/12/2021 at 2:08 AM, hloberg said:

I have no idea how I managed to miss seeing this before but I came across a PSYS directory in some old Geneve stuff I have. From what I see it's the P-Card(p-system) from the TI99 for the Geneve? It looks to be when I run but I haven't any documentation on it. Anyone had docs on it or used or know about it?

 

psysgeneve2.zip 499.08 kB · 16 downloads

 

with TI-image tool I can see the content of the dsk, but I cannot copy the files to a HD or DSK image.

and also Mame gives an error when I use the -floppy to link this .dsk.   Is there by any change you have it 

in another format ?

 

 

[+mizapf]

This is a 1.4 MiB disk image; the only chance to use it is the HFDC, setting to 1.4 MiB and 80 tracks. I strongly recommend not to use these "ultra-density" disks.

 

However, I was able to copy the contents into a HD image using TIImageTool (create new directory, mark all, copy, paste).

[globeron]

I can copy to a HD, but it looks like file size is different. I can run the batch, but then it returns to command prompt.  1x file is too big to copy to a floppy (i want to transfer the files via gotek flashdrive).  

[+mizapf]

File sizes may change due to the AU size. TIImageTool shows total allocation (#AU * AUSize).

[+hloberg]

After working several days with the PSYS on the Geneve I found it got some issues. For one, I can find no way to delete a character in the command line. If you type in a command wrong you have to retype again even though the manual says Ctrl+1 supposed to do that. I tried ever key and ever combination and all I get is gibberish. Two, copying files from disk to the hard drive, will sometimes corrupt the files. Three, I can't get the N)ew command to work. Four, it's slow. It seems to as slow, maybe slower than the TI99 version. Five, I found no way out except doing a hard reset. very inelegant. Six, If you come across a disk corrupted by #2, it can lock up MAME completely and cause it to shutdown.

otherwise, I kinda got to like it. It reminds me how the old main frames used to work  in it's command structure.

Edited September 27, 2021 by hloberg

[+hloberg]

So, it's no going on my Geneve .HD after all.

Edited September 27, 2021 by hloberg

[+mizapf]

24 minutes ago, hloberg said:

Six, If you come across a disk corrupted by #2, it can lock up MAME completely and cause it to shutdown.

If you can reproduce this, please send me a copy. Any crash of MAME itself is a bug that wants to be fixed.

[+hloberg]

Here yo go.

Attached is a PSYSNEW2.HD on the .HD do:

PSYS ON - start Psystem

PRUN PASCAL - Runs the PASCAL workfile

this PASCAL file was corrupted with copying. Locks up MAME.

PSYSNEW2.HD

[+mizapf]

Locks up MAME - or the emulated Geneve? My attempts so far led to crashes of the Geneve only. On the console I see undefined opcode warnings. (MAME 0.235)

[apersson850]

19 hours ago, hloberg said:

For one, I can find no way to delete a character in the command line. If you type in a command wrong you have to retype again even though the manual says Ctrl+1 supposed to do that. I tried ever key and ever combination and all I get is gibberish.

The system's SETUP program is used to change the content of the file SYSTEM.MISCINFO. It contains information of various system related resources, including key codes like the one mentioned here.

[+mizapf]

19 hours ago, mizapf said:

Locks up MAME - or the emulated Geneve? My attempts so far led to crashes of the Geneve only. On the console I see undefined opcode warnings. (MAME 0.235)

Well, does it crash the emulator or the emulation? If you can still open the OSD menu, the emulator is still up.

 

Also, just in case: If you need keystrokes like "Ctrl-1", make sure you do NOT use the "natural keyboard" but the "emulated keyboard". The natural keyboard in MAME translates keystrokes by character, and Ctrl combinations typically do not produce a character.

[+hloberg]

3 hours ago, mizapf said:

Well, does it crash the emulator or the emulation? If you can still open the OSD menu, the emulator is still up.

 

Also, just in case: If you need keystrokes like "Ctrl-1", make sure you do NOT use the "natural keyboard" but the "emulated keyboard". The natural keyboard in MAME translates keystrokes by character, and Ctrl combinations typically do not produce a character.

thanks for the info. I'll try that. I do admit some of the problems I ran into might be from lack of knowledge. I'm going to play with the TI99 psystem & might swing back to the Geneve later.

[globeron]

On 9/27/2021 at 11:31 PM, hloberg said:

Here yo go.

Attached is a PSYSNEW2.HD on the .HD do:

PSYS ON - start Psystem

PRUN PASCAL - Runs the PASCAL workfile

this PASCAL file was corrupted with copying. Locks up MAME.

PSYSNEW2.HD 1.63 MB · 5 downloads

 

Nothing happens when I use PRUN

 

[+mizapf]

If you run it with "-log" or "-oslog" you will see invalid opcode warnings.

[+hloberg]

43 minutes ago, globeron said:

 

Nothing happens when I use PRUN

 

that was also one of the problems. If the file got corrupt for any reason, and just about anything ended up corrupting the file, it would no longer boot. try using PSYS ON then PRUN PASMAIN file. I do believe that one wasn't corrupt last I messed with it. Also try PRUN PASMAIN PASC2 PASC3. that will make Device #5 = PASC2 and device #9 = PASC3.   also if you don't have a file after PASMAIN then .DSK2 becomes device #4 and DSK3 becomes device #9.  

If I wrote to the files, it get bad blocks. If I copied it get bad blocks. If I tried just copying the PASCAL file from a .DSK to the .HD the PASCAL file would become unreadable. I could never get the N)ew command to create new empty PASCAL files that were bootable (that may be my ignorance though).

In short, I could get the PSYS to boot, but I never could get it to do much useful.

Edited September 28, 2021 by hloberg

[globeron]

> FYI - if you are in PSYS, to get back to the command prompt type:  "CTRL-ALT-DEL"   

   (note that windows want to close, but just cancel and go to the MAME window)  

   and btw the same in GPL to go to a TI Titlescreen FCTN-0 (QUIT)

 

> I think somehow my system has not enough memory in the setup.

> (also for GPL loading)  what I need to do first is  e:\GPL    &TIM2

> then I start GPL  and start PSYS.

 

@echo off
?
cd \mame
mame.exe geneve -bios 1.00 -peb:slot5 speech -peb:slot6 tirs232 -peb:slot8 hfdc -peb:slot8:hfdc:h1 generic -hard1 disks\os7.hd -peb:slot8:hfdc:h2 generic -hard2 disks\PSYSNEW2.HD %*
pause

 

 

 

 

 

 

[globeron]

8 hours ago, hloberg said:

thanks for the info. I'll try that. I do admit some of the problems I ran into might be from lack of knowledge. I'm going to play with the TI99 psystem & might swing back to the Geneve later.

 

There is an expert with UCSD P-System here in the forum,  he wrote also a Windows program to manage programs, files for P-System.

(I cannot remember his name here and the link to his tools)

 

 

 

[+InsaneMultitasker]

Just an observation:  the autoexec batch file invokes TIMODE; with Geneve OS/MDOS 7.30, you can invoke TIMODE2 in place of TIMODE to use 64K less memory, meaning you will have 8 additional free pages.  Currently, the only program that requires TIMODE is MyWord.  40K free is pretty bare-bones

3 hours ago, globeron said:

 

 

[+Schmitzi]

4 hours ago, globeron said:

 

There is an expert with UCSD P-System here in the forum,  he wrote also a Windows program to manage programs, files for P-System.

(I cannot remember his name here and the link to his tools)

 

 

 

 

I think these are apperson850 and Vorticon ?

Have a look at this topic, you can find them there:

 

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/193355-pascal-on-the-994a/?do=findComment&comment=4626243