How to create a standalone prg executable of my code?

[sanmes]

I would like to know how to create a standalone program from the words I have created and execute the word MAIN once loaded.

I have tried to follow the instructions in the manual but I failed miserably, I find the info a bit hard to understand, I am new to forth.

I have also looked at #382 10 print turnkey demo and I think that this is what I need in my code but I don't know how to adapt it to my needs:

include turnkey
' 10print start !
9 device
save-prg 10print
8 device

I tried to add this to my code changing 10print to main but it didn't work...

include turnkey
' main start !
save-prg main

I get the error 62, file not found

Thanks

[sanmes]

I have found why I was getting the error

I was using the durex forth cartridge and I needed the disk to include turnkey !

and I have an executable now working.

[Whammo]

Good job. How is your experience with durexForth?

[sanmes]

I haven't coded much yet but it is very interesting indeed. I am wondering how fast it can be. I heard that forth can be sometimes close to asm in speed. I have coded some words to make the core of a game, so I am printing chars and tiles to the screen in pure forth at the moment just to check how fast it can go. I am moving two tiles of 2x2 chars across the screen, deleting them before each move and it is taking more than a frame to execute so perhaps I will have to add assembler to bits that need the extra speed. And I am sure my code is not that good yet so it can be improved I have no doubt.

For the C64 I usually code in assembler but I have also used in the past C + assembler and recently I have started to play with TRSE (Turbo Rascal Syntax Error) Pascal along routines in assembler and then I heard about Forth's small size and speed so I have start to code using Durex Forth.

BTW is there any way to change the address where code goes in memory? There is so much to learn. For instance I need to read more about 'here' and 'latest' as I didn't understand very well when I first came across the text mentioning them.

[Whammo]

Storing screen codes to screen memory rather than printing could be the fastest way to deal with that.

here Is essentially the byte after the last byte of compiled code, the first byte of free contiguous memory.
' here is approximately where it is stored
latest Is the address of the last dictionary entry. So latest minus the length of the last dictionary entry, minus here, is the amount of free contiguous memory.
I have considered temporarily changing here to compile ASM code to say $c000 and then saving it to make it useable elsewhere, but I have not yet spent the time to see if there are complications.

[Whammo]

Yes, $c000 to here seems to have no problem. here is a system value

[sanmes]

thanks for that!

To print the char on the screen I use this word

: pintachar ( char x y -- )
40 * + $0400 + c! ;

[Whammo]

If it were possible, do the math first, then do the store in the frame...?

[sanmes]

Good morning,
I have created this new painttile word, (the previous version used variables and called 4 times the word paintchar,) it paints directly to the screen a 2x2 chars tile, no attributes, how can I improve it further, ie make it faster? without using assembler, thanks :

tscreen is a table of 16bit pointers to each row/line of the screen.
ttiles is a table with the tile info each tile is 4 bytes/chars

: painttile ( tile x y -- )
2* tscreen + @ + ( tile pscreen )
4 * ttiles + ( pscreen ptile )
2dup c@ swap c!  \ paint tile char 1 
2dup 1+ c@ swap 1+ c! \ paint tile char 2 
2dup 2+ c@ swap 40 + c! \ paint tile char 3 
3 + c@ swap 41 + c!  \ paint tile char 4 
;

[sanmes]

Perhaps I should try to use the return stack too?!... hm

[sanmes]

I was told by Master Mystic of the lemon64 forum to use @ and ! instead of c@ c! to fetch the chars and poke them into the screen area. It is faster now.

: painttile ( tile x y -- )
2* tscreen + @ + ( tile pscreen )
swap (pscreen t )
4 * ttiles + ( pscreen ptile )
2dup @ swap !  \ paint tile char 1 and char2
2+ @ swap 40 + ! \ paint tile char 3 and char4
;

Are there any other possible improvements ?

[jkotlinski]

Hi and welcome!

I would guess 2* 2* is faster than 4 *. Otherwise, nothing obvious stands out.

Sadly, I suspect durexForth will not out-perform C or Pascal compilers, by size or speed. But maybe by fun?! ;-)

[Whammo]

If you do the paint first, having the stack already set up for it- literally two stores, then set up the stack for the next call to paint:
if you're not just painting in a loop, it'll be faster.

[Whammo]

If you factor your code, you can eliminate swaps.
Pass the data in the order it is used.

[Whammo]

Untested.

: painttile ( tile x y -- )
2* tscreen + @ + >r
2* 2* ttiles + dup @ r@ !  \ oops fixed
2+ @ r> 40 + ! ;

[Whammo]

Three stack parameters are naturally problematic. One or two is what we shoot for.

[sanmes]

that's great thank you so much for that, I tried to use the return stack but I forgot completely about r@ so I was only using >r and r> and couldn't find a way for it to work. :)

[sanmes]

Thank you @jkotlinski , indeed I had the hope forth would be the fastest option, but on the other hand I am glad I have come to know a little about it as it is very interesting and very different from other languages I have used or use.

@Whammo What I understand is, I need to have all the calculations done, say the pointers and then just call the words to paint whatever is needed . This is what I do when not using double buffer in other languages, calculate everything that there is to calculate regading screen manipulation and then when the raster line reaches the low border I can paint everything to avoid flicker (when not using double buffer of course).

[Whammo]

I use forth to modify assembly code. Use one fast ASM routine, modify it's addresses and data with forth, then call it.

[sanmes]

Is the code produced by 2* the same as 1 lshift ? If so could we use 2 lshift instead of 2* 2* ?

[jkotlinski]

The result of ”2 lshift” and ”2* 2*” is the same. ”2* 2*” should be faster, as it avoids putting a temporary 2 on the stack.

…

On Sat, 12 Nov 2022 at 12:45, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: Is the code produced by 2* the same as 1 lshift ? If so could we use 2 lshift instead of 2* 2* ? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O4CJ7Y5DBOEMTMHTYDWH57MJANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

So this is the raster time taken to delete and paint two tiles, white and cyan. The red portion is the free raste time in a frame.

[sanmes]

I need to add sprite data and a charset to specific ram locations how is this done in Durex Forth? thx

I mean so that I have the data in one file without using loadb when the game runs. And how to prevent the game code to overwrite those areas?

[sanmes]

Can you show me please a small example of using here in this context? I tried to change here to another address but didn't see any difference.

[sanmes]

As this will be just a small project I think I will use $e000 for the screen and the same bank for the chars and sprites. I will have just to copy over the char data and sprite data from where the data is stored by forth to those addresses. This is not optimal but for a small project will be enough and then I won-t have any problems with the dictionary overwriting data somewhere.

[sanmes]

I have started to code the game. I have the screen at $e000 and the charset at $e800 and the sprites from $eb00 onwards.
At the moment I have the code to print tiles on screen, read the level data from the buffer and paint the level on screen using the painttile word. I am also displaying a sprite. Not much yet but I am quite happy with the result. Check the video:
https://youtu.be/0sO1_cNU6No

[Whammo]

[sanmes]

Oh I see, here is a value I was using ! when trying to change it. Thank you @Whammo!

[sanmes]

Here you can see what I have done up to now in my game written in Durex Forth: https://youtu.be/MVJj0l9JW5c

I have added the vertical movement and animation to baddies.

[jkotlinski]

Wow! That looks amazing! Great job!

…

On Thu, 17 Nov 2022 at 22:50, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: Here you can see what I have done up to now in my game written in Durex Forth: https://youtu.be/MVJj0l9JW5c I have added the vertical movement and animation to baddies. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O3PXEZPPYQY7COEUILWI2SD3ANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

thanks I am focusing on the coding part, I will add more colour later

[sanmes]

I have added colour to the tiles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHorOC0ZlxU

One question, I am checking if a value is 1, 2 or 4. what I am doing is:

  dup dup
  0 > swap 3 < and swap 4 = or
  if
...

Is there a better way of doing it? If I use 'case' will it be faster ? thx

[Whammo]

7 and if
case
1 of ." one" endof
2 of ." two" endof
4 of ." four" endof
endcase
      then

[jkotlinski]

The standard way: : 124? case 1 of -1 endof 2 of -1 endof 4 of -1 endof 0 swap endcase ; Not sure its strictly better or just different…

…

On Mon, 21 Nov 2022 at 11:56, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: I have added colour to the tiles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHorOC0ZlxU One question, I am checking if a value is 1, 2 or 4. what I am doing is: dup dup 0 > swap 3 < and swap 4 = or if ... Is there a better way of doing it? thx — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O7JNBGMHQFZ2B7PFJDWJNIPXANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[jkotlinski]

How big is the file now, in kilobytes?

…

On Wed, 30 Nov 2022 at 20:45, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: I am using Visual Studio Code on the pc and pasting on vice, so I won't have problems if I continue to do it like this? I hope so :) — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34OZGAQY2UNSCOOKTYHTWK6VF5ANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

11.0 KB (11,304 bytes)

[jkotlinski]

If you are using a PC for text editing, perhaps this technique can be useful for you? It is a way to configure durexforth to load and evaluate a given source file automatically at start up: https://jkotlinski.github.io/durexforth/#_custom_start_up Then, you would copy the source file to the .d64 image using a program such as c1541.

…

On Thu, 1 Dec 2022 at 09:56, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: 11.0 KB (11,304 bytes) — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34OY5S7XUCALVFSQTXFLWLBR4VANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

thanks that's very useful

[sanmes]

Update

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVgsS6nDCFM

Now it will be the hardest part for me: design levels.

[sanmes]

update : https://youtu.be/_wzHEYgT--4
I am creating levels but I had some time to include the acid tiles animation and also to centre the play area and change the scoreboard.

[sanmes]

Which zero page addresses are free to use? I need to add a music player to the game but it needs some zp addresses to work. Thanks

[jkotlinski]

https://jkotlinski.github.io/durexforth/#_memory_map

…

On Fri, 9 Dec 2022 at 11:20, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: Which zero page addresses are free to use? I need to add a music player to the game but it needs some zp addresses to work. Thanks — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O26G4OCWUB6OJFGZPLWMMBYHANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

thanks!

[sanmes]

Just to confirm, as I am not using the editor can I use the memory from $a000 to $cfff for data/machine code?

[jkotlinski]

Yes, that is correct :-)

…

On Fri, 9 Dec 2022 at 11:58, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: Just to confirm, as I am not using the editor can I use the memory from $a000 to $cfff for data/machine code? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O5Q256NLLCFTXOKFFDWMMGEDANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

I presume that it is not possible to bank out the kernal area $e000 - $ffff?! so I will have to use the irq vectores at $314, $315 instead..

[jkotlinski]

It is possible to temporarily swap out the kernal. Look at kernal-in, kernal-out in gfx.fs

…

On Fri, 9 Dec 2022 at 13:36, S Mestre ***@***.***> wrote: I presume that it is not possible to bank out the kernal area $e000 - $ffff?! so I will have to use the irq vectores at $314, $315 instead.. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O5MXREOZYIJ6GO6D4DWMMRWPANCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[sanmes]

I have a problem with turn-key again

The game is working fine when running from the interpreter, but when I do:
' run start !
save-prg game

the file game.prg loads fine and the game loads the files it needs but then it hangs.

I tried to use save-pack instead but I get the same result.

I am using interrupts and also loading stuff to $a000, $e800,$f000:
s" mplayer" $a000 loadb drop
s" chars" $e800 loadb drop
s" tiles" tiles loadb drop
s" sprites" $f000 loadb drop

Any clue to what might be happening here? Thanks

[Whammo]

Compile everything before overwriting the dictionary?

[sanmes]

Yes, I paste all the code in the interpreter, I think this way all is compiled no?!

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On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 9:21 PM Whammo ***@***.***> wrote: Compile everything before overwriting the dictionary? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AI4D5DAYJ5MZYFBYT6RA4OLYAV535AVCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43SRDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHM3TGNJSHA4TK> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Whammo]

If you wish to test your program after saving, you can compile a call to save-prg instead:

: build save-prg mydemo start @ execute ;
build
This will simulate the start-up sequence after saving the packed program.

[sanmes]

it worked fine when using:

: build save-prg run start @ execute ;
build

run is the word to launch the game

So what can be causing the problem when using to save the program file?:

' run start !
save-prg zezito

thanks

[Whammo]

I believe turnkey is included by default.

[sanmes]

I have found the problem!

I was using

' irq

inside a word, instead of

['] irq

[sanmes]

so this was what you @Whammo meant by your statement : Compile everything before overwriting the dictionary

I am just a noob and somethings just go over my head still

[jkotlinski]

Nice find! tis 24 okt. 2023 kl. 22:55 skrev S Mestre ***@***.***>:

…

I have found the problem! I was using ' irq inside a word, instead of ['] irq — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#491 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAY34O42J7NXH3TO2OBP3GLYBATMTAVCNFSM6AAAAAAR4ZU3XKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43SRDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHM3TGNZUGUYTS> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>