Missing RAW file for Plotter ROM

Programs for HP-41

Missing RAW file for Plotter ROM

Postby mike-stgt » Sun Feb 02, 2020 3:29 pm

Installation of V41 is very detailed regarding modules (MOD) and programs (RAW). Up to now I missed nothing.
Alas, trying today few virtual steps with Plotter ROM I wanted to run PWIDTH as mentioned on p. 110 of 82184-90001 Owner's Manual, Rev. B (1983). There is an annotated listing on p, 169, even a flow chart on p, 185, and 7 rows of barcode is on p. 203. But no such RAW comes with V41.

Is it possible that up to today nobody scanned the routines in Plotter Module's manual and published them (maybe as complemental ROM to save main memory) -- or did I just look for it in the wrong spot?

/M.
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Re: Missing RAW file for Plotter ROM

Postby rprosperi » Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:28 am

It appears that program is only 15 steps, so why not just type it in? (though I'm sure you must be looking for more than that).

But it is likely no one has done that, since 41 Plotter modules were relatively rare, and until quite recently, there was no way to do virtual plotting.

Where have you looked so far, it may help for folks to know which other places to look?
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Re: Missing RAW files for Plotter ROM

Postby mike-stgt » Mon Feb 03, 2020 5:33 am

rprosperi wrote:It appears that program is only 15 steps, so why not just type it in? (though I'm sure you must be looking for more than that).


The program PWIDTH is 38 steps (including the END). Even then it would be much faster to hit the keys than asking here for RAWs, sure. But if you look a bit closer there is a lot more that complements the Plotter module than this PWIDTH routine only. See the TOC on p. 160. Or p. 195 for the bar code.

I tried to make use of the bar code with a "virtual" barcode reader, alas with little luck so far. I am still struggling to get a BW image of the bar code that works. Until now additionally BAR only (by completing the last two rows manually).

But it is likely no one has done that, since 41 Plotter modules were relatively rare, and until quite recently, there was no way to do virtual plotting.


2014 is quite recently? :lol:
Here the slides with annotations, reduced in quality as attachments are limited in size:
oo7470A Presentation Notes.pdf
(694.17 KiB) Downloaded 752 times


Where have you looked so far, it may help for folks to know which other places to look?


So far I scanned only the RAWs which come with V41 installation. I had in mind that all programs from all soution books from A like Antennas to Z like Time are included, even those from ancient HP67. Alas not those from Plotter ROM. Hard cheese.

Edit: replaced attachment with the complete set of slides.
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Re: Missing RAW file for Plotter ROM

Postby rprosperi » Mon Feb 03, 2020 10:24 pm

Mike,

Indeed as I suspected it's all the programs you are after, and I agree for that much, it's well worth to ask around first.

As for the listing length, of course I now see that you are right, however that very strange side-by-side listing format threw me off. I've not seen that before, it's quite odd and misleading, and to the best of my recall, not used in other HP manuals. I wonder why they did that?

Also, I misspoke (mis-typed?) I should have said "But it is likely no one has done that, since 41 Plotter modules were relatively rare, and until quite recently, there was no way to do virtual plotting without ooREXX and Mike's determination" ;).

And what I really meant was that until pyILPer introduced the virtual plotter, I don't think this was widely done, at least not enough for someone to chase down the programs and convert/publish them. I did the same thing for the HP-75, and found the same as you did - the s/w was not popular (or widely-used) enough for anyone else to have created those test programs to post in any of the usual places (hp41.org, MoHPC, hpcalc.org, Jake's DVD, etc.)
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Re: Missing RAW file for Plotter ROM

Postby mike-stgt » Tue Feb 04, 2020 12:19 am

rprosperi wrote:[...]I don't think this was widely done, [...]

Frankly, I also did not touch my virtual pen plotter for quite some time, same for the two beta testers, I never ever heard something from them. So there is no need for it. No reproach to anybody.
I just came across it playing with VilMA, a Virtual IL Manager I did lately. But something was wrong with the plotter, my enhancements had been more advanced. Today I had a bad awakening: inadvertently I had forked the development.

Back to the subject -- I tried to use the barcode decoder from Martin Hepperle, alas both scans of the manual I found are not good enough. Some barcodes work fine, but then comes a row 12 of 30 and plays show-stopper.

On the other hand, I always regarded V41 as pretty complete in respect of modules and scanned solution books. So I am astonished that complement programs from manuals are missing. Should we start a "scan about" to fill this gap? To complete it for V41 is meanwhile HPILable. -- That's your task now, you are well-known and have the good name to make others follow. Goal: get the routines enclosed as bar code in manuals of modules to RAW or even better packed as added-value-module. Where are the crackers, freaks, experts of compiling user code to modules? Here is some chow to chew.

/M.

of course I will publish those from Plotter module ASAP (what could take some month)
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Re: Missing RAW files for Plotter ROM

Postby mike-stgt » Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:40 am

Took me a whole day to fiddle out how to bypass the glitches of Martin's "Software-Defined Wand".
Here the RAW files as scanned from the bar codes in Plotter ROM manual, appendix D.
Plotter Supplement.zip
(4.41 KiB) Downloaded 638 times

Now.. what is the fastest way to put those routines together in a MOD file?

/M.
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Re: Missing RAW files for Plotter ROM

Postby rprosperi » Thu Feb 06, 2020 3:11 am

mike-stgt wrote:Took me a whole day to fiddle out how to bypass the glitches of Martin's "Software-Defined Wand".
Here the RAW files as scanned from the bar codes in Plotter ROM manual, appendix D.
Plotter Supplement.zip

Now.. what is the fastest way to put those routines together in a MOD file?

/M.


Although there are several developers out that that create modules from time to time, the only person I've seen that responds to public calls to action like this is Angel Martin. He has said that doing this is fairly straightforward, but that's coming from an MCODE master's point of view... so maybe not impossible it closer to the truth.

I'd contact him to ask him for some technical references and maybe an example project he's done; a few years ago Gene, Sylvain and I pulled together a bunch of FOCAL routines for several 'theme modules' and Angel created the fairly quickly, so maybe he could provide one with some kind of recipe to follow?
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Re: Missing RAW files for Plotter ROM

Postby mike-stgt » Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:23 am

rprosperi wrote:[...] so maybe not impossible it closer to the truth.

I done it on my own. Based on some guesswork as I found no detailed and reliable documentation. Best so far is ZENROM manual but they focus on MCode, not on user code programs in ROM.

Edit: Preliminary publish withdrawn.
Why? Under V41 the routines may be executed in ROM, alas COPY to RAM fails. Needs some adaption of the global chain (which is not relevant for execution but indispensable for COPY).

/M.
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Re: Missing RAW files for Plotter ROM

Postby rprosperi » Tue Feb 11, 2020 3:32 am

mike-stgt wrote:I done it on my own. Based on some guesswork as I found no detailed and reliable documentation. Best so far is ZENROM manual but they focus on MCode, not on user code programs in ROM.

Edit: Preliminary publish withdrawn.
Why? Under V41 the routines may be executed in ROM, alas COPY to RAM fails. Needs some adaption of the global chain (which is not relevant for execution but indispensable for COPY).

/M.


Wow, not perfect but still impressive!

Look at the W&W RAMBox manuals (part of Warren's collection) as these could be used for creating custom FOCAL ROM images. I'm not sure if V41 can emulate a RAMBox, but the manuals have some explanatory info about ROM structures, etc.

Edit: UPDATE - Also see pp. 31-36 of the Jan 1983 PPC Conference Proceedings on Jake Schwartz' PPC Document Collection. If you don't have that (why not?) I can email you the document. These notes have specific details about ROM structures, including FOCAL code differences.
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Re: Missing RAW file for Plotter ROM

Postby mike-stgt » Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:18 am

You may observe a lot by watching. Decompiling PPC-ROM gives plenty examples to look at. In additon RTFM may help too. ZenRom manual p. 32, 2nd paragraph: "If the GTO is in a ROM (a plug-in module), then..."

I wanted all routines from Appendix D of the Plotter Module Owners' Manual in a (virtual) plug-in ROM to use with V41. Find attached the result, prepared with the help of Martin's Software-Defined Wand and a REXX routine I just finished (also attached). Scanning bar codes may be time consuming, converting the RAWs with my routine is a matter of a second or less.
Code: Select all
C:\prgm\rexx\MkROM>MkROM.rx "PLOT SUPL"
LBL "BAR"
END       100 Bytes
LBL "KWH"
END       275 Bytes
LBL "LABL"
END        90 Bytes
LBL "LDR"
END        61 Bytes
LBL "LINE"
END        68 Bytes
LBL "PLOTBC"
LBL "NXTROW"
LBL "LSTROW"
END       390 Bytes
LBL "PLPLOT"
LBL "PLPLOTP"
END        98 Bytes
LBL "PRBC"
END        60 Bytes
LBL "PWIDTH"
END        89 Bytes
LBL "RAIN"
END       220 Bytes
LBL "SET"
END        54 Bytes
LBL "TERM"
END        21 Bytes
LBL "TITLES"
END       233 Bytes
LBL "XBC"
LBL "XSBC"
LBL "ABC"
LBL "AABC"
LBL "PBC"
END       365 Bytes
Jump distance for GTO 05 is too far to be "compiled".
Jump distance for GTO 11 is too far to be "compiled".

Found 21 global alpha labels in 14 raw files.

1875 "words" of the 4k ROM remain unused.
First CAT1 entry will be: PLOT SUPL

I looked for the fastest way and probably I found it.
/M.
Attachments
MkROM.zip
Contains my routine, Appendix C of Plotter ROM as one MOD file, example output of my routine
(8.15 KiB) Downloaded 595 times
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