Question regarding Paperclip III module subsystem
Steve Douglas
I wrote Paperclip, and Paperclip III had the beginnings of a full module
subsystem if a REU was in place. At startup each module would be loaded in
turn and then shunted into the REU for later retrieval. When each module was
loaded it was actually called and each module would initialize itself
including requesting memory, etc. The base module in the actual program is
the "Output" function to do printing, etc. It is very self-contained as a
functional unit. The major additional module shipped with the product is the
spelling checker. If anybody has actually used it in "autocorrect" mode, it
works this way:
At the time it is initially loaded, it initializes itself, "registers"
itself and registers all punctuation keys and the space bar as hot-keys
Whenever a hot-key is pressed the spelling checker is is swapped into
the main memory space and handed the keystroke to handle. Paperclip keeps
track of which module is currently in active memory.
Once it has handled the autocorrect aspect it releases control back to
the main Paperclip code.
The system was designed as a hierarchy of modules. If there was more than
one module would could handle a keystroke, each would be called in turn. I
had not evolved the system to the point of a message queue and there were
some other clunky details. I had fleshed out the specs for a plug-in
spreadsheet module.
To cut a long story short, is anybody interested in the specs for building
one of these modules? There is only one other in existence beyond the Output
and Spell-Checker functions. It is a game which I originally wrote for the
Pet and converted to show how this could be done (the game didn't have to
interact with the Paperclip code or data in any way). I'll be sifting
through my packed up boxes over the next few months and I'm sure I'll come
across this stuff. I just don't know what to do with it. It's been over a
decade since I even looked at it. (This stuff was all written in 1987/1988.)
Steve
P.S. When I find the game code I will make at least the binary available.
J. Robertson
<steven....@sympatico.nospamca> wrote:
>Hi:
Hi, Steve,
>I wrote Paperclip, and Paperclip III had the beginnings of a full module
Yes, and excellent programs! Still have them :-)
>The system was designed as a hierarchy of modules. If there was more than
>one module would could handle a keystroke, each would be called in turn. I
>had not evolved the system to the point of a message queue and there were
>some other clunky details. I had fleshed out the specs for a plug-in
>spreadsheet module.
Almost sounds like you turned a word processor/telcom prog into an
operating system ;-)
>To cut a long story short, is anybody interested in the specs for building
>one of these modules? There is only one other in existence beyond the Output
Sure, sounds interesting.
>P.S. When I find the game code I will make at least the binary available.
Looking forward to it.
Jason
--
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E-mail #2: jk...@juno.com
(Use E-mail #1 for a quicker response.)
Web site : http://www.westol.com/~jkr/
--
White Flame (aka David Holz)
news:0atlmusnninoodg39...@4ax.com...
> Almost sounds like you turned a word processor/telcom prog into an
> operating system ;-)
No, that would be emacs. :)
--
White Flame (aka David Holz)
http://www.white-flame.com/
(spamblock in effect)
Roman Kowalczuk
SD> least the binary available.
I bet the "search process" is in itself the beginnings
of an article for TPUG newsletter! <grin>
What are you storing your stuff on, may I ask?
I still have one (count 'em, slowly) 8250, all disks,
and one 1541... don't like using the 8250 due to the
random bug which blows a resistor on the main board in
the lid... Commodore's service dept. here is toast <g>...
I had a bit of a scare recently re: the "fungus
that eats CD-R" story. Some CompuServe users in WUGNET's
PC Hardware Forum (http://www.wugnet.com) wrote of
failing *floppies* along with the usual "flaking audio
tape", flaking VHS, bad CDs etc. field reports.
Roman, Toronto
J. Robertson
<whitef...@y.a.h.o.o.com> wrote:
Hi, Whiteflame,
>"J. Robertson" <jk...@juno.com> wrote in message
>news:0atlmusnninoodg39...@4ax.com...
>> Almost sounds like you turned a word processor/telcom prog into an
>> operating system ;-)
>
>No, that would be emacs. :)
But wouldn't emacs be an operating system disguised as an editor?
;-)
Alan Jones
<steven....@sympatico.nospamca> wrote:
>Hi:
>
>I wrote Paperclip, and Paperclip III had the beginnings of a full module
>subsystem if a REU was in place. At startup each module would be loaded in
>turn and then shunted into the REU for later retrieval. When each module was
>loaded it was actually called and each module would initialize itself
>including requesting memory, etc. The base module in the actual program is
>the "Output" function to do printing, etc. It is very self-contained as a
>functional unit. The major additional module shipped with the product is the
>spelling checker. If anybody has actually used it in "autocorrect" mode, it
>works this way:
I purchased and used both of those.
>To cut a long story short, is anybody interested in the specs for building
>one of these modules?
Maybe, but I think I'd just archive it rather than use it.
>There is only one other in existence beyond the Output
>and Spell-Checker functions. It is a game which I originally wrote for the
>Pet and converted to show how this could be done (the game didn't have to
>interact with the Paperclip code or data in any way). I'll be sifting
>through my packed up boxes over the next few months and I'm sure I'll come
>across this stuff. I just don't know what to do with it. It's been over a
>decade since I even looked at it. (This stuff was all written in 1987/1988.)
>
>Steve
>
>P.S. When I find the game code I will make at least the binary available.
I never used Paperclip III for telecommunicatios. I had better
termional programs for that. I sometimes play Freecell on my PC
while downloading over cable. It would be interesting have a similar
capablity for the C128. Of course I currently have no BBS to connect
to. I've actually be thinking of taking my CBM system of the prime
real estate of my desktop.
Alan Jones
Steve Douglas
J. Robertson wrote in message
<0atlmusnninoodg39...@4ax.com>...
>
>Yes, and excellent programs! Still have them :-)
Thanks.
>Almost sounds like you turned a word processor/telcom prog into an
>operating system ;-)
Not quite. It was intended as a somewhat monolithic host environment, mainly
for productivity apps. But the memory-management stuff was more OS-like.
Steve
Steve Douglas
Off the top of my head I have (functional):
1 4040
1 8250
1 8050
1 1571
1 1541
1 9" 32K Pet with custom character set hardware (Ram)
1 SuperPet
1 8096 (I think)
1 "Hyper" Pet (40K, 4mhz Rockwell processor)
1 C128-D
1 C128
Numerous C64's
Dead, I have:
Another 4040 (my original)
1 MSD-2
1 8250 (drive-speed/alignment issues)
1 (very dead) C128
8 gazillion C64 "brick" power supplies
I also have two mostly-functional 1581's, but both are in need of a Rom
upgrade to cure their troubles. Both are ok up to a point but then will
randomly "crash" and destroy the BAM. I expect that from the prototype unit
but the production one....
I also have a 9060 where the light comes on but I haven't tried to read from
it yet (need to get it near a Pet).
I have no idea how many of my older disks are still readable. So this should
be interesting....
Steve
Roman Kowalczuk wrote in message ...
Steve Douglas
Alan Jones wrote in message ...
>I never used Paperclip III for telecommunicatios. I had better
>termional programs for that. I sometimes play Freecell on my PC
>while downloading over cable. It would be interesting have a similar
>capablity for the C128. Of course I currently have no BBS to connect
>to. I've actually be thinking of taking my CBM system of the prime
>real estate of my desktop.
>
Unfortunately the system was never really set up for multi-tasking although
I had started some work on allowing timed triggers to the different modules.
As for the telecom module, my biggest left-over from that was the fact that
the "capture buffer" (Paperclip text space) was really inefficient based on
some intrinsic inefficiency of the internal text layout. There was *always*
wasted space on every line which terminated in a CR (CRLF) and for Word
Processor stuff that was generally ok. But for a lot of pre-formatted BBS
screens, it just ate space at a tremendous rate. There were of course lots
of other less severe issues.
The original (simpler) telecom module was part of the code for the SuperPet
version of Paperclip.
Steve
ap...@chebucto.ns.ca.nospam
> Re: Question regarding Paperclip III module subsystem
>
> From: Alan Jones <ala...@nospam.mchsi.com>
>I never used Paperclip III for telecommunicatios. I had better
>termional programs for that. I sometimes play Freecell on my PC
>while downloading over cable. It would be interesting have a similar
>capablity for the C128. Of course I currently have no BBS to connect
>to. I've actually be thinking of taking my CBM system of the prime
>real estate of my desktop.
>
Notquite the same thing, but with my Novaterm 9.6 buffer, I can start
printing & then return to doing something else while printing
continues -actually my interface's buffer, is holding the extra text I
think.
I have read that it is possible to run 2 copies of Lynx at once, but
I'm sure how.
John Elliott
Roman Kowalczuk
to dual drive users to know of any read failures
or other adventures which you encounter in your
ramblings through your old drives.
At least you don't have to worry about malignant
code... I got my first DOS virus around 1990, and
since then I keep a spare box handy just to run
F-Prot on any of my old IBM disks that I happen
to pull out.
Gaaak... about 6-7 years ago I went over to a
former TPUG staffer's... this person had rented
a large warehouse-airplane hangar type of space...
I used some of the room to stretch out my floppies
on the floor, in an attempt to sort them year by
year... and never finished the job. To my astonishment
just now I opened a file box and it was filled
with old floppies and the paper "year" and other comment
flags I had made up with felt pen... it would appear
that after the sorting attempt I *completely* forgot
about the existence of the diskettes!!! Hahaha, weep
weep weep.
Roman
P.S. Here is a humourous clip of me playing up the
former TPUG lady's kitchen cabinets. Very sensitive
topic as you probably know <g>. About 944k -
http://webhome.idirect.com/~stelex/video/kitchen.mpg