[Coco] Post to the list

Paul Fitch pfitchjr at bellsouth.net
Sat Jul 18 13:58:54 EDT 2009


I've seen his name in the Glenside CCC membership list, and he was active on
the Coco Supersite a year or more ago, but I haven't seen any posts from him
on this list.

Truth is, when I and Rodney worked toether, he was the brains of the outfit.
He was OLD SCHOOL, did his early programming by flipping switches and
graduated to punch cards.  I hope to hear from him one of these days. 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com 
> [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of Wayne Campbell
> Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 1:27 PM
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Post to the list
> 
> Paul!! Hello! I wasn't sure if I'd see you on this list or 
> not. I remember the fun we had working out the details of 
> Drpn. I never really liked the term "reverse polish 
> notation", but it seemed to fit well at the time. If I 
> remember correctly, the accurate term is PostFix Notation. In 
> the politically correct 21st century, I'd probably have been 
> required to name it DPFix or something like that. LOL
> 
> I know that Rodney Hamilton also helped on Drpn. Has anyone 
> heard from him? If so, perhaps my greetings may be conveyed to him.
> 
> 
> Wayne
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Paul Fitch <pfitchjr at bellsouth.net>
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 4:21:52 PM
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Post to the list
> 
> Hello Wayne, Long time no see.  I worked with you after you 
> initially released DCOM, trying to get better decompiles.  I 
> was living in Winter Springs, Fla at the time.  Like you, I 
> misplaced everything during the years getting my degree and a 
> real job.  I still remember what a bear the Reverse Polish 
> Notation of the i-code files was.  Hope you get Dcom all back 
> together. 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com
> > [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of Wayne Campbell
> > Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 10:23 PM
> > To: coco at maltedmedia.com
> > Subject: [Coco] Post to the list
> > 
> > Hi everyone. I am new to this list, and haven't been 
> directly involved 
> > with the Color Computer or OS-9 crowd in a long time. Over 
> 15 years. I 
> > have come back because I want to preserve a program that I wrote a 
> > long time ago. I'd like to tell you about the program, and 
> more recent 
> > events.
> > 
> > >From 1991-93 I developed a program, in Basic09 on a 512K
> > CoCo3 running OS-9 Level 2, designed to de-code Basic09 
> I-Code files. 
> > The object was to retrieve the source code if the user (me) lost a 
> > source code file and needed it back. I named it DCom. The 
> full title 
> > is "DCom - Basic09 I-Code De-Compiler". I marketed it 
> through Animajik 
> > Productions, owned by Alan Sheltra. At the 92 or 93 (not 
> sure which) 
> > CoCoFest in Atlanta, Georgia, Alan sold nine copies. Since 
> the cost of 
> > packaging and marketing was not covered by the sales, I conceded to 
> > allow Alan to keep it all. I never saw a penny.
> > 
> > I managed to hold onto the original source (in printed form), along 
> > with related materials, until about two years ago.
> > Recently, I realized how long it's been since I wrote the 
> program, and 
> > decided to see if someone ever put a copy online to preserve it. I 
> > found that the CoCo group is very worthy of praise, as not 
> one single 
> > copy was to be found. My copyright had been upheld by the 
> group. I was 
> > happy, and sad. I want to release it to the public domain 
> in order for 
> > it to be preserved.
> > 
> > Through contact with Alan, who I haven't seen in over 16 years, I 
> > found that he didn't have any of the materials left, but he 
> put me in 
> > touch with Dean Lieber, to whom he had given everything he 
> had years 
> > ago. I am esctatic! Dean had a copy!
> > I got the .os9 image file, installed Mess and NitrOS-9 and tried to 
> > read the disk. Bummer. Disk isn't being acknowledged. Upon 
> > investigation, I find that, somehow, a byte in the disk 
> header in LSN0 
> > was set to $07, when it was supposed to be $03. Finally reading the 
> > disk, and everything is there! Everything but the source 
> code, because 
> > that wasn't included in the distribution disk.
> > 
> > I have tried to see if the old 3-ring binder I lost still 
> exists, in 
> > the hope of preserving what may well prove be the most 
> important OS-9 
> > Level 1 and Level 2 code that still exists. Back when I was 
> developing 
> > it, Boisy Pitre send me a copy of the header to the 
> original Basic09 
> > source code! As far as he knew, it was the last 6809 version of 
> > Basic09. He couldn't send me the entire source. That header 
> info was 
> > invaluable. From what I understand, Microware had already destroyed 
> > everything related to Level 1 and Level 2 by then, because 
> they were 
> > already developing OS-9000, which didn't even include a Basic 
> > language. In addition, there were many pages of my notes. 
> And I even 
> > had a printout of the hexadecimal representations of the I-Code 
> > modules. That was in case I ever had to manually create the I-Code 
> > files.
> > 
> > Alot of good all that work did. Without the binder I only 
> have what I 
> > can remember, which hasn't proven to be much.
> > It's like I'm learning OS-9 for the first time. I'm looking 
> at version 
> > numbers and differences now. Which brings me to the point of this 
> > post.
> > 
> > I finally got everything done, meaning I had to set the executable 
> > attrs on the cmds directory and on every file in it. I also had to 
> > make copies of the I-Code modules to work on, because I had to get 
> > past the internal security that blocked self-decompile. It wasn't a 
> > difficult thing, but I had to change every single procedure 
> that makes 
> > up the program. That was my attempt to discourage it. I 
> also knew I'd 
> > probably forget it altogether if I made it too complex.
> > Anyway, I started the de-compile. It got all the way to 
> printing out 
> > the instruction statements when it stopped.
> > Examination of the source file being constructed showed it got hung 
> > before it was done writing the DIM, TYPE and PARAM 
> statements to the 
> > file. Checking the disk space available proved there was plenty of 
> > room on the disk.
> > 
> > I knew that the Basic09 in Level 2 had been upgraded from 
> the version 
> > for Level 1. I decided to see if I could tell what version was in 
> > NitrOS-9. The versions of Basic09 and RunB in
> > NitrOS-9 are listed below.
> > 
> > NitrOS9 version:
> > 
> > Basic09
> > 
> >             BASIC09
> >      6809 VERSION 01.01.00
> > COPYRIGHT 1980 BY MOTOROLA INC.
> >   AND MICROWARE SYSTEMS CORP.
> >    REPRODUCED UNDER LICENSE
> >        TO TANDY CORP.
> >     ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
> > 
> > RunB
> > 
> >             BASIC09
> >       RS VERSION 01.00.00
> > COPYRIGHT 1980 BY MOTOROLA INC.
> >   AND MICROWARE SYSTEMS CORP.
> >    REPRODUCED UNDER LICENSE
> >        TO TANDY CORP.
> >     ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
> > 
> > I found a copy of an archive that contains both OS-9 Level 
> 1 and Level 
> > 2. The Level 1 version didn't contain Basic09 or RunB, but 
> the Level 2 
> > version did. The versions are listed below.
> > 
> > cocoos9 version:
> > 
> > Basic09
> > 
> >             BASIC09
> >       RS VERSION 01.00.01
> > COPYRIGHT 1980 BY MOTOROLA INC.
> >   AND MICROWARE SYSTEMS CORP.
> >    REPRODUCED UNDER LICENSE
> >        TO TANDY CORP.
> >     ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
> > 
> > RunB
> > 
> >             BASIC09
> >       RS VERSION 01.00.01
> > COPYRIGHT 1980 BY MOTOROLA INC.
> >   AND MICROWARE SYSTEMS CORP.
> >    REPRODUCED UNDER LICENSE
> >        TO TANDY CORP.
> >     ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
> > 
> > I could swear I remember Level 2 Basic09 displaying the 
> version number 
> > 1.2. How many versions are there? From what I can deduce, 
> the versions 
> > may be as follows:
> > 
> > Dragon L1:
> > 
> > 1.00.00
> > 
> > CoCo L1:
> > 
> > 1.00.01 or 1.01.00
> > 
> > CoCo L2:
> > 
> > 1.01.00 or 1.02.00
> > 
> > Does anyone on this list have the original OS-9 Level 1 version of 
> > Basic09 and RunB, and/or the original Level 2? I feel it 
> may be that I 
> > am running an older version of Basic09 than I used when I wrote the 
> > program. I need to figure this out, or I'm stuck trying to 
> decode the 
> > I-Code manually. I already started doing that. Using the smallest 
> > procedure in the program, named DCIA, I was able to 
> remember something 
> > of the structure of I-Code, but attempts with the primary 
> procedure, 
> > DCom, prove I don't remember enough to make that 
> difference. It will 
> > take a long time manually. But, I did get DCIA decompiled. The only 
> > thing I'm not sure of about it is if I'm using TRUE and 
> FALSE in the 
> > correct order. In case you haven't guessed it, DCIA is the 
> procedure 
> > that seeks to prevent self-decompile.
> > 
> > Here's the listing, for those interested. The variable 
> names are new. 
> > I can't remember what names I used originally. The 
> condition tests in 
> > comments are versions I think I used, but without compiling 
> it I can't 
> > tell.
> > 
> > PROCEDURE DCIA
> > 
> > DIM verify(6):BOOLEAN
> > DIM copyRight:STRING[1]
> > DIM id:BYTE
> > DIM index:INTEGER
> > 
> > PARAM idents(6):BYTE, verified:BOOLEAN
> > 
> > copyRight := "@8y at aa"
> > copyRight := " DCom  - Basic09 I-Code De-Compiler: Copyright
> > (c) 1991,1992,1993 by Wayne Campbell  All Rights Reserved "
> > 
> > FOR index := 1 TO 6
> >     READ id
> >     IF id = idents(index) THEN
> >         verify(index) := TRUE
> >     ELSE
> >         verify(index) := FALSE
> >     ENDIF
> > NEXT index
> > 
> > FOR index := 1 TO 6
> >     IF verify(index) = FALSE THEN (* IF NOT(verify(index)) THEN *)
> >         verified := FALSE
> >     ENDIF
> > NEXT index
> > 
> > IF verified = FALSE THEN (* IF NOT(verified) THEN *)
> >     PRINT
> >     PRINT " ==>  WARNING!!  <=="
> >     PRINT " Attempt to De-Compile DCom Related or DCom Protected 
> > Module!"
> >     PRINT " De-Compile ABORTED!!"
> > ENDIF
> > 
> > END
> > 
> > DATA $40, $38, $79, $40, $61, $61
> > 
> > 
> >      
> > 
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> > 
> 
> 
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> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> 
> 
> 
>       
> 
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> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> 




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