[Coco] Emulator - back to the thread's original question

[Wayne Campbell]

I have been using MESS since I started running an emulator. I tried Vcc, but it wouldn't run on my laptop. It didn't have a "Windows" version that I could see. MESS has both a Windows version (messui.exe) and a 16-bit (I think, mess.exe) version. The 16-bit version won't run on my laptop either. I don't know what all of the differences are, since I'm not that familiar with C or C++. All I know is MESS works. The only real problems I have with it are:

1. My laptop gets very hot when I am running MESS.
2. I don't like having to press the Windows key to get back to the desktop. I would much rather be able to have my mouse function always available just like in every other app I run. BTW, I am running MESS in a window. I like having the TextPad window visible when I'm testing Basic09 code.
3. All of my other apps run jerkily while MESS is running. As an example, when I am in TextPad, and I want to move the cursor right 8 characters, I press the right arrow key eight times. Normally, the cursor whizzes over to the spot I want (or past it if I get happy with the arrow key). Running MESS, I have to stop pressing the arrow key to see where the cursor will end up when it catches up.

Just my thoughts. Overall I am happy with MESS. In the Windows version, the highliter for the computer to emulate stays on the CoCo3, since I don't emulate anything else. Makes it much easier to start emulating when all I have to do is double click the highlited entry.

Wayne



________________________________
From: Mark McDougall <msmcdoug at iinet.net.au>
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Sun, November 1, 2009 4:12:59 AM
Subject: Re: [Coco] Emulator - back to the thread's original question

Fedor Steeman wrote:

> besides that, it is not object-oriented. That is why I am hinting at
> BlitzMax which is powerful, easy and object-oriented. 

What is the big attraction to object-oriented? Like any other methodology, it has its place and is more suited to some problems than others. In fact, I'd even venture to declare that OO is _not_ suitable, or at the very least not much of an advantage, to a single-platform (eg Coco) emulator design.

Those that sprout the view that OO is the be-all-and-end-all to programming solutions have, IMHO, limited experience in real world problems (as in, limited _range_ of experience, not necessarily limited (time) programming experience) and/or limited understanding of when and how to best incorporate OO design principles. Yes, you can solve any problem with OO languages if you really desire, but it's not always the best solution. And I've seen some really _bad_ and really _pointless_ "OO programs" in the real world.

And I don't mean to insinuate that you yourself fall into the above category.

If the objective is fun and self challenge - by all means knock yourself out! You can't have too many Coco emulators after all! ;)

That aside, I do actually agree with your "fuzz" comment. I'm a very occasional Coco emulator user and I do find myself having to relearn how to use MESS each time I need to crank up an emulator. However, at the end of the day, MESS still suits my own purposes (primarily development) and it is my emulator of choice.

Regards,

-- |              Mark McDougall                | "Electrical Engineers do it
|  <http://members.iinet.net.au/~msmcdoug>   |   with less resistance!"

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