[Coco] NitrOS-9 L3 Code and Disk Images

[Gene Heskett]

On Monday 27 October 2014 20:52:27 Kip Koon did opine
And Gene did reply:
> Hi Guys!
> Sorry for being offline.  I've been a bit under the weather.  Here is a
> link to the OS-9 L3 disk image I downloaded from Alan Dekok's web
> site. https://www.dropbox.com/s/izktotl4934qut9/OS9L3.os9?dl=0
> Could you tell me what else would be needed to run this or to update
> the NitrOS-9 Repo?
> 
> Kip Koon
> computerdoc at sc.rr.com
> http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Kip_Koon
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Coco [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of Bill
> Pierce via Coco
> Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2014 5:01 PM
> To: coco at maltedmedia.com
> Subject: Re: [Coco] NitrOS-9 L3 Code and Disk Images
> 
> 
> 
> Tormod, I sent you a private email concerning Nitros9 level 3
> yesterday. I think it got screwed in the process so I'll send it
> again.
> And yes, there was a working Level 3 at one point, but Alan took it
> with him when he left us. Unless Kip had a copy from Alan's old
> website, I don't see how he could've run it. It was only available for
> Nitros9 L2 v1.2.2. The level 3 that Alan was working on was based on
> code from Nitros9 L2 v1.22 (yes, that old), which was still being sold
> by Northern Exposure at the time. They at one point announced they
> "may" provide the Level 3 upgrade if enough people showed interest. I
> don't think they ever actually released it. Alan did have it available
> on his website later.
> 
> 
> The Level 3 code in the repo is missing 4 important files and WILL NOT
> run without them.
> These files are "IOMan.L3", "OS9P1.L3" (now named Krn), "OS9p2.L3" (now
> named KrnP2), and "Clock.L3" (now split into 2 modules).
> These files have gone through many changes since Nitros9 l2 v1.22 and
> the original L3 files will have to be disassembled and the newer
> modules reworked to do what these modules intended for L3.
> Again... Level 3 WILL NOT WORK without these modules, and I'm NOT
> referring to the current build of these modules as Alan did special
> versions of each one. They were not the same modules as in Nitros9 l2
> v1.2.2.

Kip, please trim your replies. This bit of disinformation in the above 
paragraph has now been echoed back and forth at least 3 or 4 times, and I 
have already  refuted it at least once.

So for the benefit of those who are filing this disinformation away for 
future reference, I have checked each and every one of the above files, 
but in the src code it is plain that if you pass a level=3 to the 
assembler, it will build the level3 version on the binary.

We have two remaining problems, one being that the heart of the level3 
bootup, nitro, has several 6309isms in it.  I have added conditionals so 
that those bits of the code are only built if H6309 is true. What remains 
is for me to go thru it and invent a 6809 set of instructions that will 
give exactly the same result on a stock coco3 with a 6809 cpu in it.  Then 
and only then can the regular coco3 run level 3.

The second problem is as yet, I have not managed to cobble up an 
L3bootlist.bl that will actually boot.  Its tantalizingly close but no 
biscuit yet.  I have one last suspicion, because I do NOT see my mouse 
driver signing on in the i2xoxxxx string, so I am going to save my 
currently working .sb and try it in a bootfile.  But that has been on the 
back burner since I found that the nitro file itself is the showstopper 
for a stock coco3.  There is a possibility that the final result might not 
work on a 128k machine because this ties up an additional 32k of non-
system (from the same memory pool myram uses).  That is 4 of the mmu 8k 
memory pages.  It does remain to be seen. A half meg machine should be 
home free.

But not tonight, and possibly not tomorrow as I am coming down with a sore 
throat that is getting worse by the hour, so I am going to spend some 
extended time in the rack, spraying my throat with cepacol and colloidal 
silver alternately.

So I don't really feel all that well. But I am working on it, and Tormod 
or I will advise you when we are in need of lab rats to test it.  Ok?

In the meantime, please stop propagating the above miss-information about 
those 4 files, its simply not true, and its based on 15yo+ code.  The 
6809ism of the nitro file, and a currently dis-organized bootfile are the 
two remaining problems.  On a 6309 equipt coco3, the bootfile fed to the 
mb script should be the only problem.

Patience, grasshoppers, patience.

[huge snip]

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
US V Castleman, SCOTUS, Mar 2014 is grounds for Impeaching SCOTUS