Re: RE: A83: Apps, adding to current menues

[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: RE: A83: Apps, adding to current menues


1)  You don't edit the ROM.  You just set a memory address in RAM which the
TIOS checks during a certain process.  This is, as you mentioned, called a
hook.  So, when the TIOS is running its keyboard process, it checks to see
if a key hook was set, and if it was, it calls the specified address for the
hook (and passes you certain information through the registers.)

2)  As I mentioned, the routine you specify for TIOS to use as the key hook
will be called twice during every "loop" of the TIOS key handler.  It will
be called once when the key handler is starting, and once again afterwards
to report which key was pressed.  You can tell which call is which by
looking at the registers when your key hook routine is called.  If A=$1A,
then it's the 'key handler init' call, if A=$1B, then it's the 'key press
report' call.  If A=$1B, then register B will hold the GetCSC scan code for
the key that was pressed.

3)  Port one is the keyboard port, it's not quite the same thing, but you've
got the right idea.  To input a value from port four, you'd just do:
    in    a,(4)

4)  Well, remember that in the $1B call of the key hook routine, TIOS
expects you to return the GetCSC scan code that you want processed by the
system in register A.  Thus, if you wanted the apps screen to load, you'd
pass the scan code for APPS in register A.  (I'd have to look it up, but I
think it's $27)

5) ZDS does not allow you the use the dollar sign ($) to denote hexadecimal.
You have to put an 'h' after the number instead.  IE: 4F7Bh.  If the
hexadecimal number starts with a "letter" character, you'll have to precede
the number with a zero, like 0FFFFh.

-Dan Englender

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robby Proie" <playnogamz@nls.net>
To: <assembly-83@lists.ticalc.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 6:02 PM
Subject: RE: RE: A83: Apps, adding to current menues


>
> OK, I think that I am finally starting to understand exctlly what is going
> on.  First of all, I would like to sincearly thank you for all of the help
> you have give me so far.  I am not the best coder, however I am slowly
> learning, and will probably have many more questions.  Ok, here are my
list
> of quesstions.
> Note: Many of them will make refrences to mirage.
>
> 1. This is more of a process question than codiing (I think).
>
> When you say that TIOS will pass you something, does that mean that mirage
> is running in the background, that you have edited the rom, or that you
have
> simply set a little hook?  (I am pretty sure it is the hook, but just to
> save myself from a lot of no purpose work, I thought I would make sure).
>
> 2. How exactly do you check the keypress.  I think that you told me this
> before, but I didn't quite understand it.
> To expound, does the keypress cause tios to jump to a certain place, orrun
> a certain process or what.
>
> 3. When you say look at bit 3 of port 4, how do you do that? (I think I
was
> just inspired, by port 4, are you talking about the Direct input of keys
> port?)
>
> 4. How do you call a certain screen through this.  For instance the apps
> screen.  This would be helpful in coding.  To be more spacific do you just
> do a LD $B1,$27 or is it a little bit more complex.
>
> 5. 2 letters ago you said that I should use B_CALL $4F7B to set the key
hook
> (which answers question 1 for me), however, when I try to compile it with
> ZDS, it gives me an error.  Do I have to define it first?
>
> I know you probably think I'm not the brightest thing with two legs after
> you have read these questions, but I guess that this is the only way for
me
> to learn.
>
> Thanks,
> Robby
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-assembly-83@lists.ticalc.org
> [mailto:owner-assembly-83@lists.ticalc.org]On Behalf Of Dan Englender
> Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 10:54 PM
> To: assembly-83@lists.ticalc.org
> Subject: Re: A83: Apps, adding to current menues
>
>
>
> See, the problem is that it's quite complicated to do that sort of thing.
I
> don't have any really great code to copy and paste in here, but I'll try
to
> give you a start at least.
>
> First of all, if you want to make your life much easier, use an
> [on]+something hotkey combination.  This way TIOS will still read it as a
> keypress and pass you the "something" during the $1B pass of the key hook.
> You can then just check to see if the [on] key is currently pressed when
you
> receive the proper key and jump to your handler code if it is.  To check
if
> the [on] key is pressed, just look at bit 3 of port 4.  If the bit is a 0,
> then the [on] key is currently being pressed.
>
> Then you want to do something once you receive this keycode, and you
picked
> a hard one - start an application.  There might be a RunApplication entry
> point laying around somewhere undocumented but if there is, I don't know
> about it.  And running an application by just jumping to it's start
address
> could get a touch messy due to context and other issues.  So the best way
> (though it's a very ugly hack) to run an app as far as I know is to make
the
> system pretend that you ran the app from the keyboard.
>
> How do you do this?  Well, first you need to load the APPS menu.  That's
not
> so hard, just return the APPS key scan code from the $1B that you detected
> (should be $27 I think).  However, you'll have to set some sort of
indicator
> to yourself, so that you know that you should continue loading the app.
> System flags are dangerous to use, though I'm not real sure of anything
> better.  Anyhow, in the next $1B pass through the key code, when you see
> that the indicator was set, load the name of the application into the
> progName memory address, and pass the enter key as being pressed.  It's a
> pretty weird system, but the TIOS will run the app loaded in progName
> whenever the enter key is pressed at the APPS menu (which is good luck
since
> it would have been a pain in the neck otherwise).
>
> There's just one little detail left (which you're probably wondering
about).
> If this is the method I use to run MirageOS with key hooks, why don't you
> see the APPS menu pop up?  Well, in version 1.1, if you don't have
auto-sort
> enabled, you do see the APPS menu pop up for just a second.  What I did
was
> turn of the LCD before I loaded the APPS menu, then turned it back on once
> MirageOS starts.  That way the user can't see the APPS menu at all.
> Unfortunately for me, I slightly botched the order of things up in 1.1 so
> that if auto-sort is off, you see the APPS menu briefly.
>
> Hope this helps at least a bit,
> -Dan Englender
>
> P.S. I figured all this out by trial and error.  Took a while...
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robby Proie" <playnogamz@nls.net>
> To: <assembly-83@lists.ticalc.org>
> Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 8:38 PM
> Subject: RE: A83: Apps, adding to current menues
>
>
> >
> > I'm not sure that I understand what you are saying.  Lets say that I
> wanted
> > to call a one page app called "THEAPP" when the user presses the shift
key
> > and than the clear key (If that is possible).  What would the exact code
> be
> > the set this up.  If that key-combo is not possible, than what about if
> they
> > help the ON key and then pressed enter (which is somewhat like mirage's
> > ON+APPS key combo).  Thanks for your help so far.
> >
> > Robby
> >
> > P.S. How have you figured out all of this information?
> >
Follow-Ups: References: