RPi and QL Emulator Speeds

QTop-INDEX

Here's an updated table of results using QTop-INDEX V1.05 on different QL
compatible computers:

Modell & Setup    ROM   INT  REAL  TRIG  TEXT  GRAF  STORE  TOTAL   INDEX
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
QL 128K (mdv)     MGG   5.3  12.5  20.0  95.0  15.0   6.5   154.3   1.000
QL/TC2 768K       JS    3.0   7.6  16.1  95.0  14.0   7.9f  143.6   1.258
CST Thor 8 640K   MF    3.0   7.5  16.2  91.0  13.0   7.2f  137.9   1.295
QL/CST RAM+ 640K  MGG   2.9   7.1  15.3  94.0  14.0   5.8f  139.1   1.350
AMIGA 1000 2MB    JS    1.8   4.4  10.9  45.0   7.0  30.0f   99.4   2.015
CST Thor 21 640K  JS    2.4   6.8   3.3  62.0  13.0   7.3f   94.8   2.281
CST Thor XVI 1MB  PT    1.9   4.4   8.5  35.0   6.0   5.6f   61.4   2.393
QL/GOLDCARD 2MB   MGG   0.8   1.9   4.3  38.0   6.0   1.1w   52.1   4.772
QL/GOLDCARD 2MB   JSL1  0.8   1.9   3.6  36.0   5.0   1.0w   48.3   5.127
MEGA ST1 16MHz HC JS    0.8   2.2   4.4  21.0   3.0   1.2w   32.6   5.299
EXEQTOR           JSL1  0.8   1.9   2.1  32.0   5.0   0.8w   42.6   6.137
MEGA ST4 68030/25 JS    0.3   0.9   1.8  10.0   2.0   0.2w   15.2  15.361
QXL 2MB SMSQ 2.03 HBA   0.2   0.5   1.1   4.0   1.0   0.2w    7.0  23.488
QXL 2MB SMSQ 2.16 HBA   0.2   0.3   0.7   2.0   1.0   0.1w    4.3  37.373
 (QXL at 25MHz)

QTop-Index is a program that is part of the COWO QTop desktop system for QL systems, currently freeware downloadable from Dilwyn Jones site. It tests a number of benchmarks such as writing to the screen, graphics, integer and floating point arithmetic etc to allow fairer comparisons of different types of systems. The table has been copied from the QTop updates documentation.

The 2 images above show that uqlx and SMSQmulator both exceed the performance of the fastest systems tested above.

Model & Setup          INT  REAL  TRIG  TEXT  GRAF  STORE  TOTAL   INDEX
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amstrad CPC 6128, Z-80 CPU, Turbo-Pascal, CP/M (c't 10/87)
                        7.9  67.6 117.0  79.5   7.9  16.5f  296.4   0.752
Amiga 2000, 1MB, Lattice-C (c't 6/88)
                        0.4   4.4   3.0  49.6   2.8   6.0f   66.2   5.185
Atari 1040ST, 1MB, DRI-C (c't 6/88)
                        0.3   3.1   2.5  41.1   1.6  21.4f   70.0   6.948
Archimedes 310, 1MB, Archimedes-Basic Interpreter (c't 6/88)
                        2.1   2.3   1.1   2.5   1.8   7.2f   17.0  12.232
MAC SE 68000, 7.8Mhz, 1MB, Turbo-Pascal (c't 8/89)
                        0.5  44.1  83.4  38.3   7.5   1.8   175.6   3.202
MAC II 68020, 16Mhz, Turbo-Pascal (c't 8/89)
                        0.3   6.6   8.0  82.5   5.6   1.2   104.2   5.218
MAC IIcx 68030, 16Mhz, Turbo-Pascal (c't 8/89)
                        0.2   5.8   6.8  73.2   4.6   1.1    91.7   7.010
MAC IIfx 68030, 40Mhz, Turbo-Pascal (c't 5/90)
                        0.05  1.8   2.0  13.0   1.5   0.9    19.2  24.579
COMPAQ 286, 8Mhz, Turbo-Pascal 4.0, (c't 7/88)
                        1.6   8.1  13.4  43.4  15.0   0.9r   82.4   2.793
TANDOM 386sx, 16Mhz, Turbo-Pascal, (c't 7/89)
                        0.1   5.0   7.1  14.4   1.4   1.2    29.2  16.301
IBM PS2-80 386dx, 20Mhz, Micro-Channel, Turbo-Pascal (c't 7/89)
                        0.05  2.4   3.9   5.6   0.5   1.0    13.5  28.330

The second table is again from the QTop documentation and shows the same tests on a range of non QL systems.

For comparison with modern QL emulators teh QTop-INDEX bench mark for a 80mHz Q60 was 108.88 but for QPC2 on Windows 7 with a core i7 3.05 GHz processor was 473.84, although the bogomips of the Q60 and QPC2 were not so far apart.

Obviously the conclusion is that while the minuscule RPi is not yet in the same league as a Q60 or QPC2 running on a modern PC the performance of uqlx and SMSQmulator on a RPi3 is respectable and in excess of original QLs and many historic QL and other systems.

SMSQmulator on RPi3

Another screen shot.

SMSQmulator on the RPi 3 is a very usable system. The screen shows Eddi the icon editor which is a large QLiberated program which runs exceptionally well under the emulator. On the screen it is possible to see that the emulator was producing 10.94 bogomips despite all the other programmes running. uQLx is a bit more quirky. This is probably not down to the RPi but to its design as a QDOS/Minerva emulator. Hence crashes occurred this morning when QPAC2 version 1.45 was loaded and also separately with the button frame extension. Also Launchpad which can be seen on the screen above had a "General Protection Fault" error with both LP1 and LP2.

The screen shots have been captured by the wonderfully named linux app called scrot - its command line seen above in the terminal window.

uQLx on Rpi3

Finally got uQLx running on RPi. Even although the emulator comes precompiled with an installer there is still a bit of a learning curve for the linux novice. For example, once the package had been unzipped on to the RPi where were the example configuration files .uqlxrc files that were mentioned in the text document and were required for the emulator to start correctly. Answer they were in the folder where they should be but were invisible as files beginning with "." in linux are hidden files.

How to boot qdos once the emulator was started. Answer again described in the docs. Either create a folder called mdv1 in the RPi file structure, save in the folder a file named boot, containing the boot instructions and add to the .uqlxrc file the location of the mdv1 folder, easily done one the .uqlxrc examples were found. 
Or using the linux terminal add a boot option -b as described in the instructions.

How to start the emulator without retyping the whole command line again etc.
Answer - learn to make a simple shell script under linux containing all the options required on start such as window size and boot file and save this to the desktop or to the files menu. Simple once you know how.

uQLx speed is good. It gets 23.62 bogomips on RPi3 no overclock. This compares to 10.73 bogomips for SMSQmulator on the RPi3 and with 5 or so bogomips for a Supergoldcard original QL.

Some quirks. Trying to open an SBasic window with a y dimension of more than 640 regardless of the emulator window size corrupts the SBASIC code in
memory. Some extensions do not work particularly the FLIM_X and FLIM_Y from DWJ Display code with both returning 0. Also Launchpad crashes with a serious error message. This needs to be explored and will perhaps be in the next post.

Despite the niggles uQLx is a great QL emulator for the RPi as is SMSQmulator.  

Black Box QL as USB keyboard for RPi2

This QL has been converted to act as a USB keyboard using Tynemouth Software's conversion kit. Everything seems to work except the power LED. But the keys are mapped and the screen shows SMSQmulator checking the key codes as each key combination is pressed using RWAP Software's short bit of code supplied with the new membrane. "REPeat loop: PRINT CODE(INKEY$(-1)),

The original membrane that came with this case had succumbed to age and was crumbling. Phase 1 and 2 in the lets put a "QL" back in the black box. So far so good.

SMSQmulator on RPi2

A picture is worth a thousand words or so it is said. The original RPi B was too underpowered to run the Java based SMSQmulator at anything like a usable speed. The original RPi reported that it achieved 3 bogomips in total. The new RPi2 manages 38 bogomips. and SMSQmulator is now well usable. Here is the picture showing that the emulator itself is managing almost 6 bogomips with the RPi 2 overclocked to 1000 MHz, GPU memory set to 256 MB and java v8 installed.

SMSQmulator on Raspberry Pi

In a quick post here is a screen shot of the loaded screen of SMSQmulator on  a Raspberry Pi. The screen shot was obtained with the gimp. SMSQmulator runs very slowly on a basic Raspberry Pi. There are some tweaks that may make it more usable but more time is required for that. None the less the SMSQmulator is an amazing achivement. Congratulations W Lenerz. More about the SMSQmulator on RiPi later when QLHeaven gets a better grip on its Linux adventure.

This was posted from a Raspberry Pi

What this has to do with the QL scene is the Pi is now assembled, connected and functional. Now to learn a bit about linux before moving to the next stage of installing uqlx. Perhaps the Pi will fit into an old QL case. All the leads lying across the desk creates a very nostalgic ambiance.

SMSQ/E Emulator in Java

On the QL-users list this momentous little announcement from Wolfgang popped up : 

Hi all,

SMSQmulator, the SMSQ/E machine emulator under Java is now out.

You can find it at :

www.wlenerz.com/SMSQmulator.

(Please note that, the site running under linux, this address is case 
dependent - grrrr!).

Have fun with it.

Wolfgang
_______________________________________________

And Dilwyn Responded :

Excellent work Wolfgang, now we have a Java based free emulator which runs 
across many of the major operating systems which have Java installed - 
Windows, Mac OS X, Linux.

I am ploughing through the manuals (both of them, Wolfgang's and Tim 
Swenson's versions).

Important to note as Wolfgang has pointed out that it is not strictly a QL 
emulator (may not run software which relies on system variables and/or 
screen at fixed QL addresses) and being a MC68000 emulator, software 
purposely written to use features of later processors (e.g. Q40/Q60 specific 
software) won't run.

I like the fact it has Native File Access, SMSQ File Access (executable file 
headers stored) and QXL.WIN access.

I would have liked to see full floppy disk access as so many QL users still 
use them, it would have made file transfer easy. That said, it can read 
floppy disk image files created on your operating system. Hopefully, someone 
will write up that process for the various operating systems in time for 
anyone who has never used disk images before.

SMSQmulator supports 16 bit colour and various screen sizes (e.g. 1024x512 
or 800x600) although it defaults to 512x256 when you first start it.

I like the warning in the manuals about the sound facilities, that although 
BEEP and Sampled Sound System are supported it might "not sound too nice" 
due to issues with the Java sound handlers!

I also like the fact that a few sample programs have been supplied (3 games 
and Psion Xchange) - the emulator startup lets you get straight into running 
a few programs. Great for people new to QL systems or who have never used 
emulators before.

Congratulations Wolfgang and anyone else involved in developing and testing.

Sounds fantastic to QLHeaven

There is life in old programs yet

The maths tutor program from the February 1989 QL World has proven useful here in QL Heaven. A certain person having to learn times tables found this utility useful. It has everything needed. A learning mode with explanations, a test mode which is probably the most useful, a brain taxing quiz mode and more. The interface is simple but reflects the time at which it was written.  The program was installed on a windows laptop with a shortcut icon to launch QPC" which on start up loaded and ran the Multiplication tables program. No QL knowledge needed. No doubt it could be run under windows using other PD or freeware emulators.

Here is the listing if anyone is interested. BTW it has been slightly modified from the listing in the magazine to take advantage of the greater screen terrain available on PCs and hence the font size used may be inappropriate for a base QL. And there are a very small number of other tweaks of little significance. 

100 :

200 :

210 :

220 :

230 intro "Multiplication Tables"

240 :

250 test = 0 : DIM tables_list(12)

260 REPeat do_tables

270   menu

280 :

290   IF menu_choice$ INSTR "LRPT"

300       which_table

320   ELSE

330       quiz_tables test,tables_list

350   END IF

355 :

360   IF menu_choice$ INSTR "T"

370       tables_list(table_choice)=table_choice

380       test_tables(table_choice)

400   END IF

410   IF menu_choice$ INSTR "P"

420       practise_tables(table_choice)

440   END IF

450   IF menu_choice$ INSTR "R"

460       recite_tables(table_choice)

480   END IF

490   IF menu_choice$ INSTR "L"

500       learn_table(table_choice)

520   END IF

530 END REPeat do_tables

540 :

550 :

560 :

570 :

580 :

590 :

600 DEFine PROCedure intro (title$)

610 CSIZE 2,1:PAPER 2:INK 7:CLS

620 AT 5,(26-LEN(title$))/2:PRINT title$:PAUSE 90

630 CSIZE 2,1:PAPER 1:INK 6:CLS

640 END DEFine intro

650 :

660 :

670 :

680 :

690 DEFine PROCedure menu

700 PAPER 6:INK 1:CSIZE 2,1:CLS

710 AT 3,1:PRINT "Press the letter for your choice or 'ESC' to Quit"

720 AT 6,1:PRINT "To learn a table:-   ";TO 27;"PRESS L"

730 AT 8,1:PRINT "To recite a table: - " ;TO 27;"PRESS R"

740 AT 10,1:PRINT "To practise a table: - ";TO 27;"PRESS P"

750 AT 12,1:PRINT "For a test on a table:- ";TO 27;"Press T"

760 AT 14,1:PRINT "For a tables quiz:- ";TO 27;"Press Q"

770   REPeat menu_choice

780     AT 16,27: PRINT "Which?"

785     menu_choice$=INKEY$(-1) : convert_case

787     IF menu_choice$=CHR$(27):STOP

790     IF menu_choice$<>"" AND menu_choice$ INSTR "LRPTQ" THEN

800       EXIT menu_choice

810     ELSE

820       rub_out menu_choice$,16,33

830     END IF

840   END REPeat menu_choice

850 END DEFine menu

860 :

870 :

880 :

890 :

900 DEFine PROCedure which_table

910 CLS

920 AT 4,4:PRINT "Which table < 1,.....,12 >? and press ENTER"

930 REPeat pick_table

940 AT 14,27: INPUT table_choice$

950   IF table_choice$<"1" OR table_choice$>"12" THEN

960      rub_out table_choice$,14,27

970   ELSE

980     LET table_choice=table_choice$

990     EXIT pick_table

1000  END IF

1010 END REPeat pick_table

1020 END DEFine which_table

1030 :

1040 :

1050 :

1060 :

1070 DEFine PROCedure learn_table(table_choice)

1080 intro "Learn a Table"

1090 FOR learn=1 TO 12

1100   teach table_choice,learn:wait:CLS

1110 END FOR learn

1120 recite_tables(table_choice)

1130 END DEFine learn_table

1140 :

1150 :

1160 :

1170 :

1180 DEFine PROCedure recite_tables(table_choice)

1190 intro "Recite a Table"

1200 :

1210 REPeat table_recite

1220 CLS

1230 FOR M = 1 TO 12

1240   AT M,11:PRINT table_choice:AT M,15:PRINT "x";M

1250 AT M,21:PRINT "=  ":AT M,24:PRINT table_choice*M

1260 PAUSE 175

1270 END FOR M

1280 option "Recite","Practice"

1290 :

1300 IF option$ INSTR "CMP" THEN EXIT table_recite

1310 END REPeat table_recite

1320 IF option$ INSTR "P" THEN practise_tables(table_choice)

1330 IF option$ INSTR "C" THEN

1340    which_table

1350    recite_tab1es (table_choice)

1360 END IF

1370 END DEFine recite_tables

1380 :

1390 :

1400 :

1410 :

1420 DEFine PROCedure practise_tables(table_choice)

1430  intro "Practise a Table"

1440  REPeat table_practise

1450    DIM hiqh_light(12):LET mistakes=0:CLS

1460 :

1470    FOR M=1 TO 12

1480       AT M,11:PRINT table_choice:AT M,15:PRINT 'x';M

1490       AT M,21:PRINT "=  ":LET answer$="?"

1500       check_input answer$,M,24

1510       IF answer$=tab1e_choice*M THEN

1520          good_news

1530 :

1540       END IF

1550       IF answer$<>table_choice*M THEN

1560          LET high_light(M) = 1 : LET mistakes=mistakes+1

1570          bad_news

1590          teach table_choict,M

1610          wait

1630          Rebuild_table(tab1e_choice),M

1660       END IF

1670   END FOR M

1680 IF mistakes = 0 THEN

1690   option "Practise", "Test"

1700 END IF :

1710  IF option$ INSTR "CMT" THEN

1720     EXIT table_practise

1730  ELSE

1740     AT 16,9:PRINT "Practise those in red"

1750     AT l7,9:PRINT "then press any key. " : wait

1760  END IF

1770 END REPeat table_practise

1780 IF option$ INSTR "T" THEN test_tables(table_choice)

1790 IF option$ INSTR "C" THEN

1800    which_table

1810    practise_tables ( table_choice )

1820 END IF

1830 END DEFine practise_tables

1840 :

1850 :

1860 :

1870 :

1880 DEFine PROCedure Rebuild_table(table_choice,M)

1890 CLS:CSIZE 2,1

1900 :

1910 FOR row = 1 TO M

1920 IF high_light(row)=1 THEN STRIP 2

1930 AT row,11:PRINT table_choice;" ":AT row, 15:PRINT "x  ";row

1940 AT row, 21:PRINT "=" :AT row,24:PRINT table_choice*row

1950 STRIP 1

1960 END FOR row

1970 END DEFine Rebuild_table

1980 :

1990 :

2000 :

2010 :

2020 DEFine PROCedure test_tables(table_choice)

2030 LOCal a$, time_now$,end_time$

2040 LET test=1

2050 intro "Test a Table"

2060 PAPER 6: INK 0

2070   REPeat table_test

2080     DIM number(10)

2090     a$=DATE$:time_now$=a$(16 TO 20)

2100     correct_marker = 0

2110     LET number_1=table_choice

2120     LET tables_list(number_1)=table_choice

2130     FOR counter = 1 TO 10

2140       CSIZE 3,1

2150       CLS

2160       REPeat multiplier

2170         LET mark=0

2180         LET number_2=RND(1 TO 12)

2190         FOR check=1 TO counter

2200           IF number_2=number(check) THEN mark=1:EXIT check

2210         END FOR check

2220         IF mark=0 THEN EXIT multiplier

2230       END REPeat multiplier

2240       LET number(check)= number_2

2250       AT 5,6: PRINT number_1:AT 5,10:PRINT "x  ";number_2

2260       AT 5,16:PRINT "=   ":LET answer$="?"

2270       check_input answer$,5,19

2280       IF answer$=number_1*number_2 THEN

2290          correct_marker= correct_marker+1:good_news: correct

2300       ELSE

2310          bad_news: wrong:teach number_1,number_2: wait

2320       END IF

2330    END FOR counter

2340    CSIZE 2,1

2350    CLS

2360    a$=DATE$:end_time$=a$(16 TO 20)

2370    minutes=end_time$(1 TO 2)-time_now$(1 TO 2)

2380    time_elapsed=60*(end_time$(1 TO 2)-time_now$(1 TO 2))+end_time$(4 TO 5)-time_now$( 4 TO 5)

2390    faces(correct_marker)

2400    AT 20,10:PRINT "You took "!time_elapsed!"seconds." !

2410    option "Test","Quiz"

2420 :

2430    IF option$ INSTR "CMQ" THEN EXIT table_test

2440   END REPeat table_test

2450 IF option$ INSTR "C" THEN

2460 which_table

2470 test_tables (table_choice)

2480 END IF

2490 IF option$ INSTR "Q" THEN quiz_tables test, tables_list

2500 END DEFine test_tables

2510 :

2520 :

2530 :

2540 :

2550 DEFine PROCedure quiz_tables(test,tables_list)

2560 LOCal a$, time_now$,correct_marker,mark,table

2570 intro "Tables Quiz"

2580 PAPER 6:INK 0

2590 DIM new_tables_list(12),tab(12)

2600 FOR table=1 TO 10

2610    tab(table)=2*table+1

2620 END FOR table

2630 FOR table=11 TO 12

2640   tab(table) = 3*table-9

2650 END FOR table

2660 quiz_list test,tables_list,new_tables_list

2670 :

2680 LET new_tables_list(0)=0:correct_total=0:total_time=0

2690 FOR table = 1 TO 12

2700      IF new_tables_list(table)<>0 THEN

2710      LET new_tables_list(0)=new_tables_list(0)+1

2720    END IF

2730 END FOR table

2740 REPeat quiz

2750 intro "There will be "&new_tables_list(O)&"rounds"

2760 FOR round =1 TO new_tables_list(0)

2770 intro "Round "&round

2780 PAPER 6 : INK 0: CSIZE 3,1

2790 DIM n3(10),n4(10)

2800 a$=DATE$:time_now$=a$(16 TO 20)

2810 correct_marker=0

2820 FOR counter=1 TO 10

2830   CLS:CSIZE 3,1

2840   REPeat multiplicand

2850     number_3=RND(1 TO 12)

2860     IF new_tables_list(number_3)<>0 THEN

2870       mark=0

2880       IF new_tables_list(0)>=10 THEN

2890          FOR check=1 TO counter

2900             IF number_3=n3(check) THEN mark=1:EXIT check

2910          END FOR check

2920       END IF

2930       IF mark=0 THEN EXIT multiplicand

2940     END IF

2950   END REPeat multiplicand

2960   LET n3(counter)=number_3

2970   REPeat multiplier

2980     mark=0

2990     number_4=RND(1 TO 12)

3000     FOR check=1 TO counter

3010       IF number_4=n4(check) THEN mark=1:EXIT check

3020     END FOR check

3030     IF mark=0 THEN EXIT multiplier

3040   END REPeat multiplier

3050   LET n4(counter)=number_4

3060   AT 5,6: PRINT number_3:AT 5,10: PRINT "x  ";number_4

3070   AT 5,16: PRINT "=  ":LET answer$="?"

3080   check_input answer$,5,19

3090   IF answer$=number_3*number_4 THEN

3100      correct_marker= correct_marker + 1:good_news: correct

3110   ELSE

3120      bad_news:wrong

3130      teach number_3,number_4:wait

3140   END IF

3150 END FOR counter

3160 CLS:CSIZE 2,1

3170 a$=DATE$:end_time$=a$(16 TO 20)

3180 minutes=end_time$(1 TO 2)-time_now$(1 TO 2)

3190 time_elapsed=60*(end_time$(1 TO 2)-time_now$(1 TO 2))+end_time$(4 TO 5)-time_now$(4 TO 5)

3200 faces(correct_marker)

3210 AT 12,10:PRINT "You took "!time_elapsed!"seconds."

3220 PAUSE 150

3230 LET correct_total=correct_total+correct_marker

3240 LET total_time=total_time+time_elapsed

3250 CLS

3260 END FOR round

3270 CLS

3280 AT 5,4:PRINT "You got ";correct_total;" outof ";round*10;" correct"

3290 AT 7,5:PRINT "You took "!total_time!"seconds. "

3300 PAUSE 150

3310 option "Quiz"," "

3320 :

3330 IF option$ INSTR "M" THEN EXIT quiz

3340 END REPeat quiz

3350 END DEFine quiz_tables

3360 :

3370 :

3380 :

3390 :

3400 DEFine PROCedure correct

3410 AT 6,9: INK 2:FLASH 1:PRINT "Well done!"

3420 PAUSE 100: FLASH 0: INK 0

3430 END DEFine correct:

3440 :

3450 :

3460 :

3470 :

3480 DEFine PROCedure wrong

3490 AT 6,5: INK 2: FLASH 1: PRINT "No. Wait for help !"

3500 PAUSE 100 :FLASH 0:INK 0

3510 END DEFine wrong

3520 :

3530 :

3540 :

3550 :

3560 DEFine PROCedure bad_news

3570 FOR j= 1 TO 255

3580 BEEP 500,j

3590 END FOR j

3600 END DEFine bad_news

3610 :

3620 :

3630 :

3640 :

3650 DEFine PROCedure good_news

3660 FOR j= 100 TO 4000 STEP 500

3670 BEEP 5000,j: PAUSE 5

3680 END FOR j

3690 END DEFine good_news

3700 :

3710 :

3720 :

3730 :

3740 DEFine PROCedure teach(n1,n2 )

3750 CLS:CSIZE 2,1

3760 AT 1,1:PRINT "To work out "!n1! " x"!n2!":":PRINT

3770 FOR j=1 TO n1

3780   FOR k=1 TO n2

3790     PRINT "*";

3800   END FOR k:PRINT

3810 END FOR j

3820 AT 5,17 : PRINT "There are " ;n1:AT 6,17 :: PRINT "lots of ";n2;" 's"

3830 AT 7,17 : PRINT "If you count all"

3840 AT 8,17 : PRINT "the stars, you":AT 9,17:PRINT "wiI1 find that"

3850 AT 10,17 : PRINT "there are ";n1*n2:AT 11,17: PRINT "of them. "

3860 AT 12,17 : FLASH 0 : PRINT "So:  "

3870 AT 14,17:UNDER 0: CSIZE 2,1:PRINT n1 ;" x ";n2;" = ";n1*n2

3880 FLASH 0: UNDER 0: CSIZE 2,1

3890 AT 17,17: PRINT "Press any key."

3900 CSIZE 2,1

3910 END DEFine teach

3920 :

3930 :

3940 :

3950 :

3960 DEFine PROCedure faces(cownt)

3970 CLS

3980 AT 1,1: PRINT "You got ";cownt;" of them right, "

3990 increment=0: radius=7

4000 FOR n=1 TO cownt

4010 CIRCLE n*radius+1+increment,80,radius

4020 ARC n*radius+1+increment - 2.6, 78 TO n*radius+1+increment+2.6,78,PI

4030 POINT n*radius +1+increment - 2,82 : POINT n*radius+ 1+increment+2,82

4040 increment=increment+radius+2

4050 END FOR n

4060 AT 12,1:PRINT "and ";10 - cownt;" of them wrong"

4070 increment=0

4080 FOR n=1 TO 10-cownt

4090 CIRCLE n*radius+1+ increment,50,radius

4100 ARC n*radius+1+increment-2.6,46 TO n*radius+1+increment+2.6,46,-PI

4110 POINT n*radius+1+increment-2,52:POINT n*radius+1+increment+2,52

4120 increment=increment+1+radius+2

4130 END FOR n

4140 END DEFine faces

4150 :

4160 :

4170 :

4180 :

4190 DEFine PROCedure wait

4200 LOCal a$

4210 a$=""

4220 REPeat loop

4230 a$=INKEY$

4240   IF a$ <> "" THEN EXIT loop

4250 END REPeat loop

4260 END DEFine wait

4270 :

4280 :

4290 :

4300 :

4310 DEFine PROCedure rub_out(text$,text_line,column)

4320 LET length = LEN(text$)

4330 AT text_line,column:PRINT FILL$(" ",length)

4340 END DEFine rub_out

4350 :

4360 :

4370 :

4380 :

4390 DEFine PROCedure check_input(answer$,text_line,column)

4400 REPeat get_input

4410   AT text_line,column : INPUT answer$

4420   IF answer$="" OR answer$=" " THEN GO TO 4410

4430   IF answer$<="0" OR answer$>"999" THEN

4440      rub_out answer$,text_line,column

4450   ELSE

4460      EXIT get_input

4470   END IF

4480 END REPeat get_input

4490 END DEFine check_input

4500 :

4510 :

4520 :

4530 :

4540 DEFine PROCedure option(level$,change$)

4550 PAUSE 125 : CSIZE 2,1

4560 IF level$(1) INSTR "RPT" THEN AT 14,4: PRINT "Press C to Change table"

4570 AT 15,4:PRINT "Press R to Repeat"

4580 AT 16,4:PRINT "Press M to obtain Menu"

4590 IF change$<>" " THEN

4600     AT 20,4 : PRINT "Press ";change$(1);" to move on to a ";change$

4610 END IF

4620 REPeat choose_option

4630   AT 22,4: PRINT "Which?";

4635   menu_choice$=INKEY$(-1) : convert_case :option$=menu_choice$

4640   IF option$<>"" AND LEN(option$)=1 THEN

4650       IF (change$=" " AND option$ INSTR "RM" ) OR (level$(1) INSTR "RPT" AND option$ INSTR "RCM"&change$(1) ) THEN

4660         EXIT choose_option

4670       ELSE

4680         rub_out option$, 18,10

4690       END IF

4700     ELSE

4710       IF option$<>"" THEN rub_out option$,18,10

4720   END IF

4730 END REPeat choose_option

4740 END DEFine option

4750 :

4760 :

4770 :

4780 :

4790 DEFine PROCedure quiz_list(test,tables_list,new_tables_list)

4800 AT 6,2: PRINT "The quiz will be on the following"

4810 AT 7,2: PRINT "Multiplication tables: "

4820 AT 9,5: PRINT;

4830 FOR tab1e=1 TO 12

4840    IF test=0 THEN

4850       PRINT " ";table;

4860     ELSE

4870       IF tables_list(table)<>0 THEN PRINT " ";table;

4880    END IF

4890 END FOR table

4900 PRINT " "

4910 AT 12,5:PRINT "Press A to Accept this list. "

4920 AT 14,5:PRINT "Press C to Change this list. "

4930 REPeat quiz_on

4940 AT 16, 5: PRINT "Which?"

4945 menu_choice$=INKEY$(-1):convert_case:quiz_on$=menu_choice$

4950 IF quiz_on$<>" " AND LEN(quiz_on$)=1 THEN

4960    IF quiz_on$ INSTR "AC" THEN

4970       EXIT quiz_on

4980     ELSE

4990       STRIP 1: rub_out quiz_on$,16,11: STRIP 6

5000    END IF

5010 ELSE

5020   IF quiz_on$<>"" THEN STRIP 1:rub_out quiz_on$, 16,11 :STRIP 6

5030 END IF

5040 END REPeat quiz_on

5050 IF quiz_on$ INSTR "c" THEN

5060   alter_list test,tables_list,new_tables_list:RETurn

5070 ELSE

5080   FOR table=1 TO 12

5090      IF test=1 THEN LET new_tables_list(table)=tables_list(table)

5100      IF test=0 THEN LET new_tables_list(table)=table

5110   END FOR table

5120 END IF

5130 END DEFine quiz_list

5140 :

5150 :

5160 :

5170 :

5180 DEFine PROCedure alter_list(test,tables_list,new_tables_list)

5190 LOCal pick_table

5200 PAPER 1:CLS:STRIP 7:INK 0

5210 AT 8,2 : PRINT "< or >, to choose, to select"

5220 AT 9,10: PRINT " to delete"

5230 AT l0,2: PRINT " when your list is complete"

5240 AT 15,3: PRINT "Multiplication tables chosen: -"

5250 CSIZE 1,0

5260 n=1

5270 REPeat quiz_on

5280   FOR table=1 TO 12

5290     STRIP 7

5300     IF table=n THEN STRIP 2

5310     AT 13,tab(table)-2: PRINT table;

5320   END FOR table

5330   a$=INKEY$(-1)

5340   IF a$=CHR$(192) THEN n=n-1:IF n=0  THEN n=1

5350   IF a$=CHR$(200) THEN n=n+1:IF n=13 THEN n=12

5360   IF a$=CHR$(32) THEN

5370      LET new_tables_list(n)=n

5380      AT 17,tab(n)-2:STRIP 2:PRTNT n

5390   END IF

5400   IF a$=CHR$(194) THEN

5410      LET new_tables_list(n)=0

5420      AT 17,tab(n)-2 : STRIP 1:PRINT "  "

5430   END IF

5440   IF a$=CHR$(10) THEN

5460      LET pick_table=O

5470      FOR check=1 TO 12

5480         LET pick_table= pick_table+new_tables_list(check)

5496      END FOR check

5500      IF pick_table<>0 THEN CLS:PAPER 6:INK 0:EXIT quiz_on

5510   END IF

5520 END REPeat quiz_on

5530 END DEFine alter_list

5540 :

5550 :

5560 :

5570 :

5580 DEFine PROCedure convert_case

5590 IF CODE(menu_choice$)>90 : menuchoice$=CHR$(CODE(menu_choice$)-32)

5600 END DEFine convert_case

RaspberryPi

The Raspberry Pi user guide is in. QL Heaven is going to read this before getting a RPi. There a a lot more possibilities to this than running uQLx on it.

Gold Card

Just seen a Gold Card go on ebay for exactly £109.77. WOW. No guarantees it was functional. It was sold as "new", in unopened packaging. BTW how was it photographed for the sale? Any way the image here is a Gold card, just not the one sold. This one is definitely functional. But what it demonstrates is that there is still demand for faster QL hardware. Any possibility of adapting an emulator to run natively on RPi?

What do QLers want for their next QL?

This question occurred to QL Heaven when perusing the latest posts on the ql-users list regarding the Raspberry Pi PC on a USB stick. Mouths watered at the prospect of a QL running on this system and porting a QL OS onto it. Reality eventually bit through Marcel Kilgus who posted in response to an earlier post speculating about running QPC2 under WINE on Linux on a Raspberry Pi - "


Norman Dunbar wrote:
> Well, I suspect that QPC will run under WINE on any flavour of Linux,
 >and not necessarily one that has an Intel Processor of x86 fame beneath
 >it.

Hmm, where to begin... The very name of WINE itself stands for "Wine
Is Not an Emulator". It does not do ANY CPU emulation. So, running QPC
is downright out. Actually there is a WINE port for ARM, but it only
works with Windows apps that have been cross-compiled for the ARM
architecture (QPC, being much assembler code, cannot be cross
compiled).
Additionally there is a way to employ the QEMU x86 emulator, but
I somehow doubt running an unsupported QEMU solution on such a slow
and limited platform would really work or be anything near usable.

> More specifically, SuperBasic is "just" a language - albeit a good one.
> So I suppose someone could write a SuperBasic interpreter/compiler in,
> say C, to be packaged up and/or compiled from source on any Linux.

While this is true, most power of the language comes from its
extensions and these would all have to be rewritten, too.

Cheers, Marcel"

Basically, no pun intended, it seems that QPC2 is written in assembler and therefore cannot be ported to non PC systems while SBASIC could be ported as a language but with out all the extensions written for it.

Yet what we know about the QL scene from the survey conducted earlier this year is that most QLers have either or both a black box QL, (plus or minus an expansion card) plus QPC2 emulator running on a PC.
The black box give the nostalgia return while QPC2 gives power, flexibility and ease of undertaking complex computing tasks on a QL like system. This takes QL Heaven back to one of its earlier posts suggesting that the future of the QL should be on a mini PC system as the list was suggesting but one that while small can run windows and therefore QPC2, but is small enough to be installed in the carcass of a QL black box.

The Button Frame

QL heaven wonders how many QLers actually do anything with the button frame other than to put buttons to sleep in it. QL heaven got fed up with the button frame at the top left corner of the screen and has for may years placed it indented 40x20 pixels - suits the Q60 screen resolution. Admittedly that change is quite tame but no one seems to anything at all with the button frame.

Now the Ser-USB device has moved 120+MB of data from the Q60 - which is about 10 years old, and while going strong may not last forever, QL Heaven is looking at making a useful set up with QPC2. Screen resolution is one issue with emulators as the QL uses a 2:1 ratio but PC monitors traditionally had a more square type of resolution. This seems to be changing with the wide screen flat screen monitors now favoured in the PC world. QL Heaven's PC has a 23" flat screen monitor that supports resolutions close to 2:1 ratio thereby making the QL fonts and programs appear more as expected.

The resolution that seems to work best with QPC2 on QL Heaven's monitor is 1366x768 giving a ratio of 1.8 approximately. The screen shot from QPC2 also shows that modern PC hardware can emulate faster that native QL hardware now. The Q60 managed around 150 bogomips but QPC2 is getting over 200.

Getting back to the button frame QPAC2 can be configured to place the button frame anywhere and any size within screen limits. Jochen Merz released a button frame SBASIC extension enabling SBASIC programmers to create button tools. The GD2 colours and icon editors enable the programmer to create icons for these button tools. Effectively all the prerequisites are there for QLers to create a modern interface such as seen on the latest Macs where there is a row of 3D icon tools at the bottom of the screen.

Is anyone doing this, perhaps it belongs in QL Heavens crazy idea list.

QPC2 on Windows 7

QPC2 is the commercial QL emulator for the PC. There are also a number of other emulators that are shareware and are also very capable. Recently at QL Heaven the local PC was "upgraded" to Windows 7 and new things happened with QPC2. Basically files save to the QXL.win hard disk container were not retained after QPC2 was shut down. This it seems is down to permissions in the latest version of windows. This did not seem to be an issue with XP before. The solution after struggling around a bit was to run QPC2 always as the administrator to allow it to write to the PC's hard drive through the QXL.win filing system.

Incidentally as part of the investigation QPC2 3.34 (vista) was installed but this neither helped or showed any compatibility problems as did the previous version of QPC2 that had been in use of XP.