amiga-news.de - Archive

Archive 10/2024

16.Oct.2024

Development tool: vasm 2.0
After eleven months of development, Frank Wille has released the update to version 2.0 for the modular assembler vasm. The changes in version 2.0 in detail:

Support for architectures which have bytes with more than 8 bits.
Output formats bin, ihex, srec, test and vobj currently support >8-bit bytes.
New options -obe and -ole to define the endianess of target-bytes in binary output.
New options -ibe and -ile to define the endianess of target-bytes in binary includes (incbin).
New option -underscore adds a leading underscore to all imported and exported symbol names.
New option -relpath to treat all include paths as relative first, even when starting with '/' or '\'.
Reworked relocations and added the option to define their signedness.
New CPU backend for unSP (micro-nSP), having 16-bit bytes. Contributed by Adrien Destugues.
New CPU backend for the FPGA-CPU HANS, using 32-bit bytes. Contributed by Yannick Stamm.
New output module "pap", which outputs MOS Paper Tape files, as documented in the KIM-1 User's Manual. Contributed by Dimitri Theulings.
When printing error messages in macros, also print the source text line calling the macro.
A macro redefinition prints a warning with the previous definition. The old macro is correctly replaced.
Also warn about initialized space atoms (.space, etc.) in BSS sections.
Workaround for a Windows bug, when reading a source text from stdin directly via the terminal.
Fixed output of 64-bit symbol values in vobjdump.
Directives to suppress listing file output (like NOLIST) will no longer appear in the listing file.
Fixed string constants (in immediate addressing modes) with non-ASCII characters.
Fixed potential buffer overflow when generating a section name for ORG directives (since V1.9f).
Output modules now show the source line for unknown relocation errors.
m68k: Most out of range errors have now become warnings.
m68k: Out of range 8-bit immediate constants write to all 16 bits of the extension word, with a warning (to be able to simulate the behaviour of some old, faulty assemblers).
m68k: Improved -opt-size optimization for move.l->moveq/lsl, which now optimizes all values below 0x8000 where the highest and lowest bit set does not span more than 7 bits (suggested by Erik Hemming).
m68k: Float-constant optimization (OPT of, enabled by default) now also supports integer constant optimization to 16-bit.
m68k: Command line options of the form -opt-
m68k: New options -warnabs16 and -warnabs32 to show a warning when accessing absolute 16- oder 32-bit addresses.
m68k: Fixed assigning another register list symbol with REG/EQURL, which was broken since V1.9a.
m68k: REG/EQURL directives optionally allow to specify register lists as a register mask constant (BAsm compatibility).
m68k: Add Apollo E-register banking for negx, swap, movex, sCC, addiw.l, cmpiw.l, rol, ror, roxl, roxr, and perm.
m68k: Apollo instructions pabsb, pabsw are gone (opcode space will be reused in future).
m68k: Apollo fmove.{b/w/l/s/d} En,Em is replaced by floadi and fstorei to make clear whether the Em target is an integer or floating point register.
m68k: New Apollo instructions: fmoverz, fmoveurz, moveiw, mov3q, movs, movz, move2 (updated), clr.q.
m68k: Do not allow Bcc.B with branch distance -130 for Apollo, as it would encode as $6xff (opcode for 32-bit branch).
x86: Default to 16-bit addressing when -m selects a CPU below 386. Default to 64-bit addressing with -m64.
x86: Let the mnemonic's suffix always decide about the operation size, even when the operand is a label (gas seems to do the same).
x86: Mask all immediate operand relocations according to their size (to allow something like movb $label,dest or movw $label,dest).
x86: Fix macros with size-suffixes (b,w,l,s,q,x). Size qualifiers are no longer allowed in x86-macros.
x86: Allow multiple alternating .codeNN directives in the source.
x86: Add missing prefix when using 32-bit registers in 16-bit mode.
x86: Fixed relative calls with size suffix (callw, calll) in 16/32-bit mode.
6502: Added al/as/xl/xs as aliases for a16/a8/x16/x8 directives. Added longa/longi as WDC-style aliases for theses directives (65816).
6502: Absolute 16-bit addressing modes ignore the bank by default for 65816.
6502: Optionally allow alternative syntax with immediate operands for MVN, MVP and PEA (65816).
6502: Out of range errors turned into warnings.
6502: CPU directive, to define the cpu model.
6502: Byte-selector operators are gone and turned into operand prefixes, according to the official WDC syntax.
6502: New option -am to mask all immediate and data values to their specified size.
6502: Hu6280 uses SETDP $2000 to move the zero page for automatic code optimizations.
6502: New option -dpo to generate offset-relocs for zero- or direct-page accesses.
mot-syntax: Fixed non-zero offset in CNOP, which was broken since V1.7c.
mot-syntax: TTL sets the listing file page title and not the unit name.
oldstyle-syntax: MACRO (written in upper case) didn't work with arguments.
oldstyle-syntax: New ifblank and ifnblank directives may be used to check whether a macro argument was given.
oldstyle-syntax: New directive exitmacro to exit recursive macro invocations.
oldstyle-syntax: New directive da as an alias for addr.
oldstyle-syntax: New directive bss to reserve space, like ds or reserve.
oldstyle-syntax: New directives blkl and dsl for defining space with a 32-bit pattern.
oldstyle-syntax: Section attributes 'f' and 'z' may be used to designate a section for far- or near-addressing (e.g. direct/zero-page).
oldstyle-syntax: Fixed FCC for single characters (no expressions allowed).
oldstyle-syntax: The closing quote-character (' or ") in single-character expressions is now optional (compatibility with old Motorola sources).
oldstyle-syntax: Broken hex-constants with the minus-operator following the '$' are supported for compatibility reasons.
oldstyle-syntax: Allow optional colon after a label for macro, equ and set directives.
std-syntax: The "true" result of logical operations should be 1 not -1.
std-syntax: Allow XY' (alternate) registers with Z80.
std-syntax: The .org directive always defines the absolute address for subsequent code, as long as no relocatable section was defined (or -gas).
std-syntax: .ifc and .ifnc directives for comparing strings.
hunk-output: New option -noabspath to refrain from creating absolute paths for source line debugging (LINE debug format).
hunk-output: Automatic source line debugging output (-linedebug) also includes BSS sections now, unless Devpac-compatibility was specified (-devpac).
hunk-output: New options -dbg-local and -dbg-globloc to include local labels into the debug symbol hunk (HUNK_SYMBOL).
hunk-output: Warn about odd relocation offsets, which might crash the AmigaOS loader on 68000 and 68010 systems (suggested by Erik Hemming).
o65-output: Support low-word relocs in 65816 mode.
bin-output: Fixed overlapping misdetection with empty org-sections.
bin-output: Foenix PGX format supports 65C02 and PGZ format supports 32-bit.
bin-output: New option -coalesced to output org-blocks without padding.
cdef-output: Do not output internal symbols.
elf-output: Fixed advancing by more than 63 lines in the DWARF output (patch by arcanist/EAB).
tos-output: Fixed alignment problem with DRI object file relocs.
tos-output: New option -zfile to output Sharp X68000 Z-file executables.
xfile-output: New option -exec to define the execution label.
xfile-output: New option -loadhigh to load the executable into high memory.

(dr)

[News message: 16. Oct. 2024, 20:21] [Comments: 0]
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16.Oct.2024

GUI for Greaseweazle Tools: ADFDiskBox v2
Keir Fraser's "Greaseweazle" reads the magnetic layer of the floppy regardless of the format used and stores as much information as possible in a so-called "flux level image" in supercard format (SCP), making it possible to read and write back copy-protected floppies. We have been reporting on FluxMyFluffyFloppy, a GUI for the Greaseweazle Tools, for some time now. In addition to GreaseweazleGUI, there is a third alternative for Windows, ADFDiskBox, which has now been released in version 2.

The author John Brett, who has made the source code of his project available on GitHub, has kindly given us a few explanations about the new version:

Both FluxMyFluffyFloppy and GreaseweazleGUI can handle many floppy formats, while my ADFDiskBox specialises in Amiga DOS floppies. It simplifies Amiga DOS batch read and write operations (for ADF, 82-track ADF, SCP:Amiga DOS and RawSCP).

The programme requires Net Framework 4.8 to run, so it should run on Windows 10 (also runs on the 32-bit version) and Windows 11. The latest version of Greaseweazle Tools must first be downloaded and unpacked before the installer can be executed.

I've been learning C# for a while now and I'm creating this program for learning purposes (which is why the code is a bit messy). When I started, the other programs couldn't handle 82-track Amiga DOS discs or batch mode. Now they can, using the editable diskdefs file. My GUI, on the other hand, uses its own version. I have recently added some more features, such as batch mode for all Amiga formats, which is why I have changed the version number to 2. Now more than one Greaseweazle is supported on the same computer. (dr)

[News message: 16. Oct. 2024, 05:37] [Comments: 0]
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16.Oct.2024 AmigaOS 4: Tutorial for creating a USB boot stick for the AmigaOne X5000
'McFly' has published two tutorials (available in English and German) in the OS4Depot which should enable users of an AmigaOne X5000 to create a bootable USB stick either from a system backup (OS4Depot link) or with the help of the AmigaOS 4.1 installation CD and using an RX graphics card OS4Depot link).
When asked, the author kindly wrote us the following about how it came about:

Since my X5000 no longer started properly some time ago due to a mistake on my part and the install CD also refused to start, I was looking for solutions to persuade my X5000 to start again ;-)
At the time, a Radeon R7 graphics card was still installed and I found the following devastating information on the Internet, which explained why the installation CD could not be booted:

"The basic RadeonHD driver on the OS4.1 CD does not support models with the Oland Chip set (R7 240/250), thus you cannot boot from the CD."

I therefore created a boot medium using a card reader and CF card. I have documented how I proceeded step by step in a small illustrated tutorial.

A little later I upgraded my computer with a Radeon RX580 graphics card. Because of this I collected all the necessary information on how to create a USB installation stick for AmigaOne X5000/20 with RX graphics card. This graphics card requires separate drivers which are not included on the AmigaOs4.1 install CD. I have also summarised this procedure in an illustrated guide in the hope of being able to give some users a little help. (dr)

[News message: 16. Oct. 2024, 05:01] [Comments: 0]
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15.Oct.2024

CLI command: sysvars V0.13
The sysvars command creates environment variables with system information in order to make it dependent on these, for example, in the startup sequence, which patches are included. So far there is information on the CPU and FPU, the chipset, the vertical frame rate (PAL/NTSC), Kickstart version and revision, version and revision of bsdsocket.library as well as whether the emulator UAE is used - and if so, in which version.

Version 0.13 provides the following changes:

Added $VampireType, $VampireCoreRev and VampireClockMult
Some code cleanup and optimizations

(dr)

[News message: 15. Oct. 2024, 06:00] [Comments: 0]
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15.Oct.2024
(ANF) Demis Hassabis: Nobel prize winner with an Amiga background (Update)
Demis Hassabis was recently honoured with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his outstanding contributions in the field of artificial intelligence. In particular, the development of AlphaGo, which was the first program to beat a professional Go player, and AlphaFold, which enabled revolutionary breakthroughs in protein folding, earned him the Nobel Prize. These achievements mark significant advances in AI research and biomedicine.

Interestingly, Hassabis began his career as a game developer: As teenager he was working for Bullfrog on the AI of the original Amiga game "Populous II". As project manager and lead programmer of "Theme Park", that, among other systems, was also released for the Amiga, and as a key contributor to "Black & White" (not released for the Amiga), he made a creative impact on the gaming world at an early age. The design principles Hassabis learned during this time – balancing complexity and usability, creating immersive worlds – later influenced his approach to developing AI systems. The ability to model and make accessible complex systems, which he honed as a game designer, fed directly into his scientific work. This interdisciplinary connection between game mechanics and AI research shaped his visionary approach to technological challenges.

In addition to Theme Park and Black & White, Hassabis was also involved in games like Republic: The Revolution. His experience in game development helped him to bridge the gap between entertainment and science by finding creative solutions to real scientific problems.

Update: (06:30, 17.10.24, snx)
Addition of Populous II to the news-item, based on an interview from 2016. (nba)

[News message: 15. Oct. 2024, 01:06] [Comments: 0]
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15.Oct.2024 File system: smbfs 2.22 published for AmigaOS 3 and 4
Olaf Barthel has released the new version 2.22 of the Samba file system smbfs for AmigaOS 3.x and 4.x after a break of almost five years and four months of development (amiga-news.de reported about version 2.1).

smbfs allows Amiga users to access Windows and Linux SMB shares, enabling network drives to be used like local drives. This makes it easier to integrate Amiga systems into modern networks and facilitates file sharing between different platforms.

"This release rolls back the changes contributed by Tygre in version 2.23, which implemented a workaround for dealing with directory and file names which made use of Unicode codepoints that could not be represented on the Amiga using the ISO 8859-1 character set. Tagged as amiga-smbfs 2.23, it was intended as a test in preparation for integrating Tygre's changes." Olaf Barthel continues on the smfbs-page on GitHub: "Sadly, the time to polish this feature never arrived and in the mean time there was no robust amiga-smbfs version to use instead. The amiga-smbfs 2.22 release intends to correct this, for the time being."

The file system in the new version for AmigaOS 3.x (68k) and AmigaOS 4.x (PPC) can be downloaded for free from the GitHub page under the title link. (nba)

[News message: 15. Oct. 2024, 00:48] [Comments: 0]
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14.Oct.2024 Video: How the diskspare.device stores 984KB on a DD disc
Robert Smith is currently working on an update of DiskFlashback (amiga-news.de reported) and is currently working on support for the diskspare.device (Aminet link), which is a supplement or replacement for the trackdisk.device, which can be used to format discs with 960 KB or 984 KB or, if an HD drive is available, with 1920 KB or 1968 KB. In his latest video, Smith shares his findings and results on how it works. (dr)

[News message: 14. Oct. 2024, 10:58] [Comments: 0]
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14.Oct.2024

Video series: The Amiga 1000 as a Workstation
In a nine-part journey through time, Thomas Cherryhomes attempts to categorise the Amiga 1000, which was officially launched in USA in 1985, in terms of its practical suitability as a workstation and to compare it with similar products.

At that time the Amiga 1000 was running AmigaOS 1.1, a 256KB expansion and two disk drives. Since, as the author writes, workstations were mainly used for scientific and technical tasks, with the expectation of developing customised software for a specific task, the series ultimately focused on this. The parts published so far:

(dr)

[News message: 14. Oct. 2024, 10:37] [Comments: 0]
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14.Oct.2024 Print-/PDF magazine: ZZAP! Amiga, issue 18
After Patreon supporters, also the general public can now purchase the September/October issue of the “ZZAP! Amiga” magazine. It consists of 60 color pages in A5 size. A look at the table of contents can be found on Amiga Magazine RACK. (dr)

[News message: 14. Oct. 2024, 09:05] [Comments: 0]
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