PE-QPAC setting up

[tcat]

Hi All,

These are my first steps with PE (Pointer Environment) and QPAC, it is a learning excersise for me.
I have started with PE v1.xx (PTR_GEN v1.73, WMAN v1.53, HOT_REXT v2.28)
My QL is JS ROM, QDOS v1.10, 512K simple addon RAM, TK2 ROM plugin v2.20.

I have QPAC2 Deutch version v1.39
I have QPAC1 English versions as below
- Alarm clock v1.01
- Calculator v1.02
- Calendar v1.03
- Clock v2.01 (also known as DIG)

This is my S*BASIC screen, please note that I use TV (albeit in monitor mode), therefore the leftmost PICK hot key button cannot be seen here. Hot keys list is displayed on standard channel #1 as help.

QPAC S*BASIC screen

qpac_basic.png (6.64 KiB) Viewed 4069 times

This is my backdrop initial screen, I can also come back here when putting S*BASIC to sleep, by pressing ALT-F1.

QPAC backdrop screen

qpac-backdrop.png (6.19 KiB) Viewed 4069 times

PE 1.xx is loaded before QPAC over SER2 serial port using LBYTES

Code: Select all

90 baud 9600
100 base1=RESPR(15140) : LBYTES SER2HR,base1 : CALL base1 : REMark PTR_GEN
110 base2=RESPR(10520) : LBYTES SER2HR,base2 : CALL base2 : REMark WMAN
120 base3=RESPR(11776) : LBYTES SER2HR,base3 : CALL base3 : REMark HOT_REXT

This is my boot file for QPAC1-2, again I use SER2 port.
I boot RAMPRT ramdisk very first and copy all QPAC1 applications to RAM1_

Code: Select all

100 BAUD 9600
110 :
120 REMark First shrink S*BASIC windows
130 :
140 WINDOW #0,467,51,35,205 : BORDER #0
150 WINDOW #2,225,188,32,14 : BORDER #2,1,255
160 WINDOW #1,242,188,257,14 : BORDER #1,1,255
170 MODE 4
180 :
190 REMark - Resident extensions, Apps in RAM disk, Mouse driver
200 :
210 rext$='ser2': exec$='ram1_'
220 LRESPR rext$ : REMark RAMPRT
225 LRESPR rext$ : REMark QPAC2
240 COPY rext$ TO exec$ & 'alarm'
250 COPY rext$ TO exec$ & 'calendar'
260 COPY rext$ TO exec$ & 'calculator'
270 COPY rext$ TO exec$ & 'clock'
280 COPY rext$ TO exec$ & 'sysmon'
290 COPY rext$ TO exec$ & 'typer'
300 LRESPR rext$ : REMark Mouse1 SER1 port
310 :
320 REMark - Now Hotkeys to start things off
330 :
340 ERT HOT_CHP('k',exec$ & 'calendar')
350 ERT HOT_CHP('c',exec$ & 'calculator')
360 ERT HOT_CHP('a',exec$ & 'alarm')
370 ERT HOT_CHP1('w',exec$ & 'typer')
380 ERT HOT_PICK('b','')
390 ERT HOT_WAKE('x','Exec')
400 ERT HOT_WAKE('z','Wake')
410 ERT HOT_WAKE('p','Pick')
420 ERT HOT_WAKE('d','Dateien')
430 ERT HOT_WAKE('l','Ljob')
440 ERT HOT_WAKE('s','Sysdef')
450 ERT HOT_THING(CHR$(232),'Button_Schlaf')
460 ERT HOT_THING('.','Button_Pick')
470 :
480 REMark - Hotkeys set up, now go
490 HOT_GO
500 :
510 REMark - Any apps to launch at start up?
520 REMark : EX exec$ & 'sysmon'
530 REMark : EX exec$ & 'clock'
540 :
550 REMark - Now the buttons
560 BT_HOTKEY 'Pick'
570 BT_SLEEP 'Sysdef'
580 BT_SLEEP 'Rjob'
590 BT_SLEEP 'Jobs'
600 BT_SLEEP 'Wake'
610 BT_SLEEP 'Exec'
620 BT_EXEC 'Dateien'
630 BT_HOTKEY 'alarm'
640 BT_HOTKEY 'calendar'
650 BT_HOTKEY 'calculator'
660 PROG_USE exec$
670 PAUSE 50
680 HOT_DO 'b'
690 HOT_DO CHR$(232)
700 HOT_LIST

All works fine for me, except I do not have additional two QPAC1 apps for PE 1.xx
TYPER, and
SYSMON
I have these only for PE 2.xx
Can anyone share please?

Many thanks in advance.
Tom

[RWAP]

The latest versions of QPAC1 and QPAC2 (so far as we know) are on Dilwyn's Site -

http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/pe/index.html

He is, however, missing PTR_GEN v1.73 if you could send him that please.

QPAC1 versions:
Alarm Clock v1.05
Calculator v1.05
Calendar v1.06
Clock v2.03
Sysmon v2.09
Typer v1.05

The pointer environment is not included in the zip file

As for setting up QPAC 2 have a look at the utility QPACer - http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/utils/index.html

[tcat]

Rich,

As for setting up QPAC 2 have a look at the utility QPACer - http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/utils/index.html

Thank you, I will have a look at this utility, I did not know it existed.

As for latest known versions of QPAC 1-2, these do require PE 2.xx, that is highly unstable on my JS ROM system. I have therefore resorted to older known to be stable PE 1.xx, for which I was missing earlier versions of QPAC 1-2.

Please see discussion here.
http://qlforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1021

Many thanks so far
Tom

[RWAP]

Ah - I have just checked it here on q-emulator and you are right - I didn't realise any work had been done to QPAC1 since Pointer Environment v2 had been released.

It simply crashes when you try to run it on q-emulator under a JS ROM.

I have emailed you the QPAC1 for Pointer Environment v1.xx

This has:
Alarm Clock v1.03
Calculator v1.04
Calendar v1.03
Clock v2.01
Sysmon v2.05
Typer v1.01

[tcat]

Rich,

Thank you for QPAC1 for PE 1.xx
While I do not mind using German QPAC2 v1.39 that much, will you also have a similar English version by any chance for PE 1.xx?

Deutsch QPAC2 is a good excersise for me, I realised thanks to Marcel, that button_sleep thing is German button_schlaf. RJob becomes LJob, Files are Dateien, etc.

I have not seen a Spanish version, perhaps I may try to produce one, as long as it boiles down to localising QDOS strings.

Rich, how about these tools, that are frequently referred from PE and QPAC documentation?
QPTR - working sets of _asm _bas examples to programm with PE
MENUCONFIG - customising QPAC1 apps
MENU_REXT - menu extension

Many thanks for supporting this
Tom

[RWAP]

Yes, I do have a QPAC2 - will have to test it on PE v1.xx

I don't know the status of QPTR - is it still commercial?

As for Menu_rext and MenuConfig - these are both part of the QMENU system which is still commercially available from Jochen Merz - although they can be distributed as part of a program which incorporates MENU_REXT (ie. not as a separate file from memory) - I don't think that they can be distributed on their own.

[tcat]

Hi,

Having read SBASIC Reference manual - Appendix 18, I learnt there are two Config 1 & 2 levels.
I have tried to play around with Config Level 1 so far, I can configure qpac2.v104e with it, but on qpac2.v139d it says no config level 1 info.

I can also configure these qpac1.v1 apps on Level 1,
Alarm.v103 Calendar.v103 Config.v102 Typer.v101
Calculator.v104 Clock.v201 Sysmon.v205

Does this mean, I need Config Level 2 program, for Qpac2 versions > v104 as the level has changed?

My copy of Config came with qpac1.v1

Many thanks
Tom

[tofro]

Tom,

anything that has a level 2 config block needs "menuconfig", which is the ptr-driven successor of config. Config is not able to configure such programs. You can, however, configure programs using a Level 1 config block using menuconfig.

This program also has the capabilities to store configuration information into a system-wide database for easier upgrade.

My menuconfig came with QPAC2 in the GD2 version, if I remember right. And I fear it's still copyrighted (Jochen Merz, I'd guess)

Tobias