103 lines
4.4 KiB
Text
103 lines
4.4 KiB
Text
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ASCII to Binary and Binary to ASCII Translator
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A number of programs for the 48 and 49 were distributed as ASCII files
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rather than binary files, and some programmers like to make ASCII
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backups of their programs, perhaps to make the source code more easily
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readable by others, rather than just binary backups. The 48 and 49
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can do this translation with ASCII Kermit transfers, but this isn't
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always possible or feasible. This program allows you to take an
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ASCII-format string and convert it to the binary equivalent, or vice
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versa, on demand without having to re-transfer the file.
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This has several benefits. Users of the 49G+ who do all file transfers
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with an SD card can now have access to ASCII-format files. Users of
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Emu48, emulating either the 48 or the 49, can now both import and
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export ASCII-format files. Users of any calculator can always do file
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transfers with Xmodem and still do ASCII conversion after the fact.
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This program automatically detects the mode. When given a string with
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the HPHP4... header, it will output the binary equivalent. When given
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any binary object (anything but a string), it will return the ASCII
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string equivalent with a header appropriate for the current modes when
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needed.
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One limitation is that upon saving a string, Emu48 puts a 13-byte
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HPHP48-W or HPHP49-W header at the beginning, and the 49G+ puts a
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13-byte HPHP49-X header at the beginning of all files copied onto an
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SD card. This 13-byte header must be manually removed with a text
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editor on the PC before the file can be considered a true ASCII file.
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Simple directions:
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1. Load asciibin.48 onto the 48 or asciibin.49 onto the 49 by whatever
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transfer means you prefer. With Emu48, simply load the appropriate
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version for the calculator currently being emulated with the Edit-
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Load Object command, and then STO it in a variable.
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3. Put the file you want to translate on level 1 of the stack.
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4. Run this program with the appropriate VAR menu softkey.
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5. STO the translated program in a variable on the calculator or export
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it in Emu48 with the Edit-Save Object... command.
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Unfortunately, this program sometimes fails on directories. I'm not
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entirely sure why it doesn't work (since it properly imports some
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directories) and don't have a solution at present. For these pesky
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directories, you'll still have to use ASCII Kermit to transfer the file
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with a cable. The program is also very slow when running on a real
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48G/GX or 49G.
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Note: In order to successfully convert an ASCII string, the string must
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contain a full "T(3)A(R)F(.)"-style definition. If this is not
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complete, for example, if it only has "T(3)", an error will be given and
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the conversion will not be performed.
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The file asciibin.s contains the fully-commented System RPL source code,
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suitable for compiling on a PC. The file asciibin.src contains the same
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source code, but in a format suitable for compiling on the calculator
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with MASD on either the 48GX (with the MetaKernel) or any 49 model.
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The files jhmascii.bin and jhmascii.txt contain a User RPL program by
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John H Meyers that was inspired by this program, which in turn was
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inspired by previous posts by John H Meyers.
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Program created by Eric Rechlin <eric@hpcalc.org> based on posts to
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comp.sys.hp48 by John H Meyers <jhmeyers@mum.edu>. I would also like
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to thank Christoph Giesselink for optimizing my program, saving about
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20 bytes, as well as for correcting some bugs.
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Revision 2.0, see http://www.hpcalc.org for updates.
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Version History
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2.0, 2005-05-30
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Removed dependency on unsupported entry points.
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User's system flag settings are no longer affected.
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Same code compiles on both 48 and 49.
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1.6, 2001-11-22
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Noted the 49 version also works on 1.18.
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Cleaner error handling (thanks again, Christoph).
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1.5, 2001-10-03
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Now includes 49 1.19-4-6 version, using entry points found by Christoph.
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Cleaner error handling (thank you, Christoph).
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1.4, 2000-04-08
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Bug fix (thanks again, Christoph).
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1.3, 1998-09-30
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Optimized code again (thanks Christoph).
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1.2, 1998-08-28
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More robust handling of input string.
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Reads header and sets settings as appropriate.
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Generates appropriate header based on settings.
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Now uses unsupported entry points
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1.1, 1998-08-24
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Includes source code.
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Includes program by John H Meyers inspired by this one.
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Optimized code slightly.
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Adds simple header when generating string.
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1.0, 1998-06-24
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Initial release.
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