Quick Start Guide (2024-10-24)

Taken over by gwh

== originally by Egan Ford egan@sense.net ====================================

NOTE: READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS

Prereqs:

• MacOS 10.12 64-bit (outdated, likely doesn't work):

  • Install XQuartz, Xcode (from your installation media) in that order.
  • Install Macports (macports.org), then:

  sudo port install gtk3 pkgconfig gcc6
  sudo port select --set gcc mp-gcc6
  export PATH=/opt/local/bin:$PATH

• Ubuntu:

  sudo apt-get install git libgtk3.0-dev

• RedHat/CentOS, Fedora:

  sudo yum install git gtk3-devel

• Arch:

  sudo pacman -S git gtk3

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Start up X11 and use xterm

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Download x50ng source:

git clone https://github.com/gwenhael-le-moine/x50ng.git

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Build:

cd x50ng
make

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Install (optional):

make install

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Run:

./dist/x50ng

When installed, there should be an applications menu entry to run x50ng. Installing also enables running it from the terminal in any directory:

x50ng

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First launch setup

On the first launch, the calculator will be missing a firmware, forcing the bootloader to complain and demand a fresh one. HP's official firmwares can be found at e.g.: https://www.hpcalc.org/hp49/pc/rom/ Some of the most popular of these are also included in x50ng's source directory. Alternatively, the most up-to-date version of NewRPL can be found at: https://hpgcc3.org/downloads/newrplfw.bin

Pick a firmware to use and store it in any directory along with its update.scp file. The update.scp file only contains the filename of the firmware (when renaming the firmware, make sure the new name fits into a DOS-style 8.3 naming scheme) followed by a DOS-style linebreak, so a missing update.scp can be rectified easily.

Right click on the screen, or press the menu key on a physical keyboard, to open the menu, and click on "Mount SD folder". Select the directory containing the firmware. Then, select the SD option from the bootloader's update source menu by clicking on the virtual key labeled "2" or by pressing the "2" key on a physical keyboard.

Now the bootloader is installing the firmware; wait until it finishes printing hex numbers to the virtual display, then follow its prompt to press Reset ( = F12 or the Reset entry in the menu) or Enter. The calculator should be fully usable after this procedure.

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Do stuff, e.g.:

Restore backup:

BACKUP
3
->TAG
RESTORE

Install ARMToolbox (HPGCC2):

2
SETUP.BIN
3
->TAG
RCL
EVAL

(Right Click ON, Left Click C)

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To Exit Emulator

Use any of:

• Press F7 or F10

• Press Alt-F4 or your system's equivalent key combination

• Open the menu using a right click on the screen or the menu key, then choose "Quit"

• Press Ctrl-C in the launch terminal

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Start Over:

• clean slate?

rm -r ~/.config/x50ng/

• soft reset only?

With x50ng running, press F12, or right click on the screen and select "Reset" from the menu.

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Debugging with x50ng

There is a GDB interface for debugging ARM programs, e.g. HPGCC2/3 applications or replacement firmwares. To use it, start x50ng from a terminal with the -d option, and start arm-none-eabi-gdb with an appropriate ELF file in another terminal. To connect to x50ng, type in the GDB console:

target remote :1234

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Known Limitations:

• HPGCC SD Card I/O
  • libfsystem unavailable.
  • f* calls unstable (HPGCC2)
  • f* calls stable (HPGCC3)

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Post fork todo-list:

• [DONE] first port gtk+-2 code to gtk+-3
  • https://docs.gtk.org/gtk3/migrating-2to3.html
• [DONE] make it nicer in gtk+-3
• [TODO] then port gtk+-3 code to gtk4
  • https://docs.gtk.org/gtk4/migrating-3to4.html