Commander X16

So I've been troubleshooting the legacy downloads (the stuff that came from the old forum), and it's starting to look like there is an insurmountable problem regarding phpBB and file permissions.

So I've been pondering attacking the old attachments problem a different way. I can probably make it work one of two ways:

1. Leave the downloads section as it is, but remove all the attachments and insert hyperlinks to the files (hosted elsewhere on the site.)
2. Create a new, static download page for the legacy files, and start anew here on the new site.

The advantage to #1 is it's easy and will keep everything mostly as-is. But we'll still be stuck with the rather ugly formatting of the converted text. The downside is that there's a lot of sub-par stuff, programs that no longer work, and a few things here and there that probably don't really belong in a showcase of what you can do with the Commander X16.

The advantage to #2 is that this is a clean break: everything new going into the downloads section will be guaranteed to be R41 compatible, because you guys will only upload R41 compatible files. (Because you're all amazing like that.)

What would you guys prefer? Clean break or keep the old files and link out to them?

The main reason I voted #1 is because the X16 isn't quite out yet, it's possible the rom and/or emulator will be officially updated at least once more, and #2 feels like it's a bit of a trap in the sense that r41 software may not work with r42, and r42 is adding enough stuff that it's probably likely, even, that r42 software won't work on r41.

StephenHorn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 6:08 am The main reason I voted #1 is because the X16 isn't quite out yet, it's possible the rom and/or emulator will be officially updated at least once more, and #2 feels like it's a bit of a trap in the sense that r41 software may not work with r42, and r42 is adding enough stuff that it's probably likely, even, that r42 software won't work on r41.

Either way, files that don't work on the current system will be removed. We're only going to host files that work on the current, working emulator and/or hardware.

When R42 comes out, there will be some grace period, but we'll start removing programs that don't work with R42, as well... and when the release hardware hits, only programs that work on the release hardware will be retained.

We may choose to set up an archive for old or non-working uploads, but that will be for the sake of preservation, and it won't be part of the main download section. We only want to host programs that you can actually download and use on the current revision of the Commander X16.

So here's what I'm thinking:

We have roughly 250 downloads, spread across multiple categories.
* I have (for now) moved all the files into the archive.
* Files created before R41 will stay there, for reference and/or future updates.
* Files created after May 15, 2022 (the date R41 was released) will be moved back in to the main download section. Their attachments will be converted to links.
Programs created for R40 and prior versions of the system will be kept in the Archive.

From now on, we'll expect uploads to include a hashtag with the compatible version of the emulator, so:
#R41, #R42, etc.

Did R41 change the old core Kernel functions inherited from the Vic20/C64? That's all that my Forth relies on, so I don't see any particular reason why it wouldn't run on R41 with any more bugs than under whatever release it was first running on (maybe R38).

BruceRMcF wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 10:56 pm Did R41 change the old core Kernel functions inherited from the Vic20/C64? That's all that my Forth relies on, so I don't see any particular reason why it wouldn't run on R41 with any more bugs than under whatever release it was first running on (maybe R38).

What we want to avoid is having the files section full of sub-par junk, programs that don't work, and stuff that makes the Commander X16 look bad. For various reasons, we are going to start patrolling the download sections and create a curated list. (This is something David asked for.)

The problem from my end is that this is a labor intensive, manual process. It takes far too long to re-format the text, download the existing file, thoroughly test it, and then re-upload it. I could spend a month doing nothing but that, and still end up with only a dozen or so working titles.

So it's going to be up to you guys. Basically, I'm asking people to upload or re-upload stuff that they know works on R41.

If you have successfully tested Forth on R41, feel free to re-upload it and tag it as #R41. At this point, everything people upload needs to be tested and demonstrated working on R41. And for now, we'd like to see only working, complete programs. No more tech demos or mockups.

TomXP411 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 2:11 am If you have successfully tested Forth on R41, feel free to re-upload it and tag it as #R41. ...

OK, when my intensive online course is over and I am down to four classes, I'll see about fixing the bug with CREATE> and re-uploading it.

Re-uploading probably makes more sense in my case anyway, since I am under a new user name.

I was looking at my files in the Downloads section, and I see the .bin file extension is deactivated and cannot be displayed. Why is that? Both FASTMATH and META/L use that file extension and it would be a real PITA to change. Both work in r41, but not without the bin files.

Ed Minchau wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:52 pm I was looking at my files in the Downloads section, and I see the .bin file extension is deactivated and cannot be displayed. Why is that? Both FASTMATH and META/L use that file extension and it would be a real PITA to change. Both work in r41, but not without the bin files.

The board requires me to select every file type allowed. The simple way to handle it is to ZIP the files for upload; ZIP files should work.