sbtcvm/sbtcvm-mark-2

[no longer supported, please see SBTCVM-Gen2-9] Simple Balanced Ternary Computer Virtual Machine: Mark 2 is a simple Balanced Ternary VM programmed in python and Pygame.

sbtcvm-mark-2's Issues

help view: word wrap not right

i opened help by launcher menu->help. on that page, visible without scrolling or resizing the window, a line of text goes off the right side of the window.

"resizable windows have an extra bar at the bottom, that is the same color of the title ba"

the right side of the 'a' is cut off. further down, the "Close Task" line is a little bit cut off, and the "Bring To Top" line's period is off the edge.

one thing i've learned over the years is you can't really precompute text size for most types of interface. You can't rely on how it will be rendered.

Failure to start with Python 3.6.3

Neither launcher.py nor SBTCVM_MK2.py will start with Python 3.6.3. I assume others also won't, as it's a syntax error in using print:

(SBTCVM-Mark-2-master) 55 % python SBTCVM_MK2.py
  File "SBTCVM_MK2.py", line 18
    print "SBTCVM Mark 2 Starting up..."
                                       ^
SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'. Did you mean print("SBTCVM Mark 2 Starting up...")?
(SBTCVM-Mark-2-master) 56 % python launcher.py
  File "launcher.py", line 22
    print "SBTCVM Desktop v3.0"
                              ^
SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'. Did you mean print("SBTCVM Desktop v3.0")?
(SBTCVM-Mark-2-master) 57 % python launcher.py
  File "launcher.py", line 22
    print "SBTCVM Desktop v3.0"
                              ^
SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'. Did you mean print("SBTCVM Desktop v3.0")?

Sorry to do this, I loathe dealing with upgrade issues myself, but with Python 3.0 having been released 10 years ago, I thought I ought to at least file it. I'll install Python 2.7 for now, not expecting you to fix it overnight. :)

What are some ways we can improve SBTCVM for the v2.0.3 release?

areas to think about:

• ease of use of graphical utilities
• easing the learning curve for new users
• general polish
• general improvements

@SBTCVM/core-devs any ideas?

redesigning intro.tasm

The current introduction program is rather old. infact parts of it trace back to mark 1. and due to recent enhancements to the VM, just doesn't show all what mark 2 can do and what SBTCVM is as well as it used to.
here is a draft for a possible splash screen. (upscaled a bit)

@SBTCVM/core-devs feel free to suggest ideas. we can use several troms if really needed.

also it be nice to take advantage of SBTGA and the 3-voice sound as well.
even though SBTGA's sprite support is awaiting design & implementation, it should still help to make the introduction a tad bit less dull.

calculator: right-clicking res>A doesn't work before the first result

minor bug noted today, it's what the title says. i knew what i wanted to calculated, and i wanted to right-click it and go, but the bar didn't go blue. the workaround is to left-click before right-clicking.

My program crashed the VM

I broke it with my first program!

Hahahaha oh dear! Github "doesn't support" attaching .tasm or .trom... or seemingly any source code. What is this I don't even! Aaaanyway, pasting the tasm since it's so short:

setreg1|--------+|overloop
# label could go on next statement, but if it loops wrong i want to see it.

setreg2|+--------
dumpreg1|0|leftloop
multiply|3
wait|-
gotodataif|>nextloop
gotodata|>leftloop

setreg2|--------+|nextloop
dumpreg1|0|rightloop
divide|3
wait|-
gotodataif|>overloop
gotodata|>rightloop

It assembled with no errors, reporting 4 gotorefs, 13 instructions, and extra space: 19670.

On running it, the VM window opens, then soon closes. Here is the console output:

Since I laughed at Github earlier, I'll say I'm happy to see I can attach a screenshot with print screen and ctrl-V.

They say you don't really find the bugs in your code until someone else uses it. :)

regset operation assembly keywords goto refrence bug (fixed)

I just figured id point out that the bug related to the bold red warning text in the users manual about multi-instruction commands/keywords in SBTCVM assembly has been fixed.

What kinds of utilities & functionality Should we include with SBTCVM's desktop?

so far we have most of the basics covered. (task manager, file manager, console, system & math shells, etc.)

aside from finishing the incomplete pinboard and file manager, what other tools, builtins and features should be added? Perhaps load and save dialogs of some sort?

libvmui.textinput() and desktop shell builtin don't support moving cursor with mouse.

The recently added general-use text input function does feature a movable cursor, but its only movable via the keyboard. the question is how to add mouse support without massively over-complicating it.

it would help the general usability of the calculator a bit, as well as any utilities that end up using libvmui.textinput() as well.

Addons. creating a coherent way of having additional utilities. (before we wind up with a mess)

Basic idea:

The idea would be having a "addons" directory, and having each add-on having its own directory under that. (that way we can ignore them with the .gitignore file) and having a basic way for programs to "register" command shell commands and launcher icons, and perhaps when we get around to it, file types in the fileviewer.

The Idea for the user is that these additional utilities should work in a seamless fashion.

the tricky part would be having to run said python programs from the base directory of the repository so they could access the backend and files and whatnot correctly.

This might also help with components not necessarily needed by all users, or components that involve C or some other compiled language.

as far as addon configuration, XML would be a logical choice.

though, this can (and probably should) wait until after v2.0.3. Because we should do this right the first time and not rush this.

Though we should also not wait until we have a mess of disorganized addons.

@SBTCVM/core-devs

The VM currently does not have any ways of accessing helpview.

It probably would help lessen confusion if we put a helpview section together for the VM, and provided a way to access such from the VM.

Question is, Do we have it accessible via the pause menu, F1, or have a detailed index of related topics accessible via the pause menu, and a short, quick reference accessible via F1?

offsetlen queries

Documentation for the offsetlen instruction left me unsure whether it shifts the source data or not. testoffsetlen.tasm was uninstructive as its test data is uniform. I assumed it shifts because of the "offset" in the name, but output from my tests seems to indicate it truncates. I'm wondering, is it meant to shift, or shall I correct the documentation?

here's my intended documentation:

"offsetlen"
-0-++0
defines a masking window, only trits visible 
through the window are written to the destination.

usage:
	offsetlen|A,B,C
if A is "off", the remaining trits in the destination are preserved.
if it is "on", they are overwritten with 0.
B is the offset for the window's low-value edge (the right side).
C is the size of the window, the length extending toward high values.
affected operations are read and write to IO and memory.
the window remains active until reset with "offsetlen|off,0,9".
see also: romread* setdata IOread* IOwrite*

test code:
https://github.com/eekee/SBCTVM_Mk2_VMUSER/blob/master/offsetlen.tasm
https://github.com/eekee/SBCTVM_Mk2_VMUSER/blob/master/offsetlen.tasm