Tridim - the 3D modelling program

[Martin_Head]

I have been trying again to get Tridim to run in QPC2. I can get the Manipulation program to run. But I am having problems with the main Tridim program.

Tridim crashes at odd places, and does not usually finish starting itself up by drawing the menus.

I have a couple of questions I was wondering if anyone could answer.

1. Does SMSQ/E have any problems with old Supercharged Basic programs.

2. Tridim makes use of a couple of previously unused system variables $28024 and $28028, which in SMSQ/E are sys_mxfr and sys_rtc. Maximum free memory and real time in seconds.

sys_mxfr has a value set and sys_rtc always seems to be zero. Can changing these system variables cause SMSQ/E to crash? I know that in the compiled program, Tridim loads a couple of files, But I don't know to what addresses, and how it allocates memory for these files. Does SMSQ/E use sys_mxfr for allocating memory?

[Martin_Head]

I have been working on getting the Manipulation program to work in SMSQ/E

Here is the current program, It is still a work in progress, Let me know if you have any problems with it.

It has only been tested in QPC2, and you will need to edit line 210 for your device. Note this is for SMSQ/E. It should work in QDOS, but you would have to find replacement commands for some of the SBASIC ones.

[RWAP]

This is excellent work.

Can the admins split off the topic to create a new topic about Tridim please (as original topic was all about Pyramide releasing some programs as freeware).

[Martin_Head]

This is Tridim 3 for SMSQ/E systems.

I have decompiled the original Tridim program back to SuperBASIC and made it work in SMSQ/E.

This version could do with a little more work, but I am releasing it for testing and feedback.

Things I know that need more work are:
System 4 views, inverting the screen with 'N' does not work properly.
Saving a screen dump only works in QL screen modes.
Having Tridim in a subdirectory can cause problems. Unless you use something like a DEV device.

I have put quite a lot of time and effort into this program, and I fancy a break from it for a while. If anyone feels like picking up the reins and running with it. Please feel free.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Martin,

Great work, I have had a quick look at the Manip and updated Tridim programme.

I was interested in this comment:

I have decompiled the original Tridim program back to SuperBASIC and made it work in SMSQ/E.

Did you decompile a Supercharged programme.

[vanpeebles]

This is excellent work.

Can the admins split off the topic to create a new topic about Tridim please (as original topic was all about Pyramide releasing some programs as freeware).

Done!

Great work too!

[Martin_Head]

Hi Martin,

Great work, I have had a quick look at the Manip and updated Tridim programme.

I was interested in this comment:

I have decompiled the original Tridim program back to SuperBASIC and made it work in SMSQ/E.

Did you decompile a Supercharged programme.

Yes. At the moment the decompiler can only decompile the Tridim program. It was written especially to decompile Tridim, It needs some work to make it a bit more versatile.

Due to the way SuperCharge codes the original SuperBASIC program, I doubt that my program would ever be fully automated and able to de compile without human intervention.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Martin,

I was trying to reverse engineer the the Turbo compile process, by disassembling the Turbo object code and produce the intermediate code, then make a look up table to list all the Superbasic commands with links to the libraries.

You seem to of done a better job than me.

[Martin_Head]

Hi Martin,

I was trying to reverse engineer the the Turbo compile process, by disassembling the Turbo object code and produce the intermediate code, then make a look up table to list all the Superbasic commands with links to the libraries.

You seem to of done a better job than me.

I don't know how close Turbo is to SuperCharge. In SuperCharge the "coded" version of the original SuperBASIC program is mainly a list of references to machine code routines (libraries?). Which of these routines, and the order they appear depends on the original SuperBASIC program. So I had to manually look at these routines to determine what each one did. So the decompiler program would know how to interpret it. This is why the decompiler only works for Tridim at the moment. Because it only knows how to deal with the routines that exist (and in that order) in that particular program.

To decompile another program, requires manually going through the routines again. This is why I doubt that my program could be fully automated, unless someone could write some clever code that could that could identify what the routines did. It could perhaps compare the routines with some kind of a reference library.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Martin,

I have compared a Supercharge and Turbo compiled programme, the SuperBasic commands look to appear at the same point. There maybe be some sort of common data structure between the two. Since Turbo is supposed to be an enhanced Supercharge Compiler.

I was reading the Turbo manuals when I was in disposed, I will resume this and get a better insight into the way Turbo is structured.

I do not have any Supercharge manuals except for the Updates in the DP Collection, do you have the Surpercharge that I could scan?