My hopes.

Hi everybody. New on this forum and quite new to the RiscOS “experience”
It wil be a LOOOONG post. And sorry for my bad english too.

Just one hope.

I always looked for an os I can control almost completely knowing it in the most of its aspects.
So I m lookin for a simple os on simple hw. Seems like the BBxm and Riscos can be a great duo.
I really hope people doesn’t spread their effort in doin 44 browsers, 55 editors, 100 compilers and 100000 libs.
I’m quite sure the best thing is optimize what we have keepin it lighter, faster, simpler, more stable.
I would love the theory behind the microkernel os (which I love) could be ported on sw… I only have to add the sw parts for the feature I need (as I do with modules for the kernel).
I REALLY LOVE simplicity. So I prefer the simpler even if it lacks features.
I’m sick of sw like Outlook.. 1.000.000 features that most people don’t even know about and still ask for more.

Stated this. I’d love to practice asm (I studied abit)
- which assembler should I use? I tried extAsm but can’t find a doc that can explain exactly the basic steps in writing and assembly a prog which can run.
- is there a debugger/disasm with step by step execution?
- is it possible to set the icon bar always on top??
- from the *command windows.. cannot I have a command history? (or maybe even command completion?)

Thank u very much. I tried risc os and I love it. When I see a program 20k.. my heart is full of joy.

I googled days on internet… and the biggest problem I found is the documentation is abit sparse.. links almost broken… I think RiscosOpen should collect some “certified” sources for sw and docs.

If I can help in just let me know.

Thank u very much. People here did a great work.

Hi Igor,
Yes, I’m well aware that RISC OS on the web is confusing to newcomers with lots of old websites making it hard to grasp what is happening now. But at least you have found RISC OS Open which is a great place to ask questions.
Can I suggest you check out RISCOScode for loads of working links to the rest of the current scene. I’m also hoping to get a new website, piLEARN up to speed over the next few days.
Regards,
Martin
http://www.RISCOScode.com
http://www.piLEARN.com

Hi.

is it possible to set the icon bar always on top??

Under Configuration→Windows (which you’ve probably found) untick ‘Cover icon bar when toggling to full size’. This doesn’t seem to necessarily work for applications when the window is first opened at a large size (e.g. NetSurf on a small screen) but should do for toggling from small.

(- from the *command windows.. cannot I have a command history? (or maybe even command completion?))

You need the LineEditor module. It provides both these functions.

Thank u very much.. after work i ll try! I ve ‘reposted’ the asm question in another post with a more suitable title. thank u all.

Moving the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen should pop the icon bar to the front, or Shift-F12 does the same.

If you are going to be programming then you will need Zap or StrongED for test editing (we won’t start a flame war here about which is best!). Zap comes with the LineEditor module which provides commend history, filename completion, etc.

Hi Igor.

I feel much the same way you do, and it’s a major factor in me still being attracted to RISC OS after all this time: Its simplicity and the possibility to actually comprehend the system. You could say that it follows the “UNIX philosophy”: Small applications doing conceptually one thing, and cooperating with each other, rather than monolithic applications.

For learning assembly code, you may like to try using the BASIC assembler, which I understand has even recently been updated to supporting the VFP/NEON instructions.

As for learning ARM assembly code programming, there are several tuturials around. Here’s one: http://www.heyrick.co.uk/assembler/

Other assemblers have some more advanced features, like macros (although you can get their effect by using BASIC functions), and I’d recommend at least trying out extASM as you mentioned.

I’m a co-author of extASM and the current maintainer of it, so if you’d like some tips for getting up and running with it, or about assembly code in general, feel free to mail me at tslettebo@broadpark.no. :)

Thank u very much!
I know my needs are quite useless. But since I was a child I liked to know how things work in the deep. I don’t like tons of complex features because I feel like they re out of my control. I prefer little and simple building blocks so I can master how to use them.

Thank u all for ur support.

Just a couple of question for Terje (I ll ask here so many can have benefit..)
1) Could u just write the minimum source extasm can assmebly and then run? (an hello world for example?)
2) When I launch a program… where and how is it loaded? (if u can just point me towards some documents…)

Good night!

(Note: I haven’t tested the following, but it should work)

1) Could u just write the minimum source extasm can assmebly and then run? (an hello world for example?)

Sure:

SWI OS_Exit

That’s the minimum program that will load and run: A single instruction. :)

If you’d like a “Hello world” program, here you are:

SWI   OS_WriteS
DCB   "Hello world!",10,0
ALIGN
SWI   OS_Exit

2) When I launch a program… where and how is it loaded? (if u can just point me towards some documents…)

It’s loaded and run at 0×8000. You could also run it like this (assuming the file is called “Code”):

*Load Code // Loads at 0×8000 by default
*Go 8000

The definitive documentation for RISC OS is the Programmer’s Reference Manual.

The definitive documentation for RISC OS is the Programmer’s Reference Manual.

…some of which is also available here in the wiki.