SymbOS 2.1 Final released

[Prodatron]

The final version of SymbOS 2.1 has been released this weekend.



You can download it here:
http://www.symbos.de/download.htm
While some of the new features are MSX related there are still several new things for the Amstrad CPC and PCW port as well.

Here is a summary of the most important non-MSX based changes compared to the last version 2.0:

   
• New multiline textinput control: The most complex control of the desktop manager has the functionality of a small text editor and is an exact copy of modern textedit-boxes. It supports features like auto-word-wrapping, support of any proportional fonts and colours, unlimited line length, text marking, copy & paste etc.
• Improved singleline textinput control: This control has been optimized a lot and is now based on the new code of the multiline control. Editing is faster and doesn't flicker anymore.
• Interbank calls: The same application can now place code in multiple 64K banks and use the new interbank calls of the kernel to switch between the code areas in an easy and transparent way.
• 64K cluster support: While the official specification of the FAT filesystem doesn't allow clusters with sizes larger 32KB, SymbOS is now also able to handle FAT16 and FAT32 partitions with 64K clusters.
• Settings autosave: Changes of the system settings will now be autosaved on shut down or when closing the control panel. This is optional.
• Preselected system path: The file dialogue will preselect the system path, if no drive and path is specified
• Direct low level sector access: The file manager now provides direct access to its low level sector read and write functions for the applications.
• Optimized memory allocation: When an application is loaded the system now tries different ways of memory allocation. This minimizes the wasting of fragmented memory areas and makes it possible still to load programs even if the memory is nearly full.
• Improved SymShell: The textoutput in fullscreen mode is again 20% faster. The TYPE command has been debugged.
• and last but not least: a new nice looking system font

These new applications have now been added to the download section:

   
• Notepad: With the availability of the new multiline textinput control a Notepad clone is now reality in SymbOS as well. It provides nearly the whole functionality of its Windows counterpart including search and replace, different formatting options and multiple font selection.
• Conways Game Of Life: This application was mainly developed to demonstrate the multi threading ability in the multitasking environment of SymbOS. It also contains a library with hundrets of objects and supports all combinations of alternative cell rules.
• 4-In-A-Row: The first official released SymStudio application has been developed by Edoz. It is the well known game "4-in-a-row", which is developed 100% in SymBasic and is now available for SymbOS.
• Tetris 2014: Tetris is another example that developing SymBasic-based applications and games with SymStudio is truly possible and easy to do. This second more advanced game by Edoz brings this classic to SymbOS.

Feedback and bug reports are always welcome!

[Edoz(MSX)]

So cool that SymbOS works on multiple z80 machines.. However i have no experience with the CPC I watch eBay now to buy one Lot of new features ! I hope those objects, like the multiline textbox comes to Unify as well..

[Edoz(MSX)]

I forgot to say that with help of symstudio i was able to make something.. A big thanks to trebmint for this amazing tool!!

[Prodatron]

Just want to send a big thank you to EdoZ and Trebmint for your help, support and motivation! Now the show must go on...

[radu14m]

great work !!! 

[Trebmint]

This as always is great stuff. Love the new font... who did that? haha

[Joseman]

Hi

I've been following all the news on the msx forum, I'll test all of this in my cpc-AT when i have time.

I'm thinking on take a cpc464, buy all the new hardware for it (x-mem, floppy controller, already ordered mother-x and playcity, have symbiface) and put again all on a new mini-atx tower. If it not burns then it'll be great to see

Thinking in test unify too, i've something in mind...

Thanks prodatron, trebmint, Edoz for all the great work!!

[CraigsBar]

Oh wow! The notepad is awesome. It opens the read me file perfectly, even does a reasonable effort of the ascii art logo. This is what an os for the next generation of cpcfans should be like. Thanks prodatron. Next challenge tho..... Incorporate minibooster and playcity support?

[Prodatron]

Thanks Joseman and CraigsBar!
Playcity support will be added in SymAmp very soon.
I am planning to add network support for the 3.0. First for an MSX expansion card called "DenYoNet", which is an ethernet card with integrated TCP/IP stack. Don't know how difficult it would be to do Minibooster-based network support, too...

CU,
Prodatron

[CraigsBar]

Thanks Joseman and CraigsBar!
Playcity support will be added in SymAmp very soon.
I am planning to add network support for the 3.0. First for an MSX expansion card called "DenYoNet", which is an ethernet card with integrated TCP/IP stack. Don't know how difficult it would be to do Minibooster-based network support, too...

CU,
Prodatron

Oh and any chance of the plus extended pallette coming back? or (and I guess I am pushing it here) Hardware sprites for the icons and "start" button to increase the colour count

[Trebmint]

Oh and any chance of the plus extended pallette coming back? or (and I guess I am pushing it here) Hardware sprites for the icons and "start" button to increase the colour count

The colour scheme has been carefully chosen, but I think its possible for plus palette to be set. Probably a Plus unique App. As for hardware sprites Prodatron told me that he's been planning since 2004 to put a hardware sprite in for the mouse pointer. As for icons, due to the fact that the icons are 24x24, and you can have any number of the screen, hardward sprites of sixteen 16x16 isnt enough.


What we need is one of the Hardware Guru's to come up with 9 Channel Sound, Real Time Clock, 512k Ram, Mouse Control, Visual Display Processor, Ethernet card

[Prodatron]

Oh and any chance of the plus extended pallette coming back? or (and I guess I am pushing it here) Hardware sprites for the icons and "start" button to increase the colour count

IIRC the Plus mode has been deactivated back then because of compatibility issues with the SYMBiFACE II. I should have a look at it again. Icons can't be done with hardware sprites, as in theory you can have an umlimited amount of it, and they can be partially overlapped by other GUI elements.
Yes, for the mouse pointer that makes sense. And the "start" button could be done with hardware sprites, too (maybe then a nice round one, which is hanging a little bit out of the taskbar ).

CU,
Prodatron

[robcfg]

One little question.


I have SymbOS 2.0 installed on CF card I use with my SFII, how should I update it to 2.1 the safe way?


Great job! I have to try also the MSX version on my TurboR. Can I use it from disk or do I need an SD or CF storage solution?

[Edoz(MSX)]

On the turbo-r you could use the floppy driver as it Is now supported.
(you could also use the sunrise IDE or Megaflash SD)

[CraigsBar]

One little question.


I have SymbOS 2.0 installed on CF card I use with my SFII, how should I update it to 2.1 the safe way?

I use an sd-ide drive with my symbiface II so copied the Roms onto my sd card, and the symbos floppy, game. And apps dsks to real floppies. Then...

Booted symbos from Rom.
Created a be folder c:\symbos.21
Copied the files from the 3 discs into that folder.
Flashed the updated Roms with Rom manager
Removed the sd card and USD my Mac to rename c:\symbos to c:\symbos.20 and c:\symbos.21 to c:\symbos

Put the sd card back in the symbiface and rebooted it. Glorious 2.1 goodness.

[Prodatron]

The most important thing is to keep the old SYMBOS.INI, so your setup will not be deleted (new SymbOS versions are always compatible with old INI files).
Then you can update all files with the newer versions and also flash the new ROMs.

If you have an MSX TurboR (congratulation! ) with only the internal floppy drive, you can install SymbOS directly on the same disc, which includes the installer. You just have to delete MSXDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM first to have enough free space on the disc. Of course it's more fun to have an IDE device or SD card reader

[Munchausen]

This release is really awesome! I'm also really looking forward to playing with symstudio. Thanks for keeping development on SymbOS going guys!

I'm also really interested in the C API for symbos, does anyone know if that will get updated or have any contact with the creator at all? I tried to contact him a while ago to ask if was planning to release the source but I didn't get a response. The source would be handy because it has a large (58k!) static library you have to link to that would make your programs pretty big I imagine (unless the SDCC linker is very clever), and the "symbosmake" application is windows only (though it might work through WINE).

I would have thought that a C api would be fairly simple, just a thin layer declaring the addresses of the ASM functions and the types of the arguments and returns, and addresses of any static data and their types - not that I am belittling the amount of work needed to actually do that because it would be quite a feat, but in this case being such a thin layer I don't see why it would need to be closed source. I could be wrong I guess, because maybe the C API wraps more than that and e.g. does many symbos API calls for a single C function, or handles bank switching and/or memory management for you.

I wanted to do some ASM programming on Symbos but couldn't immediately understand how the memory layout/management worked... some tutorials on writing a simple symbos app in ASM would be really handy. Mind you, I find memory management on 8 bits a little tricky anyway, I work daily with x86 (32/64 bit) ASM and in previous jobs have written device drivers, but I'm used to a completely flat memory layout and bank switching makes my brain hurt  . I think if I could dedicate a few days to it I would manage but time is difficult to come by!

Anyway, a C API would be a really great thing to have to cater to all levels of programming - ASM for super low level, C for mid to low level, and SymStudio for high level, but I don't want to be too greedy when I am already spoiled with a choice of ASM and symstudio! Cheers

[Trebmint]

Anyway, a C API would be a really great thing to have to cater to all levels of programming - ASM for super low level, C for mid to low level, and SymStudio for high level, but I don't want to be too greedy when I am already spoiled with a choice of ASM and symstudio! Cheers

Can I point out that SymStudio is not a langauge but an IDE, and you can either use SymBasic or ASM from within SymStudio. You can freely mix ASM with SymBasic using CODE Z80 or CODE Basic within the listing

Code Select Expand


e.g
CODE Z80
Ld hl,(MyPos)
Inc hl
Ld (MyPos),hl
CODE BASIC
A=A+Mypos
....


The benefit of using of using SymStudio is that even with ASM it handles the creation of the Forms, Objects,event Processing and One Click compile to .DSK

[KaosOverride]

Awesome!

Time for playing arround with my symbifaced CPC and my MSX2

Also a PCW IDE interface would be great

[Munchausen]

Can I point out that SymStudio is not a langauge but an IDE, and you can either use SymBasic or ASM from within SymStudio. You can freely mix ASM with SymBasic using CODE Z80 or CODE Basic within the listing

Code Select Expand


e.g
CODE Z80
Ld hl,(MyPos)
Inc hl
Ld (MyPos),hl
CODE BASIC
A=A+Mypos
....


The benefit of using of using SymStudio is that even with ASM it handles the creation of the Forms, Objects,event Processing and One Click compile to .DSK

Ah, I didn't realise that you could code ASM in symstudio, that's awesome! Perhaps that will make my learning easier.

[Munchausen]

Awesome!

Time for playing arround with my symbifaced CPC and my MSX2

Also a PCW IDE interface would be great

How is your CPC IDE interface going?


I imagine PCW IDE would be very similar?

[Trebmint]

Ah, I didn't realise that you could code ASM in symstudio, that's awesome! Perhaps that will make my learning easier.

Yes its easy to code for either, or mixed (as Im doing currently on Bat To The Future) together. Just either use the CODE Z80 or CODE Basic directive. Ints defined by the Global Directive will be accessible from Symbasic and Z80.


If you've looked at Symbos coding you'll know that code needs to be sectioned into 3 Areas, and Form structures are not easy to figure out, plus the relocation as the code is compiled twice. Symstudio makes this in effect invisible for the coder. You can have a Z80 Hello World working in a few minutes.

[jibanes]

I currently own a HxC and a 6128; would I need anything else to start using symbos 2.1? And what are my options for "mass" storage?

[CraigsBar]

I currently own a HxC and a 6128; would I need anything else to start using symbos 2.1? And what are my options for "mass" storage?

realistically at present you need to source a symbiface 2. IDE controller, 32rom slots, 512k ram and ps/2 mouse. These are not available new anymore, so you need to source one 2nd hand.

Craig

[Munchausen]

The RAM/ROM upgrades are easily available (xmem), and you can use a mouse connected to the joystick connector using Bryce's adapter - though it's nowhere near as nice as the "accelerated" symbiface mouse it is compatible with software other than symbos (which the symbos mouse isnt really).

Mass storage is the real issue, although if symbos is booting from ROM and you have an HxC it isn't all that bad. So I'd say get an Xmem and a joystick adapter and have some fun with that.

On the topic of HxC and Symbos, an HxC manager app that allows you to select images to load into the drive would be neat. A direct access mode driver would be really nice too, allowing you to directly use the SD as a storage device.