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TassyJim

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Joined: 07/08/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 5928

Posted: 10:21pm 15 Sep 2014

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plasma said Please forgive my Ignorance but will
this work on Micromite MX 150?

NO, the 150 doesn't have enough memory available.

Jim

VK7JH
MMedit MMBasic Help

JohnS
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Joined: 18/11/2011
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3683

Posted: 09:29am 16 Sep 2014

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Just a quick post that I've not had time since struggling unsuccessfully with the original version (the one with the odd DEVCFGx setting) to try plugins. Sorry.

I gather it's got a very small memory size so I'm not sure what I could squeeze in there. Clearly not my PIC32 programmer!

JohnEdited by JohnS 2014-09-17

Geoffg

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Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 3167

Posted: 01:36pm 16 Sep 2014

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The plugin is intended for small routines that need to work fast and/or access the specialised features of the PIC32. This is why only a small amount of flash has been reserved for a plugin.

For example, in the case of a PIC32 programmer you would pass a byte to the plugin which could manipulate PGD and PGC with nanosecond resolution to pump the byte out. This would take less than 300 bytes. Other jobs that are not so time critical (eg, manipulating MLCR) should be done in BASIC.

The plugin is not intended for large programs. Even if the memory space was there for the plugin you still could not use it for a complex program because of the restricted environment (no const, no static, no libraries, etc).

So, plugin = routine doing a specific minimal hardware task. Nothing more.

Geoff

Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net

G8JCF

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Joined: 15/05/2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 676

Posted: 03:25pm 16 Sep 2014

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To add to Geoff's post.

I've just done a real quick conversion of the 4 phase clock into a plugin, and the time required to flash program 4.5D into a 28 pin 170F has dropped from 25 minutes to 17 minutes, 32% quicker, that's 102 KBytes. I haven't done any serious optimisations yet, so this is the result of just doing the 4 phase clock in C vs MMBasic. I think the big improvement will happen when I code the entire XferFastData pseudo function into a plugin (XferFastData is the predominant function used in programming).

73

Peter

The only Konstant is Change

JohnS
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Joined: 18/11/2011
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3683

Posted: 09:04pm 16 Sep 2014

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Geoff - I understand (and had read) why you made it small. But it leaves me wondering what I'd do with it as a way to try it. The only obvious C for me to put in it is too big even to bother compiling for the small space so that leaves me nothing.

It's fine by me but basically rules me out as a tester.

If I could see a quick way to convert C to MMBasic except for some small central routines that would be different, but even just the data tables (which are set for every PIC32 chip) can't readily be changed to MMBasic never mind the code itself.

In effect it's a C plugin feature that isn't aimed at me - a C programmer :)

I don't think that matters.

JohnEdited by JohnS 2014-09-18

Juri74

Senior Member

Joined: 06/02/2012
Location: Italy
Posts: 162

Posted: 01:30am 24 Sep 2014

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this feature appear to be very interesting!

any plan to implement it on regular maximite/colour maximities?

Juri

Geoffg

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Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 3167

Posted: 03:13am 24 Sep 2014

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I have not thought of that. The plugin was intended more for the sort of thing that embedded controllers are required to do.

The current Maximite firmware is quite stable and has most of the features required for its job (a general purpose small computer) so I am not planning a new release for some time. But, when I get to that point I will look at implementing that and other features from the Micromite.

Geoff

Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net

twofingers
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Joined: 02/06/2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 1142

Posted: 03:58am 24 Sep 2014

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@Geoff

Quote The current Maximite firmware is ...
But, when I get to that point I will look at implementing that and other features from the Micromite.

I would greatly appreciate!

Perhaps you can fix also some minor bugs? (I'm sending you a list.)

EDIT: that shouldn't scare you!

Regards

MichaelEdited by twofingers 2014-09-25

Geoffg

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Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 3167

Posted: 01:38pm 24 Sep 2014

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twofingers said Perhaps you can fix also some minor bugs? (I'm sending you a list.)
EDIT: that shouldn't scare you!

That would be great.

Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net

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