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 Robotics / RCX / legOS / *4054 (-10)
Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Fri, 7 Aug 2009 00:41:53 GMT
Viewed: 
34897 times
  
The Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699
has been updated.

There is just one minor Bibo-specific update this time, patch 40.

40: H8/300 TOOLPREFIX - This patch comes from Debian, where
"h8300-hitachi-coff-" is added to the list of potential H8/300 toolprefixes.

The larger update this time is a set of patches for NQC running on Linux.
Included in these patches is a patch that corresponds with Bibo patches 32
and 36, which enables Bibo to read a default tty device name from a
configuration file.  This same capability has now been extended to NQC.

More details on the NQC patches are available here -
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/rcx/nqc/?n=1900


Matthew


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:08:36 GMT
Viewed: 
35104 times
  
The Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699
has been updated.

New for this update are patches 36 through 39.

36: RCX tty config file - Extends patch 32 so that /etc/rcx/device.conf will
also be checked for a default tty.  The precedence order is first, the
RCXTTY environment variable; second, ~/.rcx/device.conf; third,
/etc/rcx/device.conf.

37: Automatic Shutoff Timer - Reset the automatic shutoff timer if the Lego
remote is used in direct mode (when no programs are running).

38: Firmware Fastloader - Added code to initialize the IR carrier frequency.

39: Linux Patches - As some of you may already know, I have been using
Cygwin.  I am currently working to get a Linux-based BrickOS/Bibo
environment up and running, and though that Linux environment is not yet
fully functional, this patch is needed to help some of the earlier patches
run under Linux.

A word of thanks goes to Dr. Jochen Hoenicke for his assistance in answering
questions; any errors are mine.  :-)


Matthew


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:47:03 GMT
Viewed: 
33498 times
  
The Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699
has been updated.

New for this update are patches 25 through 35.

25: Cleanup in the util subdirectory
  - Updated lnpmsg to more cleanly handle and process command-line arguments
  - Removed in mkimg that is a duplicate of code in srecload
  - Updated some Makefile cross targets

26: Updated makefiles
  - Changed the existing TOOLPREFIX to CROSSTOOLPREFIX, then used TOOLPREFIX
for the host tools (needed when creating packages that must be targeted to,
for example, a 486 processor)
  - Moved some target definitions to Makefile.user, since it is shared by
both Makefile.dist and Bibo's make process.  This also reduced Makefile
dependencies across SUBDIRS (util, lib, include, kernel, demo, doc).  Some
individual subdirs can now be removed from the SUBDIRS assignment statement
in the main Makefile and the rest of the project will still build
successfully.
  - Updates related to util/host, as it seems to be stabilizing.  Some items
in util/Makefile.sub have been moved to util/host/Makefile.sub, since the
code now resides there
  - Removed the need to set PROGRAMS when building *.lx files.  Building %.c
/ %.cpp / %.s / %.S will now look for a make variable by the name of "%_SRC"
to determine if additional object files need to be built.
  - Changed the cross-compiler optimization from -O2 to -Os (space)

27: Configuration #defines
  - Added a CONF_VIEW_BUTTON define based on Taiichi Yuasa's modification,
allowing exclusion of the information display normally provided when
pressing the RCX View button.  The primary reason for adding this
configuration define is enable building a smaller kernel.
  - Added a configuration define needed in one of the demo programs in case
CONF_RCX_MESSAGE is not defined.

28: Merged XS Lisp - http://www.xslisp.com/
  - A few of the above patches were in preparation for this update
  - Was originally based on BrickOS 0.2.6.10
  - Is not an addition to the kernel but instead can be used to build *.lx
files that can be downloaded to the RCX.  The generated *.lx programs are
large, so a smaller kernel is needed.
  - Supports both an IR-link mode and an autonomous mode (IR features were
updated to use rcx_comm)
  - Added better support for building from Makefiles
  - For the full detail on XS, please see the file xs/README and or visit
the website.  Note that information on the website refers to files such as
xs, xs0, xs1, xs2, etc.  When merged with Bibo, the numeric suffixes were
replace with more descriptive text, and xs/README reflects this
modification.
  - A list of suggested configurations to disable is also included in
xs/README.  Any other recommendations or suggestions here would be
appreciated.

29: RCX Communication
  - Created a tty struct to replace the existing FILEDESCR and tty_type_t
that get passed around in host-based programs.
  - Replaced the fast/slow options in the host utilities with support for
specifying a baud rate at run-time.

30: RCX Communication Timeout for Host Utilities
  - Timeout value in milliseconds can now be specified at run-time instead
of being a build-time #define.  This is useful when switching between a
low-latency, local IR tower and a TCP connection over the Internet (e.g.
using the uplink and downlink features added to ir-server) with a higher
latency.

31: TTY Device Names
  - Added support for interpreting NQC-style port name strings of the format
"<device type>:<device name>".  This format was already being used by the
TCP and NQC Bibo additions and was extended to include "serial:" and "usb:".
Backwards compatibility with existing conventions has been maintained.

32: Read Default TTY from a Config File
  - Added support for reading the default tty device name from a
configuration file ("~/.rcx/tty.conf").  This essentially fulfills the same
purpose as the RCXTTY environment variable, but without some of the
limitations of environment variables.  I am hoping to be able to add this
support to NQC, too.

33: IR Communication and Hacked-on (e.g. Bluetooth) Communication
  - Attempted to provide an easier starting point for those using
communication hacks such as the bluetooth hack
     ~ Ability to set the baud rate
     ~ Ability to turn of echo handling
  - Created configuration #defines to allow setting defaults for
     ~ Baud rate
     ~ IR Carrier enabled/disabled
     ~ Transmit echo/no echo
  - Replaced slow/fast (2400/4800 bps) options with the ability to select a
baud rate
  - Firmware downloads at 2400 bps can now also be completed without sending
the complement bytes (previously, this option was only available for "fast"
4800 baud)
  - Enabled setting the communication timeout value at run-time.  This is
useful, for example, when switching between a low-latency serial connection
and a higher-latency TCP-based connection.
  - Improved the keepalive functionality for serial IR towers
  - Moved help text for standard rcx_comm options to the rcx_comm header
file
  ** IMPORTANT CHANGE NOTE: Parity for all baud rates is now "odd"

34: Config File Cleanup
  - Removed #define entries for configurations that no longer exist
  - Removed RCX-only #define entries from the host configuration file

35: Remove CONF_ASCII Dependencies
  - Currently, if CONF_PROGRAM is defined CONF_ASCII must also be defined.
This patch reduces the CONF_PROGRAM dependency level from CONF_ASCII to
CONF_CONIO, reducing the size of the kernel needed for program support.
  - Created #defines for each of the entries in CONF_ASCII's
ASCII-to-CONIO-mask lookup table
  - With those #defines, CONF_ASCII is no longer needed for displaying
static strings.  (The small hex lookup table included by CONF_CONIO is still
present there.)  Functions that are variants of cputc_native*, cpuc_hex*, or
cputw may be used to write to the display.  For example, cputs("Lego") may
now be written as cputc_native_user(CHAR_L, CHAR_e, CHAR_g, CHAR_o).  While
it's a little longer statement to type, it does help toward reducing kernel
size.  ;-)
  - All demo programs were able updated to eliminate the need for
CONF_ASCII.
  - For dynamically generated strings, CONF_ASCII will still be required.
XS utilizes CONF_ASCII features for the XS functions that mirror the cputs
andcputc C functions (puts and putc), but due to the large size of XS, this
patch just limits the cputs/cputc functionality if CONF_ASCII is disabled
(puts will output "ASCII" and putc will display a '-' in the specified
position).


Thanks,
Matthew


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Sun, 24 May 2009 03:48:52 GMT
Viewed: 
29969 times
  
The Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699
has been updated.

This update adds a handful of patch files--20 through 24.

20: Nice group of Linux error/warning fixes from Carl and posted to
SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2793018&group_id=58151&atid=486699
Thanks, Carl!

21:  This is a group of bibo paches by Dr. Hoenicke, of which the major
changes relate to makefile, assembly branching, and util man page updates
(plus a documentation typo on my part--sorry! :-).  Thank you!

The above patches were incorporated into the rollup to minimize merge
differences with subsequent patches.

22: This patch changes kexeci's argv argument from type char** to type
void** and is based on some (now old) feedback from the Lego.NET folks (
http://www.dcl.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/research/lego.NET/ ).  Some delegate-type
functions aren't (yet) implemented for Lego.NET, but the capability should
be there for wait_event-type delegates.  For the case of kexeci, the
Lego.NET delegate's argv would not be of type char**.  From what I can tell
by reviewing the code, the type of argv does not matter to the BrickOS/Bibo
kernel, so it should be safe for a Lego.NET delegate to pass a non-char-type
argv.  If anyone has any deeper insight, I would welcome the feedback.

23: Back to work on LNP.  Implemented some code and ideas from
http://lnphost.sf.net/ , which was designed as a replacement for lnpd.
While there are a few drawbacks due to implementation differences (no
tty_type_t support, no sharing/reuse of lnp and lnp-logical with the kernel,
a small documented problem that "in some rare cases lego packets might not
be detected correctly"), it does have some nice features, including handlers
for standard Lego messages and a nicer hexdump routine (shows both hex and
ASCII-printable characters.  That hexdump routine has been incorporated,
replacing the existing one.

LNP was updated to include a handler for standard Lego messages (this is in
addition to existing functionality), and the ability to send "Lego remote
codes" was added.  The lnpmsg program also received several updates.
Support was added for both displaying and sending both standard firmware
messages and Lego remote codes.  The LNP message output format was changed
to use the updated hexdump routine (instead of just a text string), which
should make it easier to monitor non-text LNP messages.

24: Improved the keepalive capabilities to remove some of the keepalive
burden from programs that might use rcx_comm.  Unfortunately, I'm not setup
right now to test either a serial IR tower or an NCD port, but I did try to
setup a dummy NCD-like tty for testing.  Keepalive works of a signal and
alarm, with code in place to prevent a keepalive byte from being sent while
either writing (rcx_nbwrite) or actively reading (rcx_nbread).  I would be
interested in feedback from anyone using a device that needs a keepalive.


Thank you again to those who have responded or provided feedback.  If you
ever catch a few more free moments, Carl, I would be interested in a Bibo
version of your edgecount patch.  :-)


Thanks,
Matthew


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Sun, 17 May 2009 22:10:04 GMT
Viewed: 
28095 times
  
Matthew Sheets wrote:
I've again updated the Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699

Wow, Matthew, you've done a great job with this. Kudos. :-)
I've been meaning to contribute more, but all too rare are the
moments when my kids are asleep and a decent chunk of my brain
is not. But anyway: I've fixed one little bug that stopped
rcx_comm.c from compiling on Linux, plus some warnings and
stuff. Patch posted at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2793018&group_id=58151&atid=486699

//Carl


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Sat, 16 May 2009 21:25:03 GMT
Viewed: 
27781 times
  
I've again updated the Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699

This update adds two new patches--18 and 19.

18: For the host utilities, this patch attempts to standardize the command
line arguments and their processing.  There is also some additional cleanup
in lnpmsg, plus the addressing of a gcc 4 warning that was brought to my
attention.  The original lnpmsg (actually LegOShrink) supported logging to
file, sending from file, and filtering LNP addressing messages based on
destination host and/or port.  To ease the process of standardizing the
common host utility code, some of those features were trimmed out; however,
some of the supporting functions remain in place, including SendFile() and
LogString in lnpmsg_comm.c

19: The assembly file dccasm.S with functions necessary for DCC operation
was moved from libs/dcc to alongside kernel/dcc.c.  As has been the case
dcc.c, the code in dccasm.S now builds based on whether or not CONF_DCC has
been defined.  The folder lib/dcc may be deleted.


Thank you,
Matthew


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Tue, 12 May 2009 01:44:54 GMT
Viewed: 
28042 times
  
I have again updated the Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge
at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699

A big change this time is the consolidation of the code bases of util/firmdl
and util/dll-src.  Working with all the similar-but-different code was
getting a bit cumbersome, so I finally decided to try to clean it up.  This
should make enhancing or creating other host utilities much easier.

Point by point, updates since the last lugnet posting are as follows:
* Kudos to Joe for identifying the source of the IR tower problem in Linux,
as he tracked it down to the O_NDELAY flag.  For now, this flag has been
removed.
* Made NCD tty types a runtime option instead of a compile-time #define.
* Merged patches for BrickOS with Bibo, including LDCC, lnp_printf, and
lnpmsg (formerly LegOShrink)
* Reworked firmdl3, dll, and lnpmsg under utils as well as lnp and
lnp-logic in the kernel to facilitate better code reuse, remove essentially
duplicate code, and establish a set of common functions for rcx_comm and
LNP.  Merged the resulting code into util/host, deprecating util/firmld,
util/dll-src, and util/fontdesign.c.
* Util dll--made fast mode a runtime option instead of a compile-time
#define.
* Added ability to send LNP messages directly from the lnpmsg command line.
* Added ir-server from Jochen Hoenike's BrickEmu package and used the code
reworked from above to add support for tty downlinking (e.g. serial, USB,
TCP) or TCP uplinking.


Notes and issues:
* If lnp_integrity_byte() is processing firmware download communication on
the host (e.g. if lnpmsg is listening on an ir-server repeating the firmware
download), a segmentation fault will eventually result.
* Command-line argument format and command-line argument processing - the
various programs use different methods of processing command-line arguments,
resulting in similar argument being handled differently by different
programs.  Ideally, this would be addressed in another round of code
cleanup.
* I am not currently setup to test either serial IR towers or NCD serial
connections, so any reports for these devices would be welcome.

Using the updated ir-server, I have actually been able to send firmdl3 to
ir-server (instance A) to ir-server (instance B) to USB IR tower to physical
RCX.  I then used
dll to send helloworld_lnp.lx up the same route.  Finally with one instance
of lnpmsg listening on ir-server (A) and another instance of lnpmsg
listening on ir-server (B), I ran the helloworld_lnp program on the physical
RCX.  I did have to increase RCX_TIMEOUT to 500, but everything otherwise
works as expected.

I also tried the same sequence using BrickEmu (with a ROM image from my RCX)
instead of the USB IR tower.  The only anomaly was that "unlock firmware"
fails, but everything else seems to work fine.


Thanks,
Matthew


Subject: 
Re: Preserving old-school Mindstorms resources
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Sat, 9 May 2009 12:14:06 GMT
Viewed: 
28417 times
  
Hey folks

I've created a very basic site here: http://www.rcxzone.com/

When I say very basic I mean VERY basic.. it's just an empty instance
of mediawiki, but I'll look to adding content when I get a chance.
Any help appreciated.

Cheers
Tom

On 20/04/2009, at 6:29 PM, Joe Bradley wrote:

Revised version [BrickOS patches] at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?
func=detail&aid=2722649&group_id=58151&atid=486699

Now for Bibo....  I have merged these patch rollup collections
with Bibo
(where appropriate) and have posted the resulting diff files to
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?
func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699

I have found two problems with the patches. I narrowed down the
problems to
specific patches from the Bibo set. However the symptoms are
identical under
BrickOS so I assume they would be linked to the same patches there.

Patch 10: Under Ubuntu with the usb tower, this causes firmdl3 to
exit with
error "read: resource temporarily available". However the light
does light up on
the tower for a small moment.

Patch 11: This seems to do something funny with the motors. Power
does not seem
to be supplied to the motors. when running the motor, the arrows
appear on the
lcd however there is no power being outputted.


Subject: 
Simple Lego traffic light
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:12:00 GMT
Viewed: 
27590 times
  
After all the amazing post across lugnet the past few weeks, it feels
a bit lame putting this one up:

http://rubyredbricks.com/2009/4/27/simple-traffic-light

I guess once it's running up on an RCX it'll be a bit more interesting.

On the topic of RCX - and the whole old-school Mindstorms
preservation idea - I haven't forgotten about it. I've registered a
domain and will aim to get a wiki up and running over the weekend.

Cheers
Tom


Subject: 
Re: BrickOS Patches and Development
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.legos
Date: 
Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:50:53 GMT
Viewed: 
27359 times
  
I have updated the Bibo Patch Rollup Collection posted to SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2773502&group_id=58151&atid=486699

The primary changes are in Patch 11, which provides DCC support, and the key
change in that patch was the modification of some assembly code that
performed motor controller bitmasking.

Still known to be outstanding is an issue using firmdl3 on Linux when using
a USB IR tower.


Thanks,
Matthew



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