Development updates

uli

I'm going to post updates on firmware features and bug fixes here. Please start new threads if you want to discuss a specific topic.

uli

New features in v0.90-88 (vs. v0.90-2):

Fonts:

runtime loading of custom TrueType fonts (LOAD FONT)
fallback to other fonts if the currently selected one lacks a glyph
added HP100LX 8x8 font
replaced deficient Amstrad CPC 464 font with extended version by Damián
replaced C64 Pro Mono font with BESCII font designed by Damián

UTF-8/Unicode:

made ASC() and CHR$() accept/return UTF-8 strings
changed LEFT$(), RIGHT$(), MID$() and LEN() to have Unicode semantics
added BLEFT$(), BRIGHT$(), BMID$() and BLEN() with traditional single-byte string semantics for backwards compatibility

Sprite/BG Engine:

exported sprite/BG API functions
add support for external background layer painters (eb_add_bg_layer(), eb_remove_bg_layer())

Other:

added PEEK$() and POKE$ to transfer blocks of memory into and out of memory
implemented evaluation of native calls as string expressions (a$ = |getenv("TERM"))
added GETSYM() function
game pad emulation: added "Tab" and "Enter" as "Select" and "Start"
H3: added CPU speed control (BASIC: CPUSPEED, C: eb_set_cpu_speed())
load help texts from json files to reduce internationalization bloat

Major bugfixes:

H3: correct aspect ratio for default screen mode!
H3: fixed crashes when switching screen modes while complex scenes are being rendered
fixed sprite/tile collision to actually work as documented
added missing sections to HELP texts
fixed broken UTF-8 output in file redirection
handle UTF-8 in USING format strings
make return values of a$[] accessors unsigned
HELP: fixed line-wrapping, which broke in the UTF-8 transition
PEEK*(), POKE: use correct address type, fixing 64-bit platforms
atto: fixed failure to start when it has been started before
fixed native calls in BASIC program text not being saved correctly
TCCLINK: detect presence of main() function correctly when loading pre-compiled binaries
TCCLINK: fixed failure to link without main() function
fixed crashes when executing native calls from AUTOEXEC.BAS
SDL: don't use SDL timers, do polling to achieve higher-precision frame timing

Plus the usual assortment of minor fixes.

[Edit] Changes in the allwinner-bare-metal framework:

translate fatfs error codes to POSIX
implemented _rename_r() (which means BASIC RENAME finally works)
fixed reading/writing of unaligned buffers to/from MMC (fixes atto corrupting files when saving them)

uli

New features in v0.90-126 vs v0.90-88:

Fonts:

render grayscale in fonts correctly
support setting font by name and size (FONT "bescii" SIZE 8,8; NB: Fonts not built in have to be loaded with LOAD FONT first, and you have to load each size separately.)
added Japanese 8x8 and 8x12 fonts, automatically load them when booting with language set to Japanese

i18n:

added Japanese localisation
restored Japanese input method, added Hiragana support (use "Hiragana/Katakana" key or Ctrl-Space to activate)

API:

facilities to add new BASIC commands and functions (eb_add_command(), eb_add_numfun(), eb_add_strfun())
TCCLINK: call __initcall() after linking, if available (useful when using the above APIs)

Other:

added BASIC syntax highlighting to atto

Bug fixes for:

more crashes when switching screen modes, this time when using non-default font
rare REM listing bug
incorrect sprite pattern coordinate limit
function of End key on empty lines
garbage in text buffer after loading font from storage

Changes in allwinner-bare-metal framework:

mmu: set "S" bit in translation table for cache coherency (surprising this didn't break anything yet...)

uli

Changes in v0.90-154 vs. v0.90-126:

Text subsystem:

replaced HP 6x8 font with Lexis by @Dmian
separated TrueType fonts from their bitmap conversion (removes requirement to load a font repeatedly to get different sizes and makes it possible to use built-in fonts at non-standard sizes)
strip extension off of font names (i.e. if you load a font with LOAD FONT "courier.ttf", it can be used with FONT "courier" size 8,16)
check font files for validity before loading them
maintain apparent cursor position as closely as possible when changing to a font with a different size

Sound:

fixed beeper engine not working without an explicit volume envelope

System:

move system files to /sys (including help texts and fonts)
new ENVIRON$() function gets environment variables, e.g. ?ENVIRON$("HOSTTYPE")
new UNZIP command
AUTOEXEC.BAS is now autoexec.bas (only matters if you're running on a case-sensitive file system; doesn't make a difference on H3)
new user-facing module handling commands INSTALL, LOADMOD and LISTMOD

API:

functions to execute BASIC programs from C (eb_new_basic_context(), eb_delete_basic_context(), eb_exec_basic())
new APIs for loading native code, including libtcc functions

And an assortment of minor fixes.

uli

Changes in v0.90-217 vs v0.90-154:

BASIC:

added LCASE$(), UCASE$()
added #REQUIRE directive that makes it possible to load modules without using a loader and then CHAINing the actual program
allow DIRECTORY as an alias for FILES, similar to Commodore BASIC 3.5+

API:

accept I_NUM in place of I_VAR for extension syntax descriptions
provide stable token values to modules to avoid breaking extension syntax descriptions
added a couple of new API functions: eb_utick() (time in microseconds), eb_rgb_from_indexed() (conversion from virtual to hardware color format), eb_screened_get_line() (gets input from the screen editor), eb_get_error(), eb_set_error() (BASIC error handling)
added eb_process_events_check() and eb_process_events_wait() that also check for hotkeys in addition to processing events
added error code header files to SD card image (error.h, kwenum.h)
export more standard library functions: getc(), feof(), freopen(), setjmp(), longjmp(), ldexp(), frexp(), fmod(), atan2(), memchr(), strpbrk(), strcoll()
move TCC-specific header files to their own directory to avoid confusing cross-compilers
added missing Engine BASIC API exports for eb_conio, eb_img, eb_input, eb_io, eb_video
export all (hopefully) AEABI and AMD64 FP helpers to avoid module linking errors

Debloating:

removed Lua from main system and added it to demos as a loadable module
removed support for "extended tokens", no longer required with 32-bit tokens

Build system:

added configure.sh script that generates build files for Ninja, which makes it easier than Make to get the dependencies right

SD card image:

added test suite

Bugs fixed:

SDL: fixed SYSTEM to exit cleanly instead of crashing
H3 (mostly): fixed crashes caused by invalid handlers being called when handling extended commands
fixed extended string functions sometimes not being recognized as string values
fixed crashes after interrupting an autoexec.bas program
disable BASIC event handling while running extensions (prevents overflowing the BASIC stack with events that are not handled while the interpreter is not running)
don't add the system module more than once
don't crash if E_SYNTAX() is called with a nameless token

Changes in allwinner-bare-metal framework:

added configure.sh script that generates build files for Ninja

uli

Changes in v0.90-314 vs v0.90-217:
(It's been a while...)

BASIC:

added LISTFONTS command
added EXIT loop commands
removed mandatory () from built-in functions such as CWD$ for consistency with other BASIC dialects (the () syntax is still accepted for existing functions)
added mouse functions
improved HELP formatting
now sorting commands alphabetically in HELP
improved LIST formatting slightly

Sound:

reduced default volume
fixed beeper ignoring the system volume when a volume envelope is used

System:

move SAM speech synthesizer from core system to a loadable module (use #REQUIRE "sam" to load it)
fixed swapped Y/Z keys in German keyboard layout
improved gamepad support (parser fixes, support for hat switches)
PrintScreen key now works again while a program is running
new epigrams!

i18n:

updated translations for all languages

API:

export more standard library functions: atof(), strcasestr(), vfprintf(), rand(), strncat(), strncasecmp(), strtoul(), fscanf(), setvbuf(), srand(), towlower()
export all(?) remaining standard math functions
implemented proper exit(), _exit() and atexit() functions
C++ support (export new and delete operators and AEABI helpers, made system headers C++-safe)
support for debugging modules (see file module-debug.gdbinit in the source code for details)
added "export" system for modules that allows making symbols available to others
added text output filter API: modules can register a function that receives all text output and can optionally modify it before it's printed (can be used for text-to-speech, for instance)
added text input filter API (can be used to implement input methods)
added symbol enumeration, font info and mouse APIs
added screen mode size API (eb_mode_from_size(), eb_num_modes(), eb_mode_size())

Build system:

use ninja by default
added support for compiling with Clang

Misc bugs fixed:

API: fixed a couple of compatibility issues in system headers
API: fixed struct stat type sizes (must not depend on the host system)
LIST: write ' comment indentation to the correct device when redirecting the output
LIST: eliminated the extraneous spaces printed at the end of every line
Basic::exec(): don't run a program that failed to load
print TCC error messages when loading a module fails
saveBitmap(): save the composite screen instead of the text layer (fixes missing sprites and BG layers when using PrintScreen key or SAVE IMG)
process hotkeys at "Press any key to continue" prompt to allow aborting
made GPRINT Unicode-safe
various documentation fixes
fixed bugs found by Clang (incorrect error messages, bogus memory handling in I2CR)
made epi.py Python 3-safe

Changes in allwinner-bare-metal framework:

added "upload" rule for ninja
mouse support
fixes for building with Clang
restored HDMI audio initialization (libh3 didn't do any)
provide more info on generic USB HID devices to the callback

uli

Changes in v0.90-424 vs v0.90-383 (LT):

BASIC:

SHELL: added OFF flag that allows starting programs that use graphics, sound and/or input devices (try SHELL "grafx2-sdl2" OFF)
TCC: changed syntax to better match the underlying system, removed TCCLINK command, added help text
ARM: enabled NEON in alpha-lib
removed built-in atto, use external binary
removed built-in Z code interpreter, use external binary (frotz, untested)

API:

switched from tinycc to Linux dynamic loader
removed internal C compiler, use external binary
removed newlib-based system C header files
LOADMOD: allow loading modules by file name

Operating System:

H3: enable NEON support in toolchain
H3: reduce static kernel and kernel module size
RPi4: re-enable IIO kernel modules
PC: enable I2C HID in kernel (this enables the touchpad on my notebook, but it still won't work as a mouse because it's an absolute pointing device...)
updated SDL version to 2.0.20, fixes controller hotplugging
install system C header files
removed some unnecessary static library files
added/enabled tinycc (PC), atto, frotz and grafx2 packages

Demos:

retooled all loadable modules to work with the new TCC syntax and the Linux dynamic loader
use OS Lua for Lua module
removed mg, included in OS

Bugs fixed:

fixed handling of controller unplugging
fixed massive performance regression caused by overzealous input polling

Note on updating LT installations:
If you write a new LT release onto an SD card or USB drive, the existing BASIC partition will be preserved if (and only if) the new release is the same size as the old one. This may or may not be a good thing, because while it preserves your data, it will prevent the system files from being updated. If you want a force a re-installation of these files, delete the /basic/sys directory and reboot.

uli

Changes in v0.90-435 vs. 0.90-424 (LT):

BASIC:

added SYS(2) reporting the system type (ESP8266, ESP32, H3 or Linux)
minor documentation fix

i18n:

updated help text translations

System:

new epigrams

Test suite:

removed or fixed non-deterministic tests
fixed tests for IEEE math

Changes in v0.89-10 vs. v0.89-9 (ESP8266, ESP32):

added SYS(2) reporting the system type (ESP8266, ESP32, H3 or Linux)

Changes in v0.90-321 vs 0.90-314 (NG on H3):

added SYS(2) reporting the system type (ESP8266, ESP32, H3 or Linux)
new epigrams