#Poking with Arexx
12 messages in this thread
Hi everyone,
I've got a question about Arexx. I want to use VoRecOne (all you see is
cobwebs, right?) with a 500 to control an external device through the parallel
port. I know the addresses for setting up the data lines at the port as inputs
and outputs, and I know the address to set the port up with data.
What I don't know is how to get Arexx to send a byte directly to these to
addresses. Since VoRecOne hhas an Arexx port, I would like to use it directly
instead of having to use, let's say, Poke or Peek in AmigaBasic.
I am not familiar with anyother language like "C" for instance. Any help
would be great. Bruce P.
The ARexx equivalent to POKE is EXPERT, form:
count = EXPORT(addr,[str],[maxlen],[pad])
Thus, to store hex FF at address hex 1234 (I do NOT recommend you do this),
you would code: y=EXPORT('1234'x,'FF'x).
As you might guess the equivalent to PEEK is IMPORT. And if you're going to
mess around with this kind of thing, it wouldn't hurt to look up functions:
GETSPACE, FREESPACE, STORAGE, ALLOCMEM, FREEMEM.
I'm stating the obvious when I say that peeking or poking Amiga memory
directly is a delicate/dangerous matter. Proceed with caution.
–Jim
Jim –
I've wondered for _years_ how to do that! thanks…
– Joe
ARexx is so rich in commands and functions that it's easy to miss a few…
I kinda wish the manual had been organized in a different manner, so that
readers could go to an area they are interested in. Starting with ADDRESS
seems to skew perception of the language, and the side trips that take place on
things such as PARSE really interrupt the learning flow.
If you can find the Sullivan/Zamara book (published by Abacus), it organizes
the material much more neatly.
–Jim
I never thought of Bill's work as a manual but more of a bare-bones guide. The
only other ARexx book I have is Mastering Amiga ARexx by Pat Overaa – and it
has a similar organizational problem.
Here's hoping I run into the Abacus book at one yard sale or other…
– Joe
Sorry to interrupt you,
perhaps you're able of reading german. I've written a book for ARexx which
seems to be liked very much by my customers.
If you're interested, just ask for more info.
-Mike
Tag Michael, Erfreut dich hier su sehen….
So you are the writer of that book, i bought it a year ago, (Amiga Messe Koln),
and it has his own place next to my keyboard !!!
Placed your Email address in my address book, just for in case…:-)
BTW, ist das buch in TeX gezetst…..? (sieht so aus)
Freundliche Grusen,
Juan Ferrin From Belgium with Autopilot
Hi,
I don't remember you in my database (it's a large one).
Yes, the book was written in CED 3.0, layouted in TeX (and PPage + Pagestream
for the diagramm page) and printed on a HP postscript printer (with the help of
Wolf Faust) 😉
I hope you like it. If you have any recommendations…..
-Mike
Michael –
PMFJI, but can you give me a few more details on your book – what's covered
(at what level), how much, where (or how)?
Thanks
– Joe
Hi Joe,
as I've done some programming in ARexx for CED, ADPro, MorphPlus and SuperBase
and got a lot of calls regarding those programs for their REXX support, I've
started thinking about writing a book which covers everything.
It start with very easy stuff like: what's a variable, compound variables…
what's a condition good for, what kind of conditions do exist, combined
conditions and loops. Then after those basic things there starts an alphabetic
overview about the REXX instuctions. Next chapter is about the library
functions of the rexxsupport.library and the rexxmathlib.library (I thought
both libs are basic libs). With every expenation goes a smaller or lager
example. The next chapter is again an overview with all instructions and
functions of the basic libs sorted by theme (strings, math, file…).
Thext chapters expain how to debug and trace, interrupts (BREAK_C..) and
several tips and hints if an error message occures and why. The next part
explains everything about rexxmast, the DOS-programms HI, RX…, the resources
and how they get used/are organized, the environment and the system variables
RC, RESULT and SIGL.
Now follows a very hard chapter where I describe how the language REXX is built
(Token, Clauses, Expressions and their items like Literals, .Labels…). Before
this part is finished you'll find chapters about limitations and error
messages.
The next part describes more external libraries with examples as the
RexxArpLib.library, the APIG.library and the RexxSerDev.library.
The third part of the book shows how to address several applications via ARexx
and the other way around. Applikations described are the RexxPlus compiler,
examples with plain ARexx, ADPro/MorphPlus (including FRED), CEDPro,
FinalWriter, SuperBase and DirOpus.
I think this should give you an overview about what's described in the 535
pages big book. Surely it's written in plain German and available through
bookstores. The ISBN is 3-930733-00-5.
-Mike
Michael –
Congratulations – your book sounds absolutely fantastic. I _sincerely_ wish
my German was up to technical snuff, but I'm not much better that apologizing
that "Mein Deutsche ist sehr schlick". And know I'm not even sure how to spell
that last word – except it gives you an idea of how bad it is.
Any plans for an English version?
– Joe
– Joe
Thanx Joe,
I did ask Bill some time ago, if he thought, it would make sense translating it
to english… he said: he does not think it would make sense….
If more people would ask me for an english translation I'd think it over.
-Mike