TRACE and Minerva

Helpful tips and guides, also new users can ask for help here.
Post Reply
EmmBee
Trump Card
Posts: 240
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:29 pm
Location: Kent

TRACE and Minerva

Post by EmmBee »

I am using Q-emuLator and am looking for a TRACE utility to work with Minerva. I have got SuperTrace, written in 1987 by David Henderson, but cannot get this to work at all with Minerva. This will work with the JS ROM, except that the commands of ctrl_t and ctrl_u don't work. Those commands turn TRACE on and off, but that is only a minor problem. This utility works brilliantly: it displays the line numbers and full SuperBASIC code. The speed at which it works can also be adjusted, including single stepping. This is just what I need, except that the programs I write with Minerva don't always work with the JS ROM.

On the Minerva documentation there is talk of a TRACE_bin file, but I have not been able to find this anywhere on the Internet. The authors of the Q_Liberator compiler were also talking of adding a trace utility, but apparently did not get around to doing anything about it. So, there it is. I am searching for a trace utility to work with Minerva. Can anyone help, please?

Michael Bulford
EmmBee


RWAP
RWAP Master
Posts: 2834
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:51 pm
Location: Stone, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: TRACE and Minerva

Post by RWAP »

There is a trace_bin (and the assembler code) on the Minerva support disk - are you missing this disk perhaps?

A zip of the support (utilities) disk appears on Tony Firshman's website:
http://tfs.firshman.co.uk/ql/fminerva.htm


EmmBee
Trump Card
Posts: 240
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:29 pm
Location: Kent

Re: TRACE and Minerva

Post by EmmBee »

Thanks. I've downloaded the file. The trace works well.

Interesting - all the files on the zipfile begin with "ram3_"! I've been trying to use UNZIP, and unzipping to somewhere else, then discovering the files are not there! I take it that "ram3_" takes precedence over datad$. I'll just have to unzip to ram3_ and then copy to somewhere else.

Michael
EmmBee


RWAP
RWAP Master
Posts: 2834
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:51 pm
Location: Stone, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: TRACE and Minerva

Post by RWAP »

Having looked into this, it looks as though SuperTrace was placed into the public domain - at least it appears in the Quanta library and on the Sinclair QL Homepage - http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/program/strace.zip

Does anyone fancy looking into this and figuring out the problem as to why it does not work on Minerva (and presumably SMSQ/e) - it would be nice to have a fully featured SuperBASIC trace program that works on all platforms.

There is a trace utility supplied with Minerva, but that only reports the current line number and is not as verbose as Supertrace.


Post Reply