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Re: 3D version of ETesla

Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 04:14 PM 7/8/2005, Tesla list wrote: 
Original poster: Terry Fritz <teslalist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Ed,

At 03:32 PM 7/8/2005, you wrote: 
"If you really want the last BASIC version, let me know and I can dig it
up.  But it is very obsolete...

It was done in QuickBasic.

http://hot-streamer.com/TeslaCoils/Misc/QuickBASIC45.zip

Cheers,

         Terry"

        I really would like to look at the BASIC listing, although I have no
plans for running it.  I'm fairly literate in FORTRAN but never learned
C and do all of my work with Microsoft QuickBASIC on the Mac.  Was this
a PC program using "Microsoft QuickBASIC for Windows"?  I've been
looking for that version for several years.

        Forgot to mention that those were beautiful field plots!

Ed 

Here is the basic version I still had:

http://hot-streamer.com/temp/E-Tesla3.zip

Sara's conversion to C was a simple one for one Basic to C conversion complete with all the GOTOs. C is not hard to "get" if you get a beginner's book and figure out how to do the basic commands in C... "C++" is the "Devil's version", so stay away from that stuff :o))) Parent, child, constructs, collaberation... Only real programmers "get" C++... The the old plain C is not too bad at all for dummies 0:-))

Forgot to ask if the BASIC you're using has the very limited array size
of the early versions?  256k as I remember.

I think it is 640k since Bill Gates said that was more than we would ever need...

Actually, the array size limits in QB have more to do with the number of indices, and, in earlier versions, the data for any one array must be <64Kbytes, because of the use of segment registers to do the array addressing. The Basic runtime system (which I had to learn entirely too much about) had functions to which you would pass an array descriptor and indices, and it would return a byte offset (16 bit number) to the array element. The array descriptor had the pointer to the start of the array (i.e. the segment register) (which must start on a 16 byte boundary, of course). Remember that protected mode addressing didn't really arrive until Win 3.x, and wasn't particularly well implemented, even then. QB was a DOS program and generated executables that ran under DOS (however, it even had overlays, etc., so you could manage your own memory, especially as it moved to QB PDS v7.1)

And, Bill had nothing to do with that.. it was Intel saying, nobody using 16bit microprocessors will ever need dataspace exceeding 64Kbytes, and we'll give you 3 chunks of it (Data, Program, Stack, plus an extra segment register to make block moves easier), and that way all your legacy 8080 code will assemble with minimal changes. Of such things were the initial Intel 8086 vs Motorola 68K wars spawned.

But he said I would not be getting 120 SPAMs a day now too >:-p Have never "seen" a pen computer "being used" by anyone either...

Oddly, I have a HP TC1100 tablet computer that I use everyday, with a pen, and I love it. It is well on it's way to replacing a lab notebook. However, I'd never try to do any serious programming on it. It is, however, ideal for going to meetings and marking up power point presentations.



I run Firefox... The QuickBasic I used was a DOS thing but it runs in a windows DOS box. That is "Disk Operating System" for the "kids" out there ;-))

But yes, there is a limit on array size and I long forgot what it was... It was not too terrible, but the plots I do now are 500 x 500 which is why they look so nice!!

I really like LCC!! It is very easy, very fast, and can be scaled up to do anything... It runs in windows and is free ;-))) Programs seems to port to other OS systems just fine too so Apple and Linux version are no problem. It also does not have anything to do with MicroSoft >:-)) If you need to really "program" something, it is worth getting an easy C book and LCC and getting all "modern" ;-))

Cheers,

        Terry