Since the release of TI's thin, light, ez80-powered TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator, I have received countless YouTube comments, Cemetech PMs and posts, and emails about when Doors CS / Doors CSE would be available for the new calculator. Stumbling blocks including technical limitations related to the new calculator and my own lack of free time had forced me to say that I wasn't sure when or if a version of Doors CS/CSE would be available for the TI-84 Plus CE. For a long time, I hoped that an App key might become available from TI so that there might be a TI-84 Plus CE App version of Doors CS/CSE. It appears that that's not forthcoming, so in the meantime, I've been working on a port of Doors CS/CSE as a program, to be called Doors CE. Like the much-celebrated Cesium from Cemetech Expert MateoConLechuga, the new Doors CE is visible in the [PRGM] menu, and can be started by running a prgmA that Doors CE creates when you install it.

Since the beginning of October, I have been documenting my progress on putting together a Doors CE port for the TI-84 Plus CE. The following features have been completed, delta a little debugging:
  • Launcher: Doors CE creates a special launcher when it is installed and archives its bulk as an AppVar to leave RAM for user programs. The launcher also switches between Doors CE and assembly programs when the user executes a program.
  • Desktop: Doors CE can display BASIC and Assembly programs on its desktop, list an arbitrary number of programs, and scroll. Locked, archived, and hidden programs are correctly annotated as such. Folders can be created, and files can be moved between folders. Programs can be created, renamed, duplicated, deleted, and even edited. The clock works.
  • Doors CE and Options Menus: The Doors CE menu ("start" menu) works correctly, and each of its sub-menus functions. The Options menu works, and most of the options in Options do what they're supposed to.
  • Executing nostub BASIC programs: BASIC programs can be executed from the Doors CE desktop from RAM or Archive.
  • Executing nostub ASM programs: ASM programs can be executed from the Doors CE desktop from RAM or Archive. Writeback is correctly performed.
There are a few features that still need to be added, and they're big ones:
  • HomeRun: The HomeRun feature that lets programs be executed from the homescreen, regardless of whether they're BASIC or ASM, Archived or in RAM, or require libraries is incomplete (but nearly done). BASIC programs currently work; ASM programs do not.
  • xLIBCE: The venerable Patrick "tr1p1ea" Prendergast is working hard to port xLIBC to the TI-84 Plus CE for inclusion in Doors CE. Since he has a busy job and a young family, I appreciate his willingness to work on xLIBCE in his minuscule free time.
  • Celtic 2 CE: I will be porting the Celtic 2 CSE libraries from Doors CSE. With the permission of authors like MateoConLechuga, I may add additional functions, including ToString.
  • ASM/C libraries: MateoConLechuga has also strongly hinted that he is completing tools that will make it easy to use ASM and C libraries in programs without explicit shell support. Doors CE will be leveraging this time- and effort-saving breakthrough from Mateo.
If you still need to get psyched about Doors CE, enjoy the video below. Although I don't have a concrete release date for Doors CE, I do plan to get it out in the early part of 2016. I'd be happy to field suggestions and answer questions in the attached topic or in the Doors CE 9 Development thread, where development updates will continue to be posted.

This is looking awesome, I can tell that a lot of work has been put into it!
I have a little suggestion (ok, this is only nitpicking Razz): after you lock/unlock/archive/unarchive the program have the cursor still be on that program
Thank you for the kind words, Sorunome! It has been a fair bit of work, and I wish I had more time around my work-work projects to dedicate to Doors CE. That's a reasonable suggestion and nitpick, which ordinarily I would address by always remembering the cursor position when re-displaying the desktop. However, if you deleted a program, I could see that perhaps leading to confusing results, because the cursor would then be on the next program (or if the deleted program was the last program, the previous program). I'll definitely take that under advisement as a possible bit of polish to add after I get the major features in place. Smile
The best birthday present would be Doors CE (January)
I am so excited that Doors CE is finally coming! Great work so far, Kerm! Thank you for taking so much of your time to make this project a reality.
yay! doors ce here we come!

my prediction for a release date: january 10-25, 2016
(i'm usually right.)
Kerm:

Good Luck on finishing this. I hope you get all of that stuff figured out, and I can't wait for a beta release!
GO GET IT Kerm. WE BELIEVE IN YOU


...there's a filter that avoids caps for K E R M?
Incredible work, Kerm (and also tr1p1ea & MateoConLechuga)! Smile
YAY! I can't wait! I'm going to go get my time machine...

... Maybe an AppVar manager also? I don't want to ask for anything extra yet.
So, does that mean all TI84 PCSE projects will be abandoned?
soulfighter wrote:
So, does that mean all TI84 PCSE projects will be abandoned?

probably not, because the calculator still exists, and no emulator has been created (except the TI smartview, which costs $$$) for the CE.
But because of the CE's increased speed and other improved specs, I think many more projects are going to start on that calculator.
soulfighter wrote:
So, does that mean all TI84 PCSE projects will be abandoned?

No, it doesn't xD it means that first of all, all the PCSE projects will be directly compatible with the CE, except some apparently which use the half-res mode drawing commands without being in half-res. However, I don't currently own a CE, therefore I will still be working on the CSE and I'm sure I'm not the only one, and any projects made using the libs on the CE will be backward compatible with the CSE, so you don't have to worry about the CSE becoming old and deserted Smile
caleb1997 wrote:
Kerm:

Good Luck on finishing this. I hope you get all of that stuff figured out, and I can't wait for a beta release!
Thanks! Some will be easier than other, and I look forward to being able to share a beta with the community for testing and debugging.
allynfolksjr wrote:
GO GET IT Kerm. WE BELIEVE IN YOU
...there's a filter that avoids caps for K E R M?
Thanks! And no, it avoids "kerm".
JamesV wrote:
Incredible work, Kerm (and also tr1p1ea & MateoConLechuga)! Smile
You're kind to say so, sir. Thank you. Smile
Hactar wrote:
YAY! I can't wait! I'm going to go get my time machine...

... Maybe an AppVar manager also? I don't want to ask for anything extra yet.
What would an AppVar manager do? That sounds like a job for another program, though.

mr womp womp wrote:
No, it doesn't xD it means that first of all, all the PCSE projects will be directly compatible with the CE, except some apparently which use the half-res mode drawing commands without being in half-res. However, I don't currently own a CE, therefore I will still be working on the CSE and I'm sure I'm not the only one, and any projects made using the libs on the CE will be backward compatible with the CSE, so you don't have to worry about the CSE becoming old and deserted Smile
This is exactly correct. tr1p1ea's work includes making the half-res commands in xLIBC work the same way in xLIBCE from the TI-BASIC programmer and end user perspectives, so half-res TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition xLIBC programs and games will work within Doors CE.
soulfighter wrote:
So, does that mean all TI84 PCSE projects will be abandoned?
See mr womp womp's answer. tl;dr: not at all.
KermMartian wrote:

Hactar wrote:
YAY! I can't wait! I'm going to go get my time machine...

... Maybe an AppVar manager also? I don't want to ask for anything extra yet.
What would an AppVar manager do? That sounds like a job for another program, though.


It would just be a way to more easily organize and (un)archive appvars. Or maybe link certain programs with certain appvars, so that the appvars are unarchived whenever the program runs, then archived again afterward. (ex. CMonster/CalcuZap save their data in unarchived appvars.) Whenever I want to archive all my programs and appvars for a potential runaway assembly program, I always have to do [2nd] [Mem] [2] [Alpha] [B] and then archive whatever appvars aren't already archived.
Hactar wrote:
It would just be a way to more easily organize and (un)archive appvars. Or maybe link certain programs with certain appvars, so that the appvars are unarchived whenever the program runs, then archived again afterward. (ex. CMonster/CalcuZap save their data in unarchived appvars.) Whenever I want to archive all my programs and appvars for a potential runaway assembly program, I always have to do [2nd] [Mem] [2] [Alpha] [B] and then archive whatever appvars aren't already archived.

I second these thoughts. A program that is Hactar describes here would be very useful, and help you save a lot of your data while still keeping it safe from RAM clears. I like the linking Idea, but maybe just adding a folder to the DCE homescreen (like the APPS folder) that allows you to manage AppVars. (I realize now that this question should probably be brought up in the brainstorming thread)
I could see where this appvar manager would be handy, but what it accomplishes could/should be done by the programs that require such appvars. Also, it escapes what DCSE 9 is aiming for: bringing CSE basic compatibility to the CE. If an appvar manager is to be, let it be later. Besides, the CE has plenty of archive space, and I know of no program that is large enough to prevent appvars from coexisting in ram (yet). Besides besides, if appvars do get displayed alongside their programs, that sounds like clutter.
Hactar wrote:
It would just be a way to more easily organize and (un)archive appvars. Or maybe link certain programs with certain appvars, so that the appvars are unarchived whenever the program runs, then archived again afterward. (ex. CMonster/CalcuZap save their data in unarchived appvars.) Whenever I want to archive all my programs and appvars for a potential runaway assembly program, I always have to do [2nd] [Mem] [2] [Alpha] [B] and then archive whatever appvars aren't already archived.
One of the great features of shells (including Doors CE) is that they generally support writeback, so programs no longer need to use AppVars to store things like high scores and the associated names/initials, settings, and so on. And since Doors CE can run ASM programs directly from Archive, you don't even need to worry about losing those programs with their written-back scores/settings/etc in the event of a crash. I feel like Doors CE therefore needs to worry a little less about AppVars, because the only remaining AppVars would be levels and similar data, and programs seem to already manage those well.
Since it's been about 15 days, how a progress update, Kerm? Have you got anything working yet? Like HomeRun, or XLIBCE, or any of that other stuff?
caleb1997 wrote:
Since it's been about 15 days, how a progress update, Kerm? Have you got anything working yet? Like HomeRun, or XLIBCE, or any of that other stuff?


Let's not forget it's also the holidays. Lot's of people take these two weeks off for recreation with family; especially since last week and this week are three day work weeks for the office-work folk, or at least where I work they are. And that's precisely what Kerm is doing. While some work may be taking place it's probably in the downtime Kerm has while traveling to and fro.
  
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