Running ASM programs from an APP

[Job the GameQuitter]

Note: If you don't care why I'm asking this, skip to the last paragraph, that's were I ask the question .

Okay, this is the situation: I'm writing an APP about Langton's Ant. I plan to add a multitude of features (justifying making it an APP ), like greyscale, multiple ants, customizable ant behaviour (per individual ant), customizable window size, etc.

After some pondering I've concluded that the most efficient way to handle all the different possible combinations of "rulesets" for this simulation was to use SMC. Which, as we all know, isn't really an option in an APP .

So I had this idea: when the APP creates a new simulation, it actually creates an ASM program. When you change the options you actually modify the content of the program (to be precise, you modify how the program uses SMC), and when you run the simulations you run the program. As an added benefit the program would function as a save file.

And here's the question: how does one run ASM programs from an APP? I assumed you guys could help, since you're making a shell. Or is this kind of information confidential.

[62 52 53 53]

hah! confidential! only TI would be so evil.

[David]

It is possible to run asm programs from an app. But requires approx. 600 bytes of nearly incomprehensible asm code (my own experience) to get it working properly.

But I suspect this isn't exactly what you are or think you are looking for. It would be possible to accomplish "rulesets" using saferam vars. I don't know the exact structure of your program, but if you want to use SMC anyway, try loading it to SaveSScreen or some other saferam location and you'd be able to.

[Job the GameQuitter]

I already got the same advice on the Maxcoderz forum. Problem is, the routine is too big for that.

Another option would be to let the APP only create the program, then run it seperately. In that case, the question would be how to modify the content of a program.

Anyway, NimbusOS is supposed to run programs from the App, isn't it? So someone here knows and understands how to do this, right? Right? (suddenly, I feel kind of awkward about trying NimbusOS)

[Darth Android]

theyre not executable, but u could store data 2 and appvar, and interpret it

[Adm.Wiggin]

and then, u could try nailing jello to a tree technically, appvars aren't executeable, but if u load the data into an asm prgm, then u can execute it!

[Job the GameQuitter]

Last post was me. Forgot to log in.

[NETWizz]

[Job the GameQuitter]

Thanks for the info, but I already knew this (thanks to CoBB's tutorials) . So, if I'm not mistaken, to run a program from ann App I need to:

A: Allocate the usermem to run the program.
B: Save the adress of the routine I want to run once the program ends on the stack. (this works because programs end with a RET, thus jump to the last adress saved on the stack before running the program)
C: Copy the program to usermem and run it (eg JP 9D95h)
D: Once the program ends, run a routine to restore the memory to it's original state, or the TI-OS goes .

B doesn't require difficult coding, and C is just a matter of searching the SymTable for the program's start, followed by an LDIR. I don't know how to do A and D, though. Can anyone help me out?

[Adm.Wiggin]

y dont u look at ptools from Cirrus Programming? look at the source for the ZRun module... is that what u needed?

[Job the GameQuitter]

I think it is. It's going to take me some time to understand the code, and what part of the code I need, but thanks .

[Adm.Wiggin]

just skip the loading the var part, and go strait to the exec part...