Rich Mellor wrote:I was surprised to learn that SMSQ/e for the Gold Card/Super Gold Card is
still available with or without the colour drivers,
Of course it is. Just think about it! I cannot force everybody to pay the licence for the driver and I'm absolutely not going to donate this work, too! I do think I have done more than enough for free.
I agree you should be recompensed..
plus the standard SMSQ/e is now at v3.08 and the colour driver version is at v3.03.
3.07 and 3.08 were QPC changes only. So colour version is at 3.06, like non-colour version. If it isn't then there is/was simply a problem in the distribution chain. Some time ago I have asked Wolfgang to create the colour version along with the normal version, too, which he agreed to, because I simply do not want to be involved with SMSQ/E for GoldCard anymore.
Must be a breakdown somewhere then because I have v3.07 of the non-colour SMSQ/e for Gold Card
There is no easy way whatsoever to know which version is being used by a user. Both have the same configuration option about the colour depth to use (QL or 256 colour mode), even though on the standard SMSQ/e this has no effect (since the colour drivers are not available), and in fact appears to crash the Aurora !! The only suggestion is to look at the file size for SMSQ_GOLD
Yes, this is a problem. But one that cannot be easily solved. Due to the mentioned issues the colour drivers are a separate module, independent of the main SMSQ/E. The option however needs to be in main SMSQ/E module. I didn't rate the problem too high because for some reason I have thought that people might know what they have bought and what not.
Hmm I see what you mean - maybe the configuration block should be a separate module on its own (if possible).
I guess that trap #3, with D0=#$52 does not return an error on the latest
smsq/e for Gold Card (even though it should be not implemented as the
colour drivers are not present).
No, it should absolutely not return an error. A colour driver is present. Only a 4 colour driver, but a colour driver nonetheless!
OK fair enough - but why does it return an error on the PE - must be missing something here.
So in this case, it is completely impossible for software to tell if the version of SMSQ/e in use provides the high colour drivers or not. However, it should not crash the system as I get with PRINT RW_GD2 (using my routine - it prints 1 and then crashes).
I guess that this trap also leads to the crash somehow...
It shouldn't.
It also seems odd that it returns not implemented on the new PTR_GEN and WMAN (where they are used on a QDOS system), but does not return not implemented (or any other error) on a standard SMSQ/e without colour drivers..
Well, looks like my long text a few days ago was in vain :-( A pity, I did really spend a lot of time on it.
I must have missed something there cos I do not recall it saying that WMAN's traps for the new ink and paper commands would return not implemented, but smsq/e wouldn't even though they are not implemented if there is no colour driver. Surely the PE should also provide the same result, as it should presumably use the 4 colour driver as SMSQ/e??
Personally I do not think that both versions of SMSQ/e should still be available for the Gold Card - surely just the colour driver version should now be available
If you're suggestion to stop updating SMSQ/E for people that haven't bought my driver, then hey, I don't mind. But some people might not be happy about this.
It just seems a little pointless - people don't want to revert to non colour driver versions of smsq/e for QPC2 now do they? OK they did not pay for the upgrade as it was originally included in the price of QPC2.
-- Rich Mellor RWAP Services 26 Oak Road, Shelfield, Walsall, West Midlands WS4 1RQ
http://www.rwapservices.co.uk/
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