Sorry, that was supposed to be: header dc.b "THB",57 ; not "THM",57 data dc.w $200 dc.w $FFC0 etc..
On 13 November 2017 at 17:59, Per Witte <pjwi...@online.no> wrote: > > Theme file format > > I had a look at Theme file format on QL forum. Some > > comments and questions: > > > > Rethorical question: Is it worthwhile to create a new > > format to save some space (a few bytes, I suppose) > > when we have (QPC2, SMSQmulator) 128MB at our disposal? > Despite computers getting ever faster and bigger, the likes of > Windoze still seem slow at times, and just as soon run out of space - > as they always did.. That may partly be down to BLOAT and lazyness. > > In the case of the "QL", software might be expected to run on a wide > variety of platforms, some fast and big, some slow and tight. IMHO, > efficiency is rarely a bad thing unless achieving it is considerably > more costly that what it is likely to save. > > I dont know where the current theme file format originated, but a few > programs use that. It is sometimes (usually?) given the extension > _thm. It is a pure text file that looks like this: > > $200 > $FFC0 > .. etc altogether 57 lines > > To load a palette (theme) youd use something like: > .. > FOR ofs = 0 to SP_GETCOUNT - 2 STEP 2 > INPUT#ch; it$ > POKE_W addr + ofs, HEX(it$(2 to)) > > Whats not to improve? ;) > > I propose to use a binary format (see below) and use LBYTES instead. > This cuts space and time, and would allow a number of such files to > be concatenated. But instead of LBYTESing any kind of rubbish, I > suggested we make a header that would give a strong indication, if > not absolute certainty, that we were loading the right kind of file. > > A number of file formats on the QL scene dont have headers, and this > sometimes causes confusion not to mention frustration and the > potential for inelegant crashes unless preventive steps are taken by > each and every program using them. The _scn extension, for example > means widely different things.. > > > Not all palette files have 57 entries. > Well, thats the current tally, as given by the Wman2 function > SP_GETCOUNT. If that were to change, a file header might help to > identify that fact quickly. > > > In fact, a complete palette should have 58 entries. > > The original author forgot to reserve a slot for the > > border of the error window. Doesn’t a new format imply > > a rewrite of existing programs? > No. > > > Will Qspread, QD, Files,... comply? > I dont think any of them load external palettes. If they do, they > will no doubt happily continue to use whatever standard theyre > using now. > > > Afraid of having 57 entries filled with wrong data? > Not afraid, as loading the wrong data will not crash the program, > only display strange colours. POKEing or LBYTESing more data than > ALCHPed would be seriously problematic. > > > Why not create a new type of file? I would suggest type > > 84 (T for theme). > File types are sadly not much supported in QL land. Defining a new file > type could cause problems - for existing file managment programs, for > example. > > > Just my two cents. > Glad for your interest so this matter can be finalised. > > The current suggestion is for theme files to have an additional > format to the existing one. It will be dead easy to convert theme > files between "standards", so programmers can choose to support the > new standard (if it becomes one) - or not. The reason Im bringing this up > is > to try to prevent a third and a fourth "standard" to emerge (unnecessary > creating confusion and nonsense), by engaging anyone who has an > opinion to "speak now or be forever silent" (as they say at the wedding > ceremony in the C of E.) As mentioned, the file will be binary, but I > describe it here in assembler for clarity: > > header > dc.b "THM",57 > data > dc.w $200 > dc.w $FFC0 > etc.. > > Other suggestions have been made. This is V3.0, currently my > preferred option, but Im open to improvements, including a header-less > binary, considered earlier on. > > Per > > On 13 November 2017 at 15:50, François Van Emelen via Ql-Users < > ql-users@lists.q-v-d.com> wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> Theme file format >> I had a look at Theme file format on QL forum. >> Some comments and questions: >> >> Rethorical question: Is it worthwhile to create a new format to save some >> space (a few bytes, I suppose) when we have (QPC2, SMSQmulator) 128MB at >> our disposal? >> Not all palette files have 57 entries. >> In fact, a complete palette should have 58 entries. The original author >> forgot to reserve a slot for the border of the error window. >> Doesn’t a new format imply a rewrite of existing programs? >> Will Qspread, QD, Files,... comply? >> Afraid of having 57 entries filled with wrong data? Why not create a new >> type of file? I would suggest type 84 (T for theme). >> Just my two cents. >> >> Have a nice day. >> >> François Van Emelen >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> QL-Users Mailing List > > > _______________________________________________ QL-Users Mailing List