32 replies to this topic

[genesis]

I'll risk the embarassment of reporting something you may know but on my CFX, I can change the contrast anywhere on the calculator, wherever it is waiting for input (all except the menu) Tell me if it works on your calc, press Shift and use the arrow keys left and right to change the contrast!!! Hope someone finds some use for this, I know there is one, I'll use it for some games.

I have just got Macromedia Flash MX and soon I'll release my first real website. I'll put up my 'new generation' of games. I just finished making Collapse (it's so fast!) and going on to make Sprite, which I might enter for the competition (a 3D shoot-em up game).

Some programming tips:

1. VERY USEFUL - If you have more than 4 subsequent 'test'=>'operation' codes in your program, use If, IfEnd and else to seperate them into groups of 2. For example say you want to show letters on the screen...

If A<5
Then If A<3
Then A=1=>"A"
A=2=>"B"
Else A=3=>"C"
A=4=>"D"
IfEnd
Else If A<7
Then A=5=>"E"
A=6=>"F"
Else A=7=>"G"
A=8=>"H"
IfEnd
IfEnd

This makes the above code 2x faster than simply putting them all in a line!

2. You don't need to close [{ and ( brackets in most cases. Exceptions are: before =<> and in an equation.

3. Try to arrange your labels so that you don't have so many jumps around the whole program.

4. Logical operations slow things down, if testing two values, try and combine them into one test.

5. Don't use special effects on your programs, they take up too much memory, all we want is the gameplay and special effects take up too much memory and speed.

btw, does anyone know the fastest way to make A become 2 if it's 1 and A become 1 if it's 2. If you put them in order, it will always end up as 1.

[betoe]

"press Shift and use the arrow keys left and right to change the contrast!!! "

That comes in the manual, once I realized that in my AFX, and when I published here Crimson informed to me that it was not a newness...

And when I bought the AFX the first that I made was read the manual...

BTW: Nice programmation tips.

[Endi]

I'll risk the embarassment of reporting something you may know but on my CFX, I can change the contrast anywhere on the calculator, wherever it is waiting for input (all except the menu)

Yeah, you're not the first person revealing this trick in the forum.
But I found more useful thing about it (maybe some of you haven't tried it yet). In programs yuo can make a turn off option. Yuo have to e.g. check if player types F6' /> and call a triangle (-disp- function) if he does. Then player can turn off calculator without breaking program.

btw, does anyone know the fastest way to make A become 2 if it's 1 and A become 1 if it's 2. If you put them in order, it will always end up as 1. 

I'm not sure what do you mean.
Maybe this:

not (A-1)+1->A

[CrimsonCasio]

your trying to do something like:
A=1=>2->A
A=2=>1->A

you could do as endi said or if you prefer you can use:
If A=1
Then 2->A
Else A=2=>1->A
End If

[casiokingdom]

I'll risk the embarassment of reporting something you may know but on my CFX, I can change the contrast anywhere on the calculator

No need to be embarassed, i didn't know

[Andy.Davies]

Crimson, genisis is right in the that if you do

A=1=>2->A
A=2=>1->A

then all that will happen is that is a = 1 the first line will set a to 2, but the second line will the ask if a = 2, which it will do, and change it back to 1!

the code Endi suggested will work though!

[CrimsonCasio]

i know...
thats what I was saying...

[Endi]

Of course my way is only for those values. And if it's sure that 1 and 2 are only possible values...

[2072]

hmmm... I remember an old trick I used much in my basic programs (download them on my website ;-) )

2(A=1) + (A=2)-> A

no one talk about that... I discovered it one day by accident that's really useful!

Edited by 2072, 18 August 2003 - 11:58 PM.

[CrimsonCasio]

thats cool, I wouldn't have thought of that. and it makes A=0 if its neither.

[2072]

I've thought a little bit more and now

(A=1)+1->A

will put A to 1 if A=0 and then the cycle begin 1 2 1 2 1 2...

in C it would be

A=(A==1) +1;

That trick is useful to make 2 states switches.

[betoe]

in which you use this code?
Ooops you response that doubt when i was writting this reply.

[2072]

Well that works both on AFX and on my CFX 9940GT+ (GRAPH 60).

[Overlord]

it's also useful to make a xor command : If (A=1)+(B=2)=1 Then...

you can also extend it to If ()+()+()...=... Then... (or >=...) etc.

[genesis]

Good tips? They're just some random things I thought of. Some more are:

1. For + or -1 AND + or -2 use Isz and Dsz, it takes up less/equal memory and it's faster. +3 is the same as Isz, Isz, Isz but the second way takes up more memory. And don't put zero's in numbers less than 0.

2. See if you can get a better one but my trademark 'pause' in programs without the -Disp- symbol is Do:LpWhile Getkey=/=31.

3. Try to stay away from letter inputs in programs, it's cool but allowing a user to select something from a list is easier. Speaking of lists, F1' /> ---, F2' /> --- is a lot easier to program than using an arrow that can move up and down.

Is it possible to make 3D games in text mode? Post any tips or favorite ways of doing something.

EDIT
So I'm a Casio Addict now am I?

[casiokingdom]

1. For + or -1 AND + or -2 use Isz and Dsz, it takes up less/equal memory and it's faster. +3 is the same as Isz, Isz, Isz but the second way takes up more memory. And don't put zero's in numbers less than 0.

2. See if you can get a better one but my trademark 'pause' in programs without the -Disp- symbol is Do:LpWhile Getkey=/=31.

i've got a question, sometimes, the Isz and Dsz commands muck up my program. they don't seem to always work. ??????
Or perhaps it's just me.

Also, your pause method is similar to the one i use, however, i don't use it often as i create games which don't require a pause (RPG). yet, a while ago i added a pause to the original version of Indy, as in that game it was needed.

[huhn_m]

If you use DSZ/ ISZ and the resul ot the line is 0 then the next line is NOT executed! So if you execute the folowing
program

[code=auto:0]
4->S
LBL 1
DEC S
IF S=-2
THEN "HALLO"
ENDIF
GOTO 1
[/CODE ]

It will crash as if S=0 then there is no IF but only an end if in the loop (since the if line is NOT executed!)
This can mess up the whole program so be carefull when and how you use these commands.

One other thing:

Insted of large numbers use the ENG Symbols!

1000 = 1k
1000000 = 1M
0.001 = 1m

and so on, this saves a lot of memory and makes the whole source code clearer.

[casiokingdom]

cheers, huhn_m. i hope now i won't make the same error.

[CrimsonCasio]

hmm, my favorite programming technique...

well, I like compresion... I guess my favorite trick is puting every little thing in seperate programs, using them like C functions. It saves space by alowing for code reuse, and it makes your programs run faster.

[Bob Vila]

I'll risk the embarassment of reporting something you may know but on my CFX, I can change the contrast anywhere on the calculator

No need to be embarassed, i didn't know

i didnt know either

[betoe]

"See if you can get a better one but my trademark 'pause' in programs without the -Disp- symbol is Do:LpWhile Getkey=/=31."
Good trick, I use the sam way, with LpWhile

I also use the ENG and Norm commands to make eng. programs, like one called "C" (I hope that this program will be available in the andy davies website, its for ceramic capacitor's codes) , its so usefull.

I think that i'm not a good programmer because much work costs to me to reduce the code of my programs, I need more practice

[genesis]

I think I've said something about the ENG symbols before, you can use them for decimals too. And if you didn't know Norm2 cancels all scientific notation and Gauss/Simpson, well I don't know.

The main thing that interests me is splitting your programs up to make them run faster.

Does this really work, I mean can you split a slow game into a hundred parts to run super fast? Cause if you can then people should be able to make real cool programs, only problem is then people would have the right to complain about too many programs in one game !

[CrimsonCasio]

yeah, it does work. remember how you once said that you put the main loop of your game at the top of the program, well having everything in a diffrent program makes for smaller loops and each of them is at the top of the program. almost anytime I put something in a if statement that will be looped I put it in another program, that way the calc has less too scan before finding the IfEnd. it also allows you to reuse code and on the AFX since it sorts programs alphabetically you just put a - in front and they go to the bottom.

[huhn_m]

Well it depends on the program. If you have a program where you constantly have to jump (goto)
over large distances this might be true but else not! Be aware that the OS / Basic interpreter has to do
the folowing things to load another program:

*store name and current position of old program
*search new program
*Set pointer to this program
*Execute
*Search old program
*Move pointer to position where new program was called.

try replacing the folowing

0->D	
	FOR 1-A TO 1000
	ISZ D
	NEXT

by:

PROG1:

  0->D
  FOR 1-A TO 1000
  PRGM "PROG2"
  NEXT

	PROG2
  ISZ D

And messure the time they take to run!
The second form will be slower (and this will be better visible if you replace the 1000 by 1M

[CrimsonCasio]

yes, obviously that would be slower, but in any circumstance where you would actualy use it it is more than likley going to be faster. me and (i think BitWise) discused the overhead time before and determined that in would be realitivly insignifigant. however, you cant deny that its faster to do:

if A<>A
Then Prog "IMPOS"
EndIf

than:

If A<>A
then "This"
"wont"
"happen"
EndIf

since it only has to scan/skip one line.

[huhn_m]

I've made some benchmark tests.
I executed an instruction 1000 times & took the time. I did this three times calculated the middle value and
divided it by 1000. And subtracted 0.00554 (the time on for loop takes, i messured it before without instructions)
Exapmle:

FOR 1->A TO 1000
ISZ D
NEXT

Makeing this I created the folowing table:
Prog -> 0.002 s
Goto -> 0.00132 s + 0.00006 s / Byte it jumps over.
(Goto +10 Bytes) -> +0.00063 s
(Goto +20 Bytes) -> +0.00124 s
Isz -> 0.00218 s
Dsz -> 0.00213 s
Locate imm,imm,imm -> 0.1126 s
Variable -> 0.0017 s
Imm8 -> 0.00209s
For loop -> 0.00554s


Recognicing this table the Prg COmmand would be effective as soon as you jump over more then 11 bytes(!)
Maybe I'll make a complete table sometimes. Who knows :-)

[Endi]

You know that these parameters change if more functions are added, don't you?
Especially jump, condition and loop functions are affected by this...

[huhn_m]

Yes of course. Because of this the +0.00006s / Byte is added to the jump. It stays a rounded value though
since I had no idea how to messure how long the way from the next to the for takes without needing proc cycles
on the commands between

[genesis]

Thankyou, huhn_m! Very useful information, how did you get it so accurate? I guess it is impossible to calculate the speeds efficiently but maybe we could create a benchmark table. Like for everything below a certain benchmark, use a certain command and for everything above, use another.

One thing I'm frustrated about is having to repeat codes in a program, I know you can split it up or use function memory and everything but I just want to be able to rewrite it so I only have it once. BASIC makes simple ideas SO hard to put into code. For example, what is the fastest way to check the values of the cell above, left, right and below a cell in a matrix?

[casiokingdom]

how do you store commands in the function mem (in a program)?

[genesis]

arrgghhh!!!! You're like, everywhere!!! It's always you!!! Tip: your posts are very relevant but post in less topics and less forums, say max 2 forums and 2 topics each forum at a time. People won't be so annoyed.

You can't store commands in a program as far as I know. casiokingdom, if you could that would be one of the biggest breakthroughs yet, you could manipulate code within a program!!! The other breakthough would be to turn on your calc one day and a fully-functional Warcraft III appears on the screen.

[CrimsonCasio]

heh, from the stories I've heard you shouldn't be the one talking
anyway, as for code rewriting itself, thats kinda been done... I wrote a language for casio basic to interprate, of course its insanely slow, but it has the ability to rewrite its self on the fly and its very hard to write in since its basically all numbers. now if someone were to make a C/ASM interface and executor then it could work out nicely...

Warcraft 3... ok, 3 weeks (j/k)

[Endi]

I said something about BASIC compiler. I started making this project, the hardest thing are expression compilers. The simpliest version works, but something is strange. It compiles on my computer and I can calculate even very complicated value-only expression. But when I try to do something like writing to file (on PC) or to memory zone (on AFX) it says about "stack overflow" error. It appears with many functions I add and I know that I use them correctly. It's strange, I can't continue till I solve this problem...
And I have to divide my free time between this project and programming competition game (which I delayed for a week <_<)
It would be good for all of us to do this compiler, especially that it's mainly functions problem.