High-Res VGA Text DEMO

cgracey

I've been holed up for two weeks wrangling with this VGA driver. It generates 128 columns by 64 rows of 8x12·pixel characters in 1024x768 VGA mode. This was quite an odyssey. I didn't think such a thing was possible, but found a way to do it with five COGs (thanks to Andre's earlier work), then reconchunkulated some concepts and got it down to only two COGs! It's very simple to use and the interface is entirely through memory - no methods. It's just like a graphics card. It has 'hardware' like support for up to two separate cursors (one can be used for keyboard, and one for mouse).

The demo is pretty much set up for a Propeller Demo Board Rev C, but it can work with other setups, too.

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Chip Gracey
Parallax, Inc.

Post Edited (Chip Gracey (Parallax)) : 6/3/2006 9:37:50 AM GMT

Gadgetman

AAAARGH!

Today I got a 'duplicate package notice' in the mailbox, telling me that there's a parcel waiting to be collected and that it has been at the postoffice for a week. and the ONLY package that could be is the one with all the resistors and stuff...
Of course the postoffice closed early today, and won't open again before tuesday!

Need to go and do something nasty to my landlord as I assume he lost the original notice...

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Don't visit my new website...

Martin Hebel

And if you are wanting that matrix effect from the movie, simply hold down the right mouse button! Not sure why...but then again, not sure how 95% of this works anyway [noparse]:)[/noparse]

-Martin

Ym2413a

Oh wow, that's some very impressive programming. I didn't think 1024x768 would even be do-able with this version of the chip.

CJ

very impressive, and if you move the screen buffer to the DAT section, you can preload it with whatever you want without increasing program size

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Who says you have to have knowledge to use it?

I've killed a fly with my bare mind.

Kaos Kidd

Chip:
I love this driver! This is awesome. The comments, and how it works is slick.
One real quick question:
If I were to move the "mode" prams from the CON block to the VAR block, and add an additional pram to the start to indicate the mode wanted, would that mess up the "memory managment" you use in the ASM portion?
This way, there would be no need to edit the object at all.

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Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket


KK
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cgracey

You could use VARs in lieu of constants, but you'd have to be sure to implant everything affected·into the asm code before launching it into a COG. I figured that because the different modes require such different amounts of RAM, and that memory is allocated at compile time, you'd wind up having to decide at design time what kind of display you wanted. Therefore, there was no big drive to make it flexible as far as resolution goes. Have fun with it.

Kaos Kidd said...
Chip:
I love this driver! This is awesome. The comments, and how it works is slick.
One real quick question:
If I were to move the "mode" prams from the CON block to the VAR block, and add an additional pram to the start to indicate the mode wanted, would that mess up the "memory managment" you use in the ASM portion?
This way, there would be no need to edit the object at all.

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Chip Gracey
Parallax, Inc.

Kaos Kidd

Chip:
I think I'll just KISS... Keep It Simple Silly... and select at design time!

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Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket


KK
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mcstar

That video text driver just ROCKS!!! ·
I cannot wait to get home and give it a spin.· <punny huh?>
Thank you for setting the standards so high Chip!