Updated PBASIC Help File (16 JUN 2005)
Jon Williams
Posts: 6,491
I think you all know that we work very hard to produce error-free documentation, and as much of it as we can humanly do to assist you with your projects.· That said, we are just human, and occassional mistakes will slip through.
If you've already installed the version 2.x compiler you can simply replace the Help file with the one attached here.· In most cases, the location for the file will be:
· C:\Program Files\Parallax Inc\Stamp Editor v2.x
... where x denotes the latest version.
16 JUN 2005: Fixed typos and ommisson of BS2px in text of SERIN and SEROUT
24 MAY 2005: Corrected small error in STORE -- only the BS2pe has 16 slots
04 MAY 2005: Updated XOUT example code to match wiring diagram on syntax page
30 SEP 2004: Updated directives ($STAMP is required, $PBASIC is optional); simplified·Contents pane nav with [noparse][[/noparse]+]/[noparse][[/noparse]-] buttons
24 SEP 2004: Added "&" (bitwise AND) to index; updated/corrected links to Internet locations
07 SEP 2004: Corrected typos in SERIN/SEROUT demos and baud rate tables
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Post Edited (Jon Williams (Parallax)) : 6/17/2005 1:21:37 AM GMT
If you've already installed the version 2.x compiler you can simply replace the Help file with the one attached here.· In most cases, the location for the file will be:
· C:\Program Files\Parallax Inc\Stamp Editor v2.x
... where x denotes the latest version.
16 JUN 2005: Fixed typos and ommisson of BS2px in text of SERIN and SEROUT
24 MAY 2005: Corrected small error in STORE -- only the BS2pe has 16 slots
04 MAY 2005: Updated XOUT example code to match wiring diagram on syntax page
30 SEP 2004: Updated directives ($STAMP is required, $PBASIC is optional); simplified·Contents pane nav with [noparse][[/noparse]+]/[noparse][[/noparse]-] buttons
24 SEP 2004: Added "&" (bitwise AND) to index; updated/corrected links to Internet locations
07 SEP 2004: Corrected typos in SERIN/SEROUT demos and baud rate tables
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Post Edited (Jon Williams (Parallax)) : 6/17/2005 1:21:37 AM GMT
chm
566K
Comments
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
csavage@parallax.com
Post Edited (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 7/11/2005 7:09:48 PM GMT
For those that don't know, the "HTML Help Updater" that Chris is referring to is in the Start -> Programs -> Parallax, Inc -> BASIC Stamp Editor v2.1 menu (path may vary depending on O.S.).
That is a small program from Microsoft that updates the O.S.'s HTML Help Library system to a minimum version required for the proper display of our on-line help.· Typically only Windows 95/98 and NT4 users need to use that program, and only if they haven't installed the latest service packs from Microsoft's Windows Update site.
The BASIC Stamp Editor will automatically instruct a person to run this program if it detects that the installed version of HTML Help on their system is too old.
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--Jeff Martin
· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.
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Chris Savage
Knight Designs
324 West Main Street
P.O. Box 97
Montour Falls, NY 14865
(607) 535-6777
Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
·
After posting that message, I had a faint memory of making the BASIC Stamp Editor help the user through this situation.
I checked the code just now and verified that it tells the user when they are running an old version and also asks if they'd like to run the HTML Help Updater utility (from Microsoft).· If they click Yes, it runs automatically and fixes the problem.
Since you've made me aware that the "HTML Help Updater" menu item can be confusing, and the editor automatically runs it at the user's request, there is no longer a need for that menu item to appear.
The Release 2 version of the installer (available on our web site this afternoon) will have the menu item removed.
Thank you.
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--Jeff Martin
· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.
I·installed the Stamp Editor 2.1 Beta 1 several weeks ago and noticed
that I could not get the HELP file to display, also the ICON's (print
etc) do not show up. I am getting back to look at that now, after
spending weeks (seems like a year) preparing for hurricanes.
I noticed this thread. I ran the HELP file updater but the HELP
file will still not display, nor do the ICON's show up. The only
way I can look at the HELP file is to go to the HELP file folder
location and click on the HELP file and then it will display.
Is there something else I need updated to get the ICON's and
the HELP file to display normally? On the ICON's, if I run the cursor
over the ICON position it does tell me what ICON is supposed to be.
Also, I don't think I ever got a message that the WIN's needed the
HELP·file updater to run. The VER of WIN's on the machine is:
···· 4.00.950.B
Thanks for any help,
Bob
I just downloaded) of the BS Editor/Development System. This is on Win2K.
Seems I can start the .CHM (compiled HTML help file) and use help but I'll be
danged if I can use it from within the E/DS. Oh, it'll come up OK but if I select
the INDEX tab, over on the left side, that whole window goes into non-responsive
mode. I have to kill the whole BS
will go away. Did I miss something during install???
Oh, while I'm here, in the help section for "IF...THEN", in the paragraph after the
example statement
there's this line:
I think it would probably read better if this sentence ended with "label called Main.".
Thanks!
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-Rusty-
--
Rusty Haddock = KD4WLZ = rusty@fe2o3.lonestar.org
**Out yonder in the Van Alstyne (TX) Metropolitan Area**
Microsoft is to software what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking
Post Edited (Fe2o3Fish) : 9/16/2004 4:30:23 AM GMT
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas Office
I have the same problem with Help freezing the editor. I was on the phone with Parallax tech support and they told me the problem will be fixed soon. In the interim , they sugest me to open the help file from the start, programs parallax inc , basic stamp editor, help. I have a shortcut on the desktop for it
I did and do and helps works fine with no freezing. Ususaly i keep the·help open all the time , so i do not have to restart it again.
I hope that will works for you too
Ion
·· Glad to know that Parallax knows it's an issue and they're fixing it.· Yes, starting Help from the Start menu works just fine for me too.· Thanks!
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-Rusty-
--
Rusty Haddock = KD4WLZ = rusty@fe2o3.lonestar.org
**Out yonder in the Van Alstyne (TX) Metropolitan Area**
Microsoft is to software what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking
Also, I do not see the changes made to help that are listed in the top message. Specifically, I do not see the [noparse][[/noparse]+]/[noparse][[/noparse]-] in the Help Contents nav pane or th "&" listed in the index. I am using the help file downloaded today 12/31/2004 from the download section of the Parallax website.
The freeze and no-print mystery is still just that: a mystery and we're working on it. I don't think it's a problem with the Help file itself because I can open the file from a shortcut on my desktop and do everything with it. Calling CHM help files from an application can be a bit tricky, and Microsoft documentation is not as clear as it could be.· We will sort it out.· For the time being, let me suggest that you open the file from a shortcut instead of from the BASIC Stamp IDE.
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas Office
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas, TX· USA
Jon,
Will 98SE be supported into the foreseeable future? I ask because I'll probably be looking for a cheap second laptop to do development on and the stamp stuff doesn't really require much. While 2K or XP would be fine, I'm not sure I want to pop 1/2 the price of what I'll probably have to pay for the laptop just to get the newer OS.
Thanks,
Jim
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas, TX· USA
NO quriks yet....
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Ben Damon
And may God Bless America!
·
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Truly Understand the Fundamentals and the Path will be so much easier...
I am using 98SE on two different machines and both do it.· Mainly it happens when I attempt to use
the search function at the top of help. (contents, index, search)
Occasionally it will also freeze if I click on one of the items farther down in the index listing also.
Additionally, if I ctl alt delete out of help, but leave the editor running, help will not open again
until I close and re-open the editor.· The work-around mentioned above works for me also, using help from
the start menu rather than from the editor.
Thanks in advance
kirby
I have Windows 98 SE on my PC (I really need to upgrade to XP...
Just my $0.02...
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Robotics
ro-bot-ics (noun)
the science or technology of robots, their design, manufacture, application, use, etc.
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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas, TX· USA
Post Edited (Jon Williams) : 5/24/2005 12:45:50 PM GMT
I have a serial to USB adapter pluged into my iBook and my board. When I ty to run the simplest program I get a message: "Couldn't open serial connection. Serial adapter plugged in? Port selected? Couldn't load PBasic tokenizer." I don't have any idea how to solve this. Can anybody help?
FB (age 10)
'First comment
'Second comment
'{$STAMP BS2}
'{$PBASIC 2.5}
DEBUG "Hello from me to you"
END
When I try to run it, I get a "honk" and "Duplicate directive" Now what?
FB (age 10)
There is nothing syntactically wrong with your program, and when run through the Windows Version of the PBASIC Editor, there are no errors. There may be an error in the Mac Tokenizer. If there is, I suspect it may be that there is an unnecessary constraint that if compiler directives are used, they must be the very first thing in the program. Based on that presumption, I'd restructure my program like this:
'{$STAMP BS2}
'{$PBASIC 2.5}
'First comment
'Second comment
DEBUG "Hello from me to you"
END
Give that a try. Just for the record, none of the individual tokenizer applications (Mac, Linux, etc.) were written by Parallax.
Regards,
Bruce Bates
I did just what you said, put the two directives at the top. The software does exactly the same thing: highlights the $STAMP and across the bar above writes Duplicate directive PBasic tokenizer version 1.23
I think I am using the right version of MacBS2, 2.0b10. And the first time I opened it, the program went to the web and downloaded the tokenizer, so I guess it's the right one.
Should I go to the Mac programmers for help?
Forrest
I did just what you said, put the two directives at the top. The software does exactly the same thing: highlights the $STAMP and across the bar above writes Duplicate directive PBasic tokenizer version 1.23
I think I am using the right version of MacBS2, 2.0b10. And the first time I opened it, the program went to the web and downloaded the tokenizer, so I guess it's the right one.
Should I go to the Mac programmers for help?
Forrest
I just guessed at what the problem might be. It apears from what you've now determined that there may be a bug in the tokenizer which prohibits more than one compiler directive. If there is an indication of who wrote that interface, I'd get a hold of them, and see if they can address your problem. Unfortunately, I know nothing about Macs. Sorry
Regards,
Bruce Bates
The MacBS2 program handles the type directives in a different way than the Windows version. You don't put them in the program yourself. You select those options from the "Stamp" menu. If you put them directly in the program, it will give you the error message.
You should read through the FAQ on Murat's MacBS2 page www.muratnkonar.com/otherstuff/macbs2/.
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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com
Thank you SO much. This was very frustrating because I only have the instructions for the windows version, and, as you point out, they are different for the Mac. Can you guide me to an instruction manual for the Mac?
Forrest
I don't think there is a manual as such for MacBS2. However, with respect to PBASIC language syntax, MacBS2 adheres to everything you will find in the Stamp manual. That includes even the compiler directives and good handling of multi-bank programs. I don't know if it supports the BS2px yet, but it does support the BS2p and the BS2pe. It is a remarkably complete and stable implementation, with good syntax highliighting and everything in its editor. Murat has done a great job and continually improves the program.
Where MacBS2 differs from stampw.exe for Windows is in operation of the program itself.
You already ran across that with the $Stamp and $PBASIC directives. When I move back and forth between the Mac and Windows environments, The Windows version uses the $STAMP directive to link together multiple banks of a project, and MACBS2 correctly loads a PBASIC file that was created on the PC, but it usually strips off the directives in the process and stores them internally. So I have a workaround proceedure for moving back and forth from PC to Mac and back again. That is not an issue if you are working only on one or the other.
To create a new program bank on the Mac, you click on the "Project files" icon and add a slot there, which appears as a new tab in your project window. It is nice feature. That differs from the Windows version, where you add the new slots and then link to them by editing the $STAMP directive. In either version, once the slots are linked, opening the bank zero program will open the whole multislot project. MacBS2 correctly loads and links a multislot program that was created on a PC with the $STAMP directive, and it strips the directives and stores them in its own way.
Here are a couple of other areas of difference:
The Help feature. If you have the Stamp manual (BasicStampMan.pdf) in the same folder with the MacBS2 application, and you select a key word in your program, the "lookup" feature will display the relevant page in the manual. However, there are a lot of things that are not linked, that you would find if you were using the Windows version of Help. For example, it does not link to the mathematical operators. However it does open the pdf file for you. If you are a beginner I suggest that you keep it there for quick reference and know where to find things!
The Windows version lets you know how much of the Stamp memory resources you have consumed, with the memory map feature. That is not available in the MacBS2 at present.
The terminal window in MacBS2 shows output from your Stamp program, but there is no support for the other direction, keyboard input to your Stamp. (using SERIN or DEBUGIN). For that, you will need another program. Download a copy of freeware "GoSerial", or "Zterm" for Macintosh OS10. These are general purpose terminal programs that can talk to the serial port. At first be careful to disconnect the terminal program before you open MacBS2 and vice versa. Funny things can happen when both programs are vying for the same serial port.
Read the FAQ at www.muratnkonar.com/otherstuff/macbs2/faq.shtml
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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com