Getting Code off Stamp
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Posts: 46,084
I have unfortunately lost my text file containing my program on for
the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded on
my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off the
Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded on
my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off the
Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
Comments
AT THE TOP. I've been here a year, now, and
every 6 weeks or so someone asks this question.
This very question. This SAME question.
The answer is basically no, your program is
stored as PBasic tokens on the EEPROM, and
there is no way to get the PBasic source
back again. Search the archives for a more
thorough answer.
-- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "longngo" <longngo@y...> wrote:
> I have unfortunately lost my text file containing my program on for
> the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded on
> my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off the
> Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
> I have unfortunately lost my text file containing my program on for
> the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded on
> my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off the
> Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
There is one thin ray of hope. You can get the pcode from the chip.
After that, you can analyze the pcode to determine the logic and
operational sequence of the program and use it as a guide in
reconstructing the original Basic code. This will be a tedious task;
even more so if you don't have a very deep understanding of how
higher level languages are translated into intermediate code or
machine code. But it is doable.
The reconstruction process may be easier for the original author, who
might have recollections about the general structure, than it would
be for someone with no previous exposure to the code.
You will probably want to write a pcode disassembler which will make
the pcode easier to peruse. The link below has information that will
help you understand Stamp pcode.
http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/Robotics/stamp-decode.html
> --- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "longngo" <longngo@y...> wrote:
> > I have unfortunately lost my text file containing my program on
for
> > the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded
on
> > my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off
the
> > Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
>
> There is one thin ray of hope. You can get the pcode from the
chip.
> After that, you can analyze the pcode to determine the logic and
> operational sequence of the program and use it as a guide in
> reconstructing the original Basic code. This will be a tedious
task;
> even more so if you don't have a very deep understanding of how
> higher level languages are translated into intermediate code or
> machine code. But it is doable.
>
> The reconstruction process may be easier for the original author,
who
> might have recollections about the general structure, than it would
> be for someone with no previous exposure to the code.
>
> You will probably want to write a pcode disassembler which will
make
> the pcode easier to peruse. The link below has information that
will
> help you understand Stamp pcode.
>
> http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/Robotics/stamp-decode.html
As a warning, for someone with no knowledge, this might appear
similar to scraping all the ink from a page and then trying to figure
out what the page was all about.
But, as you probably hear all the time, save your work.
One of the best things you can do is go out and buy a 3 ring note
book and plastic page savers (heavy duty) and print out each program
and stick it in the book. Copy the program on a Disk and put that
disk in the book too.
For an on-going project, it is better to have a small binder and to
double space the code and then pen in your changes.
One word of caution, is that programmers who sell code will often put
in dummy fields so as to make it very hard for someone to backwards
engineeer the code.
I would venture to guess that it will be much easier to re-write the
program than to decipher the existing code. One reason is that as
you re-write it, most of it will come back quickly and you will not
be making many of the start-up mistakes.
Dave
the BS1 stamp -- NOT the BS2. The BS2 does NOT
create the '.OBJ' file he mentions, and the
BS2 PBasic is a bit more sophisticated than the
BS1 PBasic -- I think.
So, you still don't have the *.OBJ file -- your
PCode is in the EEPROM. Good luck.
--- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "Don Kinzer" <dkinzer@e...> wrote:
> --- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "longngo" <longngo@y...> wrote:
> > I have unfortunately lost my text file containing my program on
for
> > the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded
on
> > my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off
the
> > Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
>
> There is one thin ray of hope. You can get the pcode from the
chip.
> After that, you can analyze the pcode to determine the logic and
> operational sequence of the program and use it as a guide in
> reconstructing the original Basic code. This will be a tedious
task;
> even more so if you don't have a very deep understanding of how
> higher level languages are translated into intermediate code or
> machine code. But it is doable.
>
> The reconstruction process may be easier for the original author,
who
> might have recollections about the general structure, than it would
> be for someone with no previous exposure to the code.
>
> You will probably want to write a pcode disassembler which will
make
> the pcode easier to peruse. The link below has information that
will
> help you understand Stamp pcode.
>
> http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/Robotics/stamp-decode.html
could retrieve the tokens, there is no way to restore your original text
file from them. Hopefully, you wrote the program and can recreate it
accurately based on the BASIC Stamp's behavior. Who knows ... you may
even improve the program.
-- Jon Williams
-- Applications Engineer, Parallax
-- Dallas Office
Original Message
From: longngo [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=aJ5lB3r2WYJqoNjkjHuQvWVlEmqop8CHMGXYbzxBGrGh8FrlYQ3k1vfmIlgsZBWzho9EFcTNzn6ljg]longngo@y...[/url
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 8:02 PM
To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Getting Code off Stamp
I have unfortunately lost my text file containing my program on for
the Basic Stamp II. However, the code I want is currently loaded on
my Stamp. I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off the
Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.
http://home.earthlink.net/~parkiss/recovery.txt
Regards,
Steve
On 22 Apr 04 at 1:01, longngo wrote:
> ...I was wondering if there is a way to get the code off the
> Stamp so I can somehow view it in the Stamp Editor.