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New Propeller Tool (v0.98) — Parallax Forums

New Propeller Tool (v0.98)

Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
edited 2006-08-15 17:58 in Propeller 1
Hi,

An updated version of the Propeller Tool software (v0.98) is available at our web site:

http://www.parallax.com/propeller/downloads.asp

There are a number of enhancements and fixes, including a fix to the bug causing STRING to fail inside of a CASE-OTHER block.

For a list of all changes, please read the Readme.txt file that is installed by the Propeller Tool software's installer.

This release brings the software closer to the version supported by the v1.0 manual.

We are working on enhancing the software further and fixing known issues, but if you find an issue that you don't think is known, please tell us about it.

Thank you.

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--Jeff Martin

· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.
«1

Comments

  • NewzedNewzed Posts: 2,503
    edited 2006-07-15 00:04
    Can this be installed·in the same folder as ·V0.95 or does it have to go into a new directory?

    Sid
  • cgraceycgracey Posts: 14,206
    edited 2006-07-15 01:18
    It can replace your previous version, entirely.
    Newzed said...

    Can this be installed·in the same folder as ·V0.95 or does it have to go into a new directory?

    Sid

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    Chip Gracey
    Parallax, Inc.
  • sharpiesharpie Posts: 150
    edited 2006-07-15 08:49
    I truly like the software, very well thought out. Many things I like about it, and some things that will take some getting used to.. Overall superior to anything I've worked with for other micros... I just have the one thing that can't really be judged as a bug but is a bit of a drag. It was brought up before about the apparent drive search that takes place during the startup of the application. In a large network with many mapped drives it can take some time for it to do this. Will there ever be an option to disable that and specify a certain path for it to look at?
    Not complaining, just mentioning a point where some options for the user would make the experience better.. Thanks for the great work!
  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2006-07-15 09:13
    One possible solution for the network issue is to create a user account specifically for the Propeller IDE, where the user doesn't have network access. You could then run the IDE from your user account using Runas.

    It's likely that the IDE gets the drive info from the user's registry settings, if the IDE account only has limited access, that's all the IDE should check for.

    Of course, it might not work that way, but if you're having problems, it's worth checking out.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2006-07-15 10:54
    In summary, we still have a bit to wait for a version which is in synch with the new manual.

    I am excited about it, but....
    Don't rush. I can wait until FALL as the people that I am going to give copies are university professors.
    It will be hard to find them right now.

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    "If you want more fiber, eat the package.· Not enough?· Eat the manual."········
    ···················· Tropical regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

    Post Edited (Kramer) : 7/15/2006 11:18:38 AM GMT
  • sharpiesharpie Posts: 150
    edited 2006-07-15 11:16
    The new user profile may be a solution, however since the source code is stored on a network server so that multiple people have access it's difficult.
    I'm in no real rush, just would like to get the word in while it's all still being worked out.. Certainly isn't a show stopper.
  • Kaos KiddKaos Kidd Posts: 614
    edited 2006-07-15 13:28
    The Ide needs to NOT scan any drive or folders other then the one that it's launched from.
    THe issue is, when I insert my SD card or thumb drive into the PC, it never detects it!
    It's bad programming to scan the entire storage system when a program is starting.
    ...
    ON my network here at home, it takes the propeller over 3 minutes to boot,
    My laptop is much better, I just turn off the wireless, boot the tool, then turn back on the wireless.
    But my PC is a file / music / web and ftp server, and is connected to other, slower PC's.
    ...
    Please Propeller Programmer Grueus, remove the drive scan on boot!
    Make it so it only scans the directory it's launched from (or last accessed folder), and simply add a 'refresh' to the drive selector!

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    Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket


    KK
    ·
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-15 23:03
    Hi,

    The software naturally will install into it's own folder unless you select "Custom" install when prompted; you can install over the existing folder if you wish.· Or, if you accept the defaults, it·will keep the older version on your system at the same time since they will not conflict with each other.

    Sorry for the trouble with the drive scanning.· It is actually not scanning for all folders of a drive, just the drives themselves.· We're aware of the delay problem·and have a long-term solution that will work well for all situations, but it will take a little more time to implement it.·

    For now, I'm working on a temporary solution that should take most of the "pain" out of it in the mean time.· I will post another one as soon as I make that change and will tell you·about it·at that time.

    Thank you.

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    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • NewzedNewzed Posts: 2,503
    edited 2006-07-15 23:41
    I just tried:

    term.dec(TRUNC(holedepth))····

    with V0.98 and it didn't work.· Had to put the CONSTANT back in.

    Sid
  • NewzedNewzed Posts: 2,503
    edited 2006-07-16 00:10
    Jeff, please see my post to Mike Green in the "Propeller and SuperMill" thread.· Could V0.98 be the problem?·· It started when I installed the new version.

    Sid
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-16 01:56
    Sid,

    Are you sure you were using v0.98?· I just tried it and it worked file.· Compiled fine and downloaded and ran with no problems.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-16 02:06
    Folks,

    When I made the installer yesterday, I accidentally left an artifact in from the previous installer, causing the desktop icon (Propeller Tool v0.95.1), if you have it on your screen already, to be rerouted to the new v0.98 software... but it is still labled v0.95.1.

    Just so you know, it did not replace the v0.95.1 software, that is still on your computer unless you uninstalled it yourself... it only rerouted the icon for v0.95.1 to point to the v0.98 software.

    I apologize for any confusion that may have caused.

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    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • Kaos KiddKaos Kidd Posts: 614
    edited 2006-07-17 16:00
    Jeff:
    Thanks for looking at the drive scanning issue for us. I do look foward to your short and long term answers.

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    Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket


    KK
    ·
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-17 16:06
    Hi again,

    Now there is a v0.98.1 version of the Propeller Tool posted to the website:

    http://www.parallax.com/propeller/downloads.asp

    This version has a feature that should help with the startup-delay issue.· There is a better fix coming in a later version, but I wanted to get this one posted in the mean time to try to help the situation.

    The Propeller Tool's Integrated Explorer has always had a button to the left of the Recent List (the drop down control just above the Folder List).· This button is the "Show Recently Only" button, or "Recent" button for short.· It's a toggle button that, when pressed in, will cause the Folders List to only show drives and paths that are within the set of folders recently accessed by the Propeller Tool (folders that a file was loaded from).

    The difference in this version (v0.98.1) is that the state of the the Recent button is now remembered between sessions; you can press it and if you close the Propeller Tool, the next time you restart it, it will only show you the recent folders in the Folder List.· This should speed up the startup time.· If you need to see all other folders, you can press the Recent button again to update the Folder List display with all drives and folders.

    In addition, I was able to rearrange some code to allow the tool to show itself before the Integrated Explorer is finished loading, so that if you had launched it via double-clicking on a *.spin file from·Windows Explorer (for example), you could start reading the file even before the Tool is ready for your input.

    As soon as possible, I will improve the responsiveness of the Propeller Tool even more·to try to erradicate this startup-delay and a number of other issues.

    Thank you.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-17 16:07
    Hi Kaos Kidd,

    You're welcome. Thank you for being so patient.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • Kaos KiddKaos Kidd Posts: 614
    edited 2006-07-17 16:14
    Jeff:
    As I have said to anyone who will listen to me about all of you guys at parallax...
    "When you buy a part from them, you buy into a family! A great family at that."
    ...
    Just think, heck, this is almost a tv ad...
    [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Thanks again Jeff (and everyone else who's namless at this point who is also working on the project)!

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket


    KK
    ·
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-17 16:30
    Thanks Kaos Kidd,

    We appreciate all comments, but especially those!

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2006-07-17 18:04
    Jeff,

    I second KK's glowing advert! These things often "go without saying", and we sometimes forget how much a well-deserved pat on the back can mean. But always rest assured that beneath every ounce of critique lies a ton of appreciation.

    So, okay, back to business now. smilewinkgrin.gif There's a minor thing in the editor I wonder if you might address: When you select a block of text for indenting or unindenting, and hit tab-> or tab<-, one extra line is affected if the block includes the CR at the end of its last line (i.e. if the block was selected by dragging down in the left margin just past the last line (or using shift-down-arrow), instead of dragging just to the end of the last line. I assume this was unintentional, since none of the text in the extra line was selected.

    Thanks,
    Phil
  • sharpiesharpie Posts: 150
    edited 2006-07-17 23:13
    Yes! Thanks SO MUCH Jeff.. That did the trick. Interim or not, this solution will save me. It's the little things sometimes.. I agree, Parallax has got the award for listening, responding and providing useful information and tools WAY over so many other companies out there.
    Took me a minute to grasp some of this propeller ideology, but once it clicks...

    I'm just gonna toss this in for good measure =) How about allowing the ctrl-shift-arrow to select whole words too!? Also, ctrl-shift-end or ctrl-shift-home to select the line too? Oh, and maybe the nice feature of jumping to the beginning of the next line when you comment the one above with '... So you don't get those ever shifting to the right commented blocks.. I know you can probably select the block and comment it out somehow, but it's tough when your in four different IDE's and one of them does something different... =)

    I could go all day, but seriously I'm very happy now and seriously glad to see a company do this sort of thing! 50 points!
  • sharpiesharpie Posts: 150
    edited 2006-07-18 05:22
    You know, I have to apologize too...
    My suggestions about the ctrl-shift-arrow/end.. woops, that was about another IDE for something else.. Not the propeller.. Ha. But the comment with ' comment stands =)
  • SSteveSSteve Posts: 808
    edited 2006-07-18 05:51
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) said...
    There's a minor thing in the editor I wonder if you might address: When you select a block of text for indenting or unindenting, and hit tab-> or tab<-, one extra line is affected if the block includes the CR at the end of its last line (i.e. if the block was selected by dragging down in the left margin just past the last line (or using shift-down-arrow), instead of dragging just to the end of the last line. I assume this was unintentional, since none of the text in the extra line was selected.
    I've run into that one a few times as well because I almost always use shift-down-arrow to select blocks. I've just never gotten around to reporting it. Here's another vote for a fix in 1.0.

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    OS-X: because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows

    links:
    My band's website
    Our album on the iTunes Music Store
  • cocokiwicocokiwi Posts: 75
    edited 2006-07-19 04:13
    Jeff Martin said...

    Hi again,

    Now there is a v0.98.1 version of the Propeller Tool posted to the website:

    http://www.parallax.com/propeller/downloads.asp


    This version has a feature that should help with the startup-delay issue. There is a better fix coming in a later version, but I wanted to get this one posted in the mean time to try to help the situation.



    The Propeller Tool's Integrated Explorer has always had a button to the left of the Recent List (the drop down control just above the Folder List). This button is the "Show Recently Only" button, or "Recent" button for short. It's a toggle button that, when pressed in, will cause the Folders List to only show drives and paths that are within the set of folders recently accessed by the Propeller Tool (folders that a file was loaded from).



    The difference in this version (v0.98.1) is that the state of the the Recent button is now remembered between sessions; you can press it and if you close the Propeller Tool, the next time you restart it, it will only show you the recent folders in the Folder List. This should speed up the startup time. If you need to see all other folders, you can press the Recent button again to update the Folder List display with all drives and folders.



    In addition, I was able to rearrange some code to allow the tool to show itself before the Integrated Explorer is finished loading, so that if you had launched it via double-clicking on a *.spin file from Windows Explorer (for example), you could start reading the file even before the Tool is ready for your input.



    As soon as possible, I will improve the responsiveness of the Propeller Tool even more to try to erradicate this startup-delay and a number of other issues.



    Thank you.





    Jeff,
    I tried a few times to download it and got a ERROR 1335 Data Cab Corrupt Twice! burger.gif
    I had tried to download it as a file and got an error in the installer,so I tried directly! no go!
    looks like your file has got munged! freaked.gif I tried again later and installed it in the 95.1 file and it installed ok this time???
    regards Dennis

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    Post Edited (cocokiwi) : 7/19/2006 12:43:51 PM GMT
  • Jeff MartinJeff Martin Posts: 760
    edited 2006-07-19 21:07
    Cocokiwi,

    I've seen the data cab corrupt issue a couple times (some kind of file download issue with web servers/clients.· It sounds like you got it downloaded and running, but I can't explain the corrupt file issues earlier.

    Everyone else,

    Thanks for the suggestions, I'll get to those as soon as I can.



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    --Jeff Martin

    · Sr. Software Engineer
    · Parallax, Inc.
  • ESPESP Posts: 25
    edited 2006-08-01 11:25
    Hi All,

    The text in the source window is hard to read. Half the characters seem only half-width. I thought I saw a thread on how to change font, but am unable to find it at the mo.

    Anyone point me there?

    Robin

    P.S. Propeller Tool 0.98.1, Windows 2003
  • ESPESP Posts: 25
    edited 2006-08-03 08:11
    Guys?

    Robin
  • parskoparsko Posts: 501
    edited 2006-08-03 08:28
    ESP,

    I think the Tool is still under construction. One of the missing features is the preferences. I would imagine that this would solve your problem.

    Keep in mind, it hasn't yet gone to version 1.00....

    -Parsko
  • ESPESP Posts: 25
    edited 2006-08-03 09:48
    Hi Parkso/All,

    Just got to try it out @1600x1200 on one of the development machines, much better.

    @800x600 in the server cupboard (where I seem to live shakehead.gif ), it sucks.

    It's great to be able to compile without the propeller. The other controllers we use
    have the compiler on-board, so I need access to the micro itself.

    Robin
  • Direct Digital LabsDirect Digital Labs Posts: 27
    edited 2006-08-04 05:03
    ESP, try holding the left ctrl + the up or down arrow keys.

    -Dan
  • ESPESP Posts: 25
    edited 2006-08-04 09:55
    Hi Dan/All,

    We had tried that, but bigger or smaller cropped chars are...

    This morning Windows died, so we had to reboot the server and presto!

    Windows - got to love it?

    Robin
  • RinksCustomsRinksCustoms Posts: 531
    edited 2006-08-04 22:03
    ESP said...
    Hi Dan/All,

    We had tried that, but bigger or smaller cropped chars are...

    This morning Windows died, so we had to reboot the server and presto!

    Windows - got to love it?

    Robin
    LMAO - "windows - got to love it!"

    Yeah windows is cute & mysterious, . . .· LIKE ROAD KILL!!

    On the flipside, i concurr with the others, GOOD JOB HEROES OF PARALLAX! for the great support and devotion you've shown all of us, even the knuckle-heads! Thank you guys!

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    Definetly a E3 (Electronics Engineer Extrodinare!)
    "I laugh in the face of imposible,... not because i know it all, ... but because I don't know well enough!"
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