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Author Topic: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision  (Read 69340 times)

avra

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FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« on: November 23, 2012, 02:36:07 pm »
I have succeeded to compile TESTAPP FreeVision application and run it via remote terminal on Raspberry Pi ARM HF Debian Linux. Now I would like to use FreeVision but couldn't find any text mode dialog designer. Neither in text mode IDE neither in my net or wiki search. I have only found this application for Turbo Pascal: DialEdit - a Visual Editor for TurboVisionTM Dialogs http://home.comcast.net/~JamesMClark5/Pascal/index.htm. Is that no source ancient DOS application my only option?
« Last Edit: November 23, 2012, 02:52:29 pm by avra »
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BigChimp

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2012, 12:41:02 pm »
Hi Avra,

I've looked around some but didn't find anything. Have you come up with anything useful meanwhile?

Perhaps we could send an email to the author of DialEdit and ask to make it open source (GPL/LGPL). AFAIU, it's written for another Pascal compiler, but perhaps translating it to FPC won't be too hard...
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avra

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2012, 08:41:54 am »
Unfortunately it seams that's the only option. I just don't get it that all these years TP/FP text mode existed without such a tool integrated in IDE. What did everyone do, draw screens in code? Visual screen designer really boosts productivity, and some nice visual text mode application like raspi-config could be written in an afternoon. Of course, for Midnight Commander or Dos Navigator you would need "a little" more time... ;-)
« Last Edit: November 30, 2012, 08:43:32 am by avra »
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BigChimp

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2012, 08:58:38 am »
Ok, I'll send him an email if you don't mind.Sent him an email.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2012, 11:13:33 am by BigChimp »
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avra

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2012, 08:39:26 am »
Thanks. Let me know about the result.
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BigChimp

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2013, 10:13:33 am »
Got no response; just sent him a reminder.
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avra

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2013, 11:43:19 am »
Thanks for the info. Let's hope for the best...
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avra

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2014, 03:32:12 pm »
GOOD NEWS!!!

My terminal application was finished recently (drawing lines by hand) and I have no need for this editor now, but I have decided to try to contact the author my self to avoid repeating all the hard work if I ever need textual screen designer again. Fortunately, I have received two replies from the author shown below. He has been so kind and released source under GPL3. Who knows if/when I will have next project that needs textual screen designer, but if anyone is in a hurry feel free to try yourself to adapt sources to FPC. Once finished, this would be a very powerful screen designer that will allow building TUI (textual user interface) frontends for endless linux command line tools which could be run from terminal, SSH or Telnet.

Reply 1:
"Zeljko -
I have decided to release DialEdit under the GNU General Public License.
Go to http://home.comcast.net/~JamesMClark5/Pascal/index.htm
again, and you will see that DialEdit3a.zip has been replaced by DialEdit3b.zip,
which includes the source code and the user manual in a form meant to be viewed
in the IDE (using the LineDraw font to show example dialog features).
The original BP7.0 program has been adapted to Visual Pascal, so hopefully
that will make the port to FreePascal easier.
- Jim"

Reply 2:
"Zeljko -
Yes, you may publish my former reply on the forum.
I have been retired for 12 years, and will be glad to see
DialEdit gain new life.
There remains a copyright notice in the CopyNote string,
but this is preempted by the GPL notice in the comments.
The CopyNote string, which is displayed by the EXE to
show the program version, can be replaced by a last-edit
date, perhaps including a GPL notice.
The "To-Do" and "Notes" comment sections near the
beginning of the source code may give you ideas for
further improvements.
I have a habit of putting {+} tags on source code lines
to mark recently added or modified lines.  The idea is
that when new behavioral faults are observed, these
lines are suspected first as possible culprits.  Often,
one conceptual change requires scattered code changes.
You may also publish any of this reply on the forum.
- Jim"

Thank you very much Jim!
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marcov

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2014, 03:54:25 pm »
I have config/params and tvinput compiling.

marcov

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2014, 04:31:34 pm »
I also have dialedit running but it crashes when creating a new dialog.

Possibly there are issues with streams not being 100% compat, since it comes with a resource file that it tries to read.

Traceback:


 $00431EF5  ADVANCESTRINGPTR,  line 236 of ./fv/src/histlist.pas
 $00422088  TGROUP__FOREACH,  line 2329 of ./fv/src/views.pas
 $0042248A  TGROUP__HANDLEEVENT,  line 2514 of ./fv/src/views.pas
 $004256E9  TWINDOW__HANDLEEVENT,  line 3973 of ./fv/src/views.pas
 $00428A5F  TDIALOG__HANDLEEVENT,  line 1134 of ./fv/src/dialogs.pas
 $00426792  MESSAGE,  line 4629 of ./fv/src/views.pas
 $0042A24C  TBUTTON__PRESS,  line 1841 of ./fv/src/dialogs.pas
 $0042A905  TBUTTON__HANDLEEVENT,  line 2015 of ./fv/src/dialogs.pas
 $00422088  TGROUP__FOREACH,  line 2329 of ./fv/src/views.pas
 $0042241B  TGROUP__HANDLEEVENT,  line 2505 of ./fv/src/views.pas

« Last Edit: May 02, 2014, 06:08:05 pm by marcov »

Mike.Cornflake

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2014, 06:06:43 pm »
In unrelated news Pyroworm just became my favourite Worm/Conways Life mashup :) 
http://home.comcast.net/~JamesMClark5/Pascal/index.htm

I look forward to going through the source code - thanks for the site pointer :-)
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avra

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2014, 10:20:49 am »
Possibly there are issues with streams not being 100% compat, since it comes with a resource file that it tries to read.
marcov, you are faster then light ;-). I didn't expect anyone to take a look at it so soon. Anyway, if resource file is a problem I may try to talk it through with the author or I could PM you his contact details.
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marcov

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #12 on: May 05, 2014, 02:48:56 pm »
I yesterday did some more:

- the first crash was in histlists, probably because the history stream format is different. Renamed the .hst file -> solved.
- second crash is in initbounds, probably due to an order problem in the constructor.

for a
  new  (psometing,something.init...());

it seems that TP assigns the allocation to psomething before calling init, and FPC after.  Anyway, the initbounds access the global var and is called during subitems initialziation, leading to crashes. No solution yet.

Jurassic Pork

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2014, 01:51:35 am »
hello marcov,
is it in these calls that you have a sigsegv :
Code: [Select]
#0 TTRIALBUTTON__INIT(0xcfd38, 0xffffffff, <error reading variable>) at DialEdit.pas:2311
#1 TTRIALDIALOG__INIT(0xcfe10, 0xffffffff, <error reading variable>) at DialEdit.pas:4078
#2 NEWDIALOG(0xcff30) at DialEdit.pas:5027

something is strange :
TTRIALBUTTON__INIT  call initbound and initbound use trialdialog :
Code: [Select]
procedure InitBounds(var R: TRect; SX, SY: integer);
var
    PX, PY: integer;
begin
    PX:= TrialDialog^.Size.X - 2;
    PY:= TrialDialog^.Size.Y - 2;
    R.Assign(PX-SX, PY-SY, PX, PY);
end; {InitBounds}   

but in calling procedure init of trialdialog is after the New ???????
Code: [Select]
  PV:= ValidView(New(PTrialDialog, Init(@DialogData)));
                DeskTop^.Insert(PV);
                TrialDialog:= PTrialDialog(PV);   

with this ( for test only) no crash :
Code: [Select]
    TrialDialog := New (PTrialDialog);
                PV:= ValidView(New(PTrialDialog, Init(@DialogData)));
                DeskTop^.Insert(PV);
                TrialDialog:= PTrialDialog(PV);     
« Last Edit: May 07, 2014, 02:42:50 am by Jurassic Pork »
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Tomas Hajny

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Re: FreePascal text mode dialog designer for Free Vision
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2014, 12:40:54 am »
BTW, I just came across this ancient thread due to the recent updates - there had been certainly multiple dialog editors available for Turbo Vision. My memory could serve me with at least one additional program - Turbo Vision Resource Workshop by Balazs Scheidler. If the name sounds familiar to you, it indeed should - you can find the name listed on pages "Credits" available from the FPC homepage.

There were multiple such tools available. Quick scan through my archive of downloaded freeware and shareware packages found in addition to those mentioned above also Dialog Designer by L. David Baldwin and TVGen by Bocian Software. Unfortunately, the great repository at garbo.uwasa.fi formerly managed by big (Turbo) Pascal fan Timo Salmi is not available any longer; I'm fairly sure there would be more such tools available there.

 

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