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Re (2): Accessibility of FPGA configuration to V5 system.
by peter＠easthope.ca 30 Aug '21

30 Aug '21

From: "Skulski, Wojciech" <skulski(a)pas.rochester.edu> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2021 14:47:14 +0000 > I am not sure how all this is related to the V5 system > configuration. For me it was a wild excursion of imagination, instigated by thought of the V5 system. =8~) Many biologists tend to a very descriptive approach to their work. Compared to the mathematical and mechanistic concepts of engineers, computer scientists and physicists. I accept that this mailing list isn't the "right place" for the topic. What if there is no "right place". Can happen with a topic at the edge. If our species remains in a century or two, neuroscientists might recognize the work of Niklaus Wirth, Paul Reed and others as an early precursor of understanding of the nervous system. Let's not rule it out. =8~) Again, apology for the digression. Regards, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W mobile: +1 778 951 5147 VoIP: +1 604 670 0140

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Re (2): Re (n): Accessibility of FPGA configuration to V5 system.
by peter＠easthope.ca 30 Aug '21

30 Aug '21

From: gray <gray(a)grayraven.org> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2021 15:49:04 +0400 > I guess as of today the best still utterly simplistic approach ... Overview of the vast subject here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_system_network_models > ... of artificially implementing something like a nervous system would be > neural networks. Model a brain as a machine of static configuration? Another approach is to model development beginning where neural cells first differentiate. In gastrulation, there is no neural cell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrulation Later the neural groove appears. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organogenesis#Organs_produced_by_the_germ_lay… I imagine modelling the process where the neural groove or first neuron appears. WIth current knowledge, one neuron is fairly understandable. =8~) As neurons are added, connectivity is possible and the process becomes interesting. Learning proceeds as neurons are added. A serious literature search will find whether anyone has tackled that. Thanks for tolerating the digression. Regards, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W mobile: +1 778 951 5147 VoIP: +1 604 670 0140

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Re (n): Accessibility of FPGA configuration to V5 system.
by peter＠easthope.ca 30 Aug '21

30 Aug '21

Apologies for a digression. From: Michael Schierl schierlm at gmx.de, Sat Jul 24 19:29:45 CEST 2021 > It would be possible to build a RISC machine that can change while the > OS is running. The current version does not provide that capability. > ... > That is a bit like using EPROM (single E!) chips for firmware but not > providing any way to expose it to UV light, effectively making it a > one-time programmable ROM. Thanks Michael. In a biological nervous system, growth (hardware growth) occurs concurrently with learning (somewhat analogous to software execution?). Development is concurrent hardware growth and learning. The first three sentences of Prof. Wirth's Lola-2: A Logic Description Language. https://people.inf.ethz.ch/wirth/Lola/index.html https://people.inf.ethz.ch/wirth/Lola/Lola2.pdf "Lola is a notation (language) for specifying digital circuits (logic). In many ways it resembles a programming language. However, Lola texts describe static circuits rather than dynamic processes." A modified Lola2 might represent a nervous system at one instant. That wouldn't represent development. A nervous system development might be represented by a language integrating logic description and software description? Has anyone encountered work on this topic? Thx, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W mobile: +1 778 951 5147 VoIP: +1 604 670 0140

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Re: [Oberon] Erratic Mouse Behaviour in A2
by peter＠easthope.ca 23 Aug '21

23 Aug '21

From: Treutwein Bernhard <Bernhard.Treutwein(a)Verwaltung.Uni-Muenchen.DE> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2021 12:54:59 +0000 > In my Linux32/a2 "installation" my mouse behaves erratically, cursor > jumps. Connecting the same mouse to Windows 10 and using Win64/a2 > work without problems. Bernhard, (1) Does the pointer move when the mouse is not touched? I'd expect that to be a software bug or hardware defect. A few problems appeared to creep in with the renaming of numeric types. http://cas.inf.ethz.ch/news/1 (2) Alternatively, is there a delay between moving the mouse and moving the pointer? The phenomenon occurs here at times. A limitation of the implementation; the machine is temporarily too busy to update the pointer? Regards, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N, 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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Re: [Oberon] [A2 - General Discussion - msg18] RE: Generating ISO from last revision and some questions...
by peter＠easthope.ca 19 Aug '21

19 Aug '21

Hi, Replying here for general interest. From: redmine(a)cas.inf.ethz.ch Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2021 10:16:36 +0200 > afaik, the contents of OCP moved to the repository of this project > and can be found at this "location.": > http://cas.inf.ethz.ch/projects/a2/repository/show/trunk/ocp Thanks. I hadn't encountered A2Documentation.pdf until now. Wiki pages formerly at the OCP site now might be found at archive.org. This document isn't exactly the wiki pages but much of the information appears familiar. At the end of the document under heading Developers is year 2009 and five names. Prof. Friedrich remains involved. Some of the others might have moved on. Regards, ... Peter E. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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Error 9 from Partitions.Show in ETH Oberon.
by peter＠easthope.ca 18 Aug '21

18 Aug '21

Hi, In ETH Oberon, Partitions.Show gives this. ==== Disk: IDE0, 3093MB = 6335280 * 512, CHS: 6704*15*63, FUJITSU MPC3032AT, mntcnt=3 IDE0#00 0 6335280 3093MB --- (Whole disk) IDE0#01 2048 204800 100MB 11 Win 95/98, FAT32 IDE0#02 206848 204800 100MB 76 * Native Oberon, Aos [mounted] IDE0#03 411648 204800 100MB 76 Native Oberon, Aos [mounted] IDE0#04 616448 204800 100MB 76 Native Oberon, Aos [mounted] IDE0#05 822528 5499648 2685MB --- (Free) Disk: IDE2, 497MB = 1018080 * 512, removable, CHS: 1010*16*63, SAMSUNG CF/ATA, mntcnt=0 ReadPartitions: error 9 Disk: Diskette0, GetSize: no media, removable, mntcnt=0 ==== Partitions.WriteErrorMessage describes seven errors with terms such as "media changed". For other errors, only the number is reported. In this case "9". Using gparted, I created a new partition table on the CF and still get error 9. The magnetic medium where the table is stored has failed? Any tips beyond "Replace the CF card."? Thx, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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Re (2): Error 9 from Partitions.Show in ETH Oberon.
by peter＠easthope.ca 18 Aug '21

18 Aug '21

From: Liam Proven <lproven(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2021 21:31:02 +0200 > CF cards don't _have_ magnetic media, so it's not that! Correction: some NAND where the partition table is stored has failed? (I was daydreaming of magnets.) > I wonder if Oberon is struggling with it being a removable drive? This CF worked for over a decade; failure is recent. This Oberon supports CF. The pertinent revisions are visible by comparing the two sources of ATADisks.Mod. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Oberon/ETH_Oberon#Module_Sources_in_System_Pa… Thx, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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Re (2): Modules in ETH Oberon.
by peter＠easthope.ca 08 Aug '21

08 Aug '21

From: Michael Schierl <schierlm(a)gmx.de> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2021 22:22:59 +0200 > I am not aware of a 2.3.6 alpha release. There is a 2.3.7 alpha > "release", but 2.3.7 is not 2.3.6 :-) OK, thanks; I wasn't paying attention properly. Any idea how the numbers were assigned? My only guess is that 2 referred to V2 and 3 meant it was aiming to become System 3 (= ETH Oberon). Probably not. Folder names here might be improved. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Oberon/ETH_Oberon#Module_Sources_in_ETH_Obero… Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2021 22:04:25 +0200 > In isolated silo systems, you can do things like this. Given that nature, a released system could be identified by the name of the builder and date built. Thanks, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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Modules in ETH Oberon, 2003-01-05; was Keyboard input in ETH Oberon.
by peter＠easthope.ca 07 Aug '21

07 Aug '21

From: Michael Schierl <schierlm(a)gmx.de> > In my installed copy of PC Native Oberon 2.3.6, ... all the .Arc > files available in that release. Beta release or earlier? Might have a release date at the top of System.Log. The "Alpha" release had .zip rather than .Arc and included Compiler.Mod. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Oberon/ETH_Oberon/2003-01-05/Native.Tool Regards, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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Re (2): Keyboard input in ETH Oberon.
by peter＠easthope.ca 07 Aug '21

07 Aug '21

From: Michael Schierl <schierlm(a)gmx.de> Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2021 22:04:25 +0200 > https://github.com/schierlm/NativeOberon-2.3.6-Extracted/blob/master/FullIn… > > Non-ASCII characters got lost due to Native2ASCII conversion. There Compiler.Obj is present but Compiler.Mod is absent. At the top of page https://github.com/schierlm/NativeOberon-2.3.6-Extracted/tree/master/FullIn… is notice "Sorry, we had to truncate this directory to 1,000 files. 155 entries were omitted from the list." Related to the absent Compiler.Mod? > ... basically is US-ASCII from 00X to 7FX, with the exception that 0AX to > 0FX are "hollow right-facing triangle", "filled right-facing triangle", > "hollow square", "filled square", "hollow left-facing-triangle", "filled > left-facing triangle" and 9BX is a left arrow. Fit all required characters into one set of 8 bit characters and avoid dealing with multiple character sets? > > (6) Why is 0FFX necessary? > > To tell the loop in > https://github.com/schierlm/NativeOberon-2.3.6-Extracted/blob/master/FullIn… > that it should terminate in case somebody is heretic enough to press a > key that is not defined by the translation table. OK, thanks, ... P.L. -- 48.7693 N 123.3053 W tel: +1 604 670 0140

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