BTelnet - BBC Master Telnet Client

[Elminster]

Following on from this post I thought this would be an interesting project to have a go a in BASIC.

BTELNET - BBC Master Telnet Client (for Sprow Ethernet Card). Not decided if acronym means:

BBC Master Telnet
BASIC Telnet
Basic Telnet (i.e. my rubbish coding)

I now have a working prototype, would upload a video but my current video software doesnt work. Current features are:

- Partial Support of main Telnet RFC (done the important bits)
- Support for following optional Telnet RFCs : - options, echo, window size, terminal type and suprress go ahead
- VT100 support [via SteveF's STEM ROM]
- IBM extended code page support (used by BBSs for GFXs) [using JPH's Bfont Lib and IBM Font]
- Command Line Parameters and Command Line Interface, telent style

Todo:

- Look to tidy up code, with standards and comments (in get it working state)
- Look at optimizing code
- Write a decent user interface (the cli you get with a ^] )
- Various bug fixes

What I really need:

- VideoNula support via STEM ROM to give full colur ANSI

Tools/Hardware used so far:

ABE 1.39 - Tom's Version
BASIC Cruncher - JPH
MCODE & LINK
BBEdit (Mac) + unix2dos
Beebem4 (mac & Windoze)
BBC Master with John K 65C102 copro, GoSDC, MOS 3.5 and Sprow Ethernet Card

Edit: Updated with later bits from the topic

[Elminster]

Need to play with quality export setting, maybe add captions or voice but here is a very fast and barely edit video demo. Need to chop off other half of screen as well, only shows anything interesting for 25% of video.

https://youtu.be/XN-m6dDu204

Split into 4 bits:

telnet to Ubuntu
raw no echo
telnet ot python test server
telnet to BBS (or as far as it currently gets anyway)

Edit: may need magnifying glasses. Does translate that well to you tube. In my defence, first time I have tried.

[Elminster]

Cheated in the Youtube demo and used a Pitube.

The BBS redarw in 4Mhz 65C102 copro was taking around 3 mins 20 seconds. I rewrote the BASIC code to be more tidy, rahter than just work, and got the time down to 1 min 8 seconds. I then chose (cheated) the most frequently used part of the code (the one that prints to the screen) and redid it as a call to an assembly function. I was expecting it to go quicker but the change surprised me. BBS screen draw size down to 5 seconds. Not much quicker now on any of the tests with the copro running at 16 or use pitube, so probably hitting an I/O or tube limit now. So extra bit now done.

- 36x faster on 4Mhz 6502 copro
- command line implemented using basic libraries from mdfs and *mcode
- partly done the interactive telnet cmd line

Playing with crunching the code now as well, not because it makes it go faster (no noticable difference in speed) but saves about 25% space and starting to run low on memory now I have started to put in useful comments.

[SteveF]

I saw your original post and was waiting for a video then I managed to miss this for ages. Very cool to see it in action!

FWIW, you can do "*VT102 GAPLESS" and STEM will fiddle with the CRTC settings in mode 3 to remove the gaps between lines. I guess you mostly don't want that, but it would make the "Mystic" graphic more legible.

[Elminster]

Thanks. I plan to do a better video soon (wont try to fit so much on the screen at once). Also now testing on WolfMud as well.

Think I have 2 bugs left to fix.(And usual tidy up)

Now added (mdfs) local error, wrapped around VT102 ON check in fact.
cmdline parameters and command line interface all now working with either upper or lower case. All care of mdfs again. (I wonder how much code I actually wrote between using other people code

Then just *link, *crunch and *mcode (care of mdfs) and I can release the code (sit something on github etc) ....

I will have a play with GAPLESS and see if any better. I think colour will make it most legible but we need to wait for VideoNula for all those lovely colours in mode 3.

[DarrenW]

This is exactly the program I've been looking for, great work on this. Do you have anything releasable yet, happy to assist in testing wherever I can.

[Elminster]

Kind of got side tracked by life for the last 6 or so months.

- I have left to finish sorting ANSI colour with VideoNULA
- A bug that caused it to just hang on BBS

And the reset of my todo list is rather cryptic now, I am sure it meant something to me at the time!