Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Anything related to the tools Tap2Wav, Tap2CD, Tap2Dsk, Sedoric Disc Manager, Tape Header Creator, WriteDsk, and generaly speaking tools related to the management of Oric data files and devices.
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by coco.oric »

Great, thanks Laurent for pushing this marvellous software on the git
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by Chema »

Indeed!
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by damien »

Hi,

For those who are interested, a fortnight ago I made some changes on v2.0 to allow the launch of Stratsed discs under Telestrat. It works with Oricutron; I have not tested with other emulators.

And yesterday I undertook a big refactoring operation including these modifications:
  • use of aliases of variable types (bool instead of Boolean, string instead of String, short instead of Int16, etc.)
  • unassignment of unnecessarily assigned variables
  • deactivation of variables and unused code
  • redesign of the configuration persistence: previously saved in separate files (%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Scott_Davies\OricExplorer.exe_Url _........\ 2.0.0.0\user.config for the list of folders and syntax highlighting ; .\layout.xml for the type/location/size of the panels ; registry for the location/size of the main window), the configuration is now centralized in a single .json file located in the folder of the executable, to facilitate portable use
  • completion of the syntax colorization configuration: only the colorization for BASIC was configurable via the application, addition of the configuration for the assembler and the hexadecimal dump
  • fixed some problems in the configuration of disks/tapes/roms folders and the location of the emulator
  • correction of the update search, change of the url which now points to the laurentd75 repo (which is not yet up to date)
  • deactivation of the context menu for ROM type items
  • update of dependencies
  • and quite a few other little things of which I have not drawn up an exhaustive list
The v2.1(.0.0) release including these elements is available in my Github repo while waiting for laurentd75 to accept the pull request on the reference repo for this project.

Let me know if you find any regressions. Thank you in advance.

Regards,

damien. flag_fr
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by Yicker »

Hi,

Just want to say a big thanks to Damien for taking up the challenge of continuing development of Oric Explorer, although I must apologise for the state of the source code :oops:

Cheers
Scott
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by damien »

Hi Scott,

Thank you especially because you have done a huge job. We can already see it using your tool but even more when we look at the source. It's impressive, well done!

I don't have the ambition (or even the time) to take on the heavy workload to finalize the tool. I just have a little time to "make a contribution" by finishing up some unfinished features.

Besides, there are certain things on which I would have liked clarification. Especially concerning the "roms" node in the treeview. Unless I'm mistaken, Oricutron doesn't allow you to select a rom via an argument from the command line, so I'm not sure what you intended this feature for...

If you have the opportunity to test the latest release, don't hesitate to tell me what you think. I may have missed some important things.

Thanks again for this fantastic tool.

Kind regards,

damien. flag_fr
Last edited by damien on Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Oric Explorer v2.2(.0.0)...

Post by damien »

Hi,

For your information, I've just release the v2.2...

v2.2.0.0: bug fixes, evolutions and new big refactoring operation
  • search for updates: correction of problem in the path of the repository file
  • configuration window: reactivation of the "directory listings" tab
  • tape edit window: implementation of moving and deleting blocks
  • main window: hiding the empty "Edit" menu and several unused context menu options (not coded)
  • floppy context menu: implementation of copy/delete/rename and directory output options
  • tape context menu: correction of the "rename" option which did not rename the file on the disk but only in the file list
  • disk data viewer window: correction to avoid crashes in the event of a damaged floppy disk (there are certainly cases that are not supported)
  • list of files: correction of drag&drop blocking after hovering over an item not eligible for drop
  • list of files: correction of drag&drop from one block of a tape to another
  • display of the content of a tape: bug correction making it impossible to view a block if another with the same name is already displayed
  • extraction of blocks from a tape: correction of the bug resulting in systematic crashes
  • improved recognition of certain types of files previously categorized as "BASIC program". This concerns Hyperbasic and Teleass sources and many binaries
  • instead of the representation of the tapes in the alphabetical index, it is now possible to display them "flat" (addition of an option in the last tab of the configuration window)
  • reorganization of context menus: display functions first, launch emulator and finally content modification functions. The option which appears in bold identifies the one which is executed via a double-click.
  • modification of the ergonomics of the tree structure:
    - select a program/file or the block of a tape no longer displays its content automatically (you must now double-click it or go through the "view file" option in the context menu)
    - an option has been added in the tape context menu to display the content of all its blocks in a single operation
    - a double-click on a floppy disk or a tape now launches the emulator (for tapes, the machine type pravetz/oric-1/atmos is defined in the configuration window). For floppy disks it is the Atmos which is systematically launched, except for Stratsed floppy disks obviously
    - a double-click on an unknown format floppy disk now displays its content in the "Raw Data Viewer" window
    - double-clicking on a rom displays its content
  • modification of the representation of the floppy disks: instead of using different icons for the floppy disks (ft-dos/oric-dos/sedoric/stratsed), it is now the type (master/slave/game) which is differentiated
  • modification of the operation of the drag&drop: currently only tapes and blocks of tapes can be copied via drag&drop and they can only be "deposited" on tapes (apart from that of the original drag&drop). Treatments have been added to avoid unsupported operations which, until then, could cause crashes. The nodes "eligible" to be the destination of a drop are marked in green when they are overflown.
  • when renaming a file (.dsk or .tap), the extension is added automatically if missing
  • change the name of the "Import Text File" window (and the corresponding entry in the "Tools" menu) to "Import Atmos BASIC File" to correspond to its real function.
  • "Import Atmos BASIC File" window: the "Import" button can now be clicked if the source/target files have been entered.
  • "Import Atmos BASIC File" window always: implementation of the option "Existing tape" which was not and which allows to add a block to an existing tape. The "New disk" and "Existing disk" options not being implemented, they have been deactivated.
  • added display of sources generated under Teleass
  • tape context menu: addition of an option to launch the emulator with the Pravetz machine
  • contextual menu for unknown disks: addition of an option to launch the emulator with sub-options corresponding to each type of machine (Pravetz, Oric-1, Atmos and Telestrat)
  • big refacto again, in particular:
    - renaming of forms, prefixed with "frm"
    - renaming of user controls, prefixed with "ctl"
    - renaming of controls (and related events), prefixed with an abbreviation of their type (btn for buttons, lbl for labels, etc.) in order to recognize them more easily in the code and especially to shorten them because certain names were very long
    - delete unused image resources
  • adjustment of the tab order of the controls of all windows
Regards,

damien. flag_fr
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by damien »

Hi,

The version published last night contained some bugs that this new version fixes. sorry for the inconvenience

v2.2.1.0: bug fixes
  - in the absence of the configuration file, the app crashed at startup
  - when closing the configuration window, the paths of the tapes/disks/roms folders were systematically memorized even when closing the window with the "Cancel" button
  - change of the initial folder of the folder selection windows
  - change of the selected item when opening the syntax colorization setting window

While waiting for Laurent to process the pull request, the archive is to be retrieved exclusively from my repo:https://github.com/dipisoft/OricExplorer/raw/master/dist/OricExplorer_v2.2.1.0-WIP-20200313_Release.zip

Regards,

damien. flag_fr
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by damien »

Hi,

Today I offer you a new version which includes some additional functionalities...

v2.3.0.0: adding features
  • added the possibility to display the source of Hyperbasic files (thanks to Assinie for his help)
  • added support for a new "other files" section (under the Disks, Tapes and ROM's items), whose path or paths are to be configured in the configuration window. This new section can be used to make non-executable files appear in the emulator (orix binaries or others) in order to be able to display the content (request formulated by Jede).
  • the "media type" items (Disks, Tapes, ROM's and Other Files) and those of sub-categories (FT-Dos, Sedoric, Stratsed, etc ... as well as the entries in the tapes index) are not now displayed only if they contain items
While waiting for Laurent to process the pull request, the archive is to be retrieved exclusively from my repo: https://github.com/dipisoft/OricExplorer/raw/master/dist/OricExplorer_v2.3.0.0-WIP-20200317_Release.zip

Regards,

damien. flag_fr
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by damien »

Hi,

A new version has been released!

v2.3.1.0: adding features To download this version, go to the official repo (https://github.com/laurentd75/OricExplo ... aster/dist), click on the link of the archive which opens a new webpage, then click on the "Download" button.

Regards,

damien. flag_fr
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by retroric »

Hi all,

This is just to announce that as of 25 September 2020, Damien, Jede and myself decided to give Oric Explorer a new home: the software is now part of the "oric-software" GitHub organization and is now hosted at: https://github.com/oric-software/OricExplorer

I will update the readme for the original https://github.com/laurentd75/OricExplorer repository to point users in the watchlist and visitors to the new official repository, make a small modification requested by Damien to the app_version.xml file in this old repository points so that any users cloning it and building the software will have the update URL point to the new official repository. Then, I will put this old repository in the "archived" state.

A million thanks to Damien who has been doing a huge refactoring work and bringing many improvements and new features to Oric Explorer, and of course another million thanks to Scott for creating this awesome application in the first place and developing it over many years, and for accepting to donate the code so that it can be developed even further !

Cheers,
Laurent
Last edited by retroric on Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:37 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by Dbug »

I will update the readme for the original https://github.com/laurentd75/OricExplorer repository to point users in the watchlist and visitors to the new official repository, make a small modification requested by Damien to the app_version.xml file in this old repository points so that any users cloning it and building the software will have the update URL point to the new official repository. Then, I will put this old repository in the "archived" state.
Good idea :)
We have already way too many abandoned stuff all around!
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by xahmol »

Nice work!
One question: I use a Cumana Reborn that uses HFE floppy images instead of DSK images.

Converting DSK to HFE is no problem with the software at https://hxc2001.com/download/floppy_dri ... r_soft.zip
But unless I seriously need new glasses, I can not find anywhere the reverse: to convert an HFE image adapted on my Oric Atmos to the Cumana Reborn on the PC back to DSK format. See a lot of export options, but not the Oric DSK format (the only .DSK listed are for other computers. Actually tried those just to check, but they of course do not work).

Do I miss something? Or is there another way to use Oric Explorer with HFE images created from the Oric on the Cumana Reborn?

Not a showstopper as my primary use case will PC to Oric, not the other way around, but just want to know if I miss something.
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by Chema »

I think there is no conversion from HFE to Oric dsk (yet). That is quite a pity, indeed. There are conversion for other similar formats, like Amstrad dsk/edsk format is supported, and it is quite similar. Maybe it could be possible to either create a conversion tool between CPC dsk and Oric dsk or try to add support for dsk in the HxC software.

The big issue, imho, is that people using Cumana Reborn or other Gotek-based solutions have to use HFE, as there is no native support for the Oric dsk in the FlashFloppy software (again yet), and I think there is no way to use the images they create (backups of real disks, disk images with software collections, etc.) in emulators (or Cumulus).
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by retroric »

Hi there,

About this HFE vs DSK pain in the bum: the reason the Cumana Reborn uses the HFE format instead of the DSK format is that it uses the FlashFloppy emulator software internally as mentioned by @Chema above. Sadly, FlashFloppy doesn't currently support the Oric DSK format (though it handles the [quite universal I first tought...] DSK format used with the Amstrad/Spectrum/Sam Coupé micros amongst other formats but I guess the Oric DSK format must be somewhat particular...) so the Oric support has to go through the universal HFE format for now...

However, a request was submitted to ask for the Oric DSK format to be added to FlashFloppy and it is being seriously considered by the FlashFloppy author -- see the discussion in the GitHub issue here: https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy/issues/144
(incidentally, @Dbug added a link to this issue pointing to the (now inactive) Defence-Force miniserve SVN server, so I'm going to add a comment to the issue to point to the new repository on OSDN: https://osdn.net/projects/oricsdk/scm/svn)

Therefore, there is hope that FlashFloppy will support the Oric DSK format in the future, and that the Cumana Reborn will be able to benefit from it, supposing there actually is a way to update the FlashFloppy firmware of the Cumana Reborn, which I'm not sure -- I'm sending a message to Piotr Bugaj to enquire about this.

I'll keep you posted (though it would be preferable to open a new "Cumana Reborn DSK support" topic for this question as it has nothing to do with Oric Explorer :wink:).
Last edited by retroric on Tue Oct 06, 2020 12:14 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Oric Explorer v2.0 is up for adoption!!!

Post by retroric »

Yicker wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:26 pm Hi,

Just want to say a big thanks to Damien for taking up the challenge of continuing development of Oric Explorer, although I must apologise for the state of the source code :oops:

Cheers
Scott
Hi there Scott !

You have nothing to be ashamed of, quite the contrary, we will never thank you enough for creating and giving us this awesome utility, and we take much pride in maintaining it and trying to make it even better and ensure it will be preserved for many years to come !

I noticed you seem to have forked the original repository I created on GitHub to publish Oric Explorer, as your nickname here rings a bell to the fork at https://github.com/Yicker419/OricExplorer :wink:

Please note (and this also concerns @assinie and @dma-homebrew who also forked this original repository - see https://github.com/laurentd75/OricExplo ... rk/members) that this repository is now INACTIVE and ARCHIVED -- the Oric Explorer source code is now hosted in the "oric-software" GiitHub organization at https://github.com/oric-software/OricExplorer.

Therefore, if you forked or cloned the https://github.com/laurentd75/OricExplorer repository before, please either:
  • delete your current fork and re-fork from the new repository (if you didn't make changes in your fork)
  • or update your "origin" reference to now point to https://github.com/oric-software/OricExplorer. and perform a "git pull" to fetch new changes.



Cheers,

Laurent
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