[Simh] FW: SimH IBM1130 GUI appears broken

Thu May 4 14:29:41 EDT 2017

Since the GUI code itself hasn't changed, it's possible that the simh scp
code changed the way it handles the commands injected by the GUI. I may
have time this weekend to look at it.

thanks for the heads up.

brian

On Wed, May 3, 2017 at 2:15 PM, Rich Alderson <simh at alderson.users.panix.com
> wrote:

> JAMES FEHLINGER <jfehlinger at comcast.net> posted the following to the
> ClassicCmp
> mailing list.  I don't see anyone forwarding it (yet).
>
>                                                                 Rich
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cctalk On Behalf Of JAMES FEHLINGER
> Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 9:41 AM
> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
> Subject: SimH IBM1130 GUI appears broken
>
> I originally attempted to post this to simh at trailing-edge.com,
> but they have a policy of automatically rejecting any messages from
> non-subscribers, and as I only read that list via the Web
> interface, it doesn't seem worth it to subscribe just in order to
> post one message.  However, I suspect that Brian Knittel and/or
> Mark Pizzolato probably see stuff that's posted here too.
>
> ---
>
> Once upon a time (i.e., prior to early January, 2016), the
> SimH IBM1130 GUI worked like this (on Windows):
>
> You start the simulator in a console window and issue the
> commands (either manually or via a command file argument):
>
> -------------------------
> reset
> detach prt
> delete printer.txt
>
> att dsk0 dms.dsk
>
> att prt printer.txt
> boot dsk
> -------------------------
>
> At this point, the simulator, after having booted the DMS
> operating system, enters a "Wait state" and drops
> back to the SimH prompt. The console window shows
> (if you've started the simulator with the command file
> argument "guijob" containing the above commands):
>
> -------------------------
> IBM 1130 Simulator V4.0-0 Beta git commit id: e8ea427d
> guijob-2> detach prt
> Not attached
> PRT: creating new file
> Loaded DMS V2M12 cold start card
>
> Wait, IAR: 0000002A (4c80 BSC I ,00028 )
> sim>
> -------------------------
>
> The line printer icon in the GUI now "shows paper" which,
> if you view it (thereby "tearing it off" and causing
> the creation of a new printer file) will show the boot
> message from DMS.
>
> At this point, you can submit a "job deck" by dragging a
> file to the GUI's card reader icon -- e.g., one of the
> decks from the software kit at ibm1130.org
> (such as a job to print the LET [Location Equivalence Table] list.job,
> a sample Fortran program for.job or one of the more substantial
> Fortran programs like csort.job or swave.job, etc.)
>
> Each time you drag the "job deck" file over the GUI's
> card reader icon, the depicted input tray "fills up" and
> the console shows, e.g.
>
> sim> attach cr "C:\ibm1130\dms\list.job"
> sim>
>
> You then click the green PROGRAM START button, the blinkenlights
> flash briefly, the card reader "empties", the printer "shows paper"
> (if it was empty beforehand) and, most significantly here,
> **the simulator enters Wait state and drops back to its prompt
> when the program has finished**. The console window now shows (e.g.)
>
> sim> attach cr "C:\ibm1130\dms\list.job"
> sim> cont
> Wait, IAR: 0000002A (4c80 BSC I ,00028 )
> sim>
>
> You can continue to submit jobs, without rebooting DMS, by dragging
> a new deck to the card reader icon, and clicking PROGRAM START.
> Each time, the simulator swallows the "cards", flashes the blinkenlights,
> adds output to the line printer file, and enters Wait and drops
> back to its prompt.
>
> The "git commit id" in the IBM1130.exe used for the above example is
> e8ea427d from
> https://github.com/simh/Win32-Development-Binaries archive
> simh-4.0-Beta--2016-01-07-e8ea427d.zip (January 7, 2016).
>
> If I use the IBM1130.exe from the very next archive
> simh-4.0-Beta--2016-01-29-b8049645.zip (January 29, 2016), I get
> a different result (using the same file of startup commands):
>
> -------------------------
> IBM 1130 Simulator V4.0-0 Beta git commit id: b8049645
> guijob-2> detach prt
> Not attached
> PRT: creating new file
> Loaded DMS V2M12 cold start card
> -------------------------
>
> Here, the simulator has not entered a Wait state and dropped back
> to a prompt. If I try to drag a "job deck" file to the card reader
> icon, the attempt is rejected with a Windows error gong and
> the card reader remains empty.
>
> I can get around this by performing the following:
>
> Click the red "IMM STOP" button.
>
> Drag the "job deck" file to the card reader icon. The reader
> "fills up".
>
> In the console window, type "boot dsk" to re-boot DMS
> (clicking PROGRAM START doesn't work here!),
> The card reader empties, the blinkenlights flash and apparently
> the program runs. However, the simulator does not enter
> Wait state when the program is finished. (Nor can I click on
> the lineprinter icon to "tear off" and view the results at this point.)
>
> However, if I again click the red "IMM STOP" button and then
> click the lineprinter icon, I can see the results of the
> program that just ran. Or, I can click IMM STOP, submit a
> new job deck to the card reader, type "boot dsk" (you have
> to re-boot DMS; PROGRAM START won't work!),
> and the new program will run and add its results to the lineprinter output.
>
> The very latest Win32 build of IBM1130.exe, from
> simh-4.0-Beta--2017-05-02-e9dea63b.zip (May 2, 2017)
> exhibits slightly different (but still apparently broken)
> behavior.
>
> When the startup command file executes, the initial result looks
> correct (i.e., the same as the January 7, 2016 result above):
>
> -------------------------
> IBM 1130 Simulator V4.0-0 Beta git commit id: e9dea63b
> guijob-2> detach prt
> Not attached
> PRT: creating new file
> Loaded DMS V2M12 cold start card
>
> Wait, IAR: 0000002A (4c80 BSC I ,00028 )
> sim>
> -------------------------
>
> Note that the simulator has entered the Wait state and dropped back
> to its prompt, and you can now drag a job deck to the card reader
> and start the program normally by clicking PROGRAM START.
>
> However, at this point the simulator reverts to the broken behavior
> exhibited by the January 29, 2016 example above -- when the program is
> finished running, the simulator does not enter Wait state and
> drop back to a "sim>" prompt. The console window looks like:
>
> -------------------------
> IBM 1130 Simulator V4.0-0 Beta git commit id: e9dea63b
> guijob-2> detach prt
> Not attached
> PRT: creating new file
> Loaded DMS V2M12 cold start card
>
> Wait, IAR: 0000002A (4c80 BSC I ,00028 )
> sim> cont
> -------------------------
>
> and the simulator remains unresponsive until the IMM STOP button
> is pushed. Then we see:
>
> -------------------------
> IBM 1130 Simulator V4.0-0 Beta git commit id: e9dea63b
> guijob-2> detach prt
> Not attached
> PRT: creating new file
> Loaded DMS V2M12 cold start card
>
> Wait, IAR: 0000002A (4c80 BSC I ,00028 )
> sim> cont
>
> Immediate Stop key requested, IAR (4c80 BSC I ,00028 )
> -------------------------
>
> At this point, the GUI becomes responsive again, and the
> line printer output can be "torn off" and viewed, or a
> new job can be dragged to the card reader.
>
> However, you cannot then use the PROGRAM START button to
> start the new program. If you do, the simulator will issue
> a "cont" command, but the card reader will not empty and
> the new program will not run.
>
> You have to type "boot dsk" in the console window to reboot DMS.
> At this point, the loaded card reader will empty by itself,
> the new program will run, and the program's output will be added
> to the lineprinter listing.
>
> For each additional job deck you want to run, you have to use
> the IMM STOP, load card reader, "boot dsk" (reboot DMS)
> sequence.
>
> So it appears something happened to break the normal functioning
> of the 1130 GUI back in January of last year, which has not yet
> been completely repaired.
>
>
>
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