Feature request: Remember last ROM selected

[pelago]

I'm using LJP 1.0 RC9. If you quit and reload it, it will remember which system you have selected, but it will forget the selected ROM. Can a feature be added to remember the last ROM, so that to play the same game again one need only press Launch? This would be particularly useful with long ROM lists, and when going back and forth with a FAQ or a Memo file.

Actually, I call this a feature request, but it might be a bug. I'm sure I remember an old version of LJP or LJZ remembered the last ROM selected.

Incidentally, is there a good reason that we can't just quickly switch out of LJP to another app and back again quickly, with it carrying off where it left off, like other PalmOS apps? It's a bit of a pain having to quick save and return to launcher, when going back and forth with a text editor. This isn't meant to sound like a criticism - I'm genuinely interested to know why it is like this, technically?

[_Em]

pelago said:

Incidentally, is there a good reason that we can't just quickly switch out of LJP to another app and back again quickly, with it carrying off where it left off, like other PalmOS apps? It's a bit of a pain having to quick save and return to launcher, when going back and forth with a text editor. This isn't meant to sound like a criticism - I'm genuinely interested to know why it is like this, technically?

To operate, LJP unloads everything possible from the dynamic heap and the DB Cache; it then blocks all OS calls to the hard buttons and reappropriates the touchscreen. In order to switch out of an emulator, the game has to be unloaded from DB cache, the emulator (ZEM file) has to be unloaded from the Dynamic Heap, and control of the hardware has to be returned to the OS.

I hope this explanation helps explain why you can't quickly switch out/play pTunes in the background/use your phone/etc. while LJP is running.

[Tinnus]

I might enable a quick switch feature in LJX, however keep in mind that it will be reasonably slower than your regular app-switch. Also, depending on how slow events turn out to be, I *might* implement enough event handling so as to enable pTunes-like stuff and, mainly, phone answering.

[metaview]

LJP already has the panic button, which allows a quick exit with saved state etc. Just think about you are playing in a meeting and the boss asks you something to check in your calendar

[Tinnus]

Was it added by you? I've never found it! Heh.

I must keep up--LJP version on my LD is RC3 ;D

Will update once my charger arrives

[tgwaste]

i use my spacebar for it.. it rules

[samphex]

tgwaste said:

i use my spacebar for it.. it rules

lol me too. It's the easiest one to remember and press since its big.

[countbuggula]

em said:

pelago said:

Incidentally, is there a good reason that we can't just quickly switch out of LJP to another app and back again quickly, with it carrying off where it left off, like other PalmOS apps? It's a bit of a pain having to quick save and return to launcher, when going back and forth with a text editor. This isn't meant to sound like a criticism - I'm genuinely interested to know why it is like this, technically?

To operate, LJP unloads everything possible from the dynamic heap and the DB Cache; it then blocks all OS calls to the hard buttons and reappropriates the touchscreen. In order to switch out of an emulator, the game has to be unloaded from DB cache, the emulator (ZEM file) has to be unloaded from the Dynamic Heap, and control of the hardware has to be returned to the OS.

I hope this explanation helps explain why you can't quickly switch out/play pTunes in the background/use your phone/etc. while LJP is running.

Or in other words, PalmOS can't multitask. At least not well.

[samphex]

It kind of can multi task with DA and sprint says centro can multi task(?) in ads. I guess they mean ptunes(isn't that available for a lot of palms?)

[icefire]

I actually found those centro ads ironic becuase it CANT multitask.

That should be and insperation for palm: they have 3, yes THREE multitasking oses and they wont even use any...

1) Palm OS 6 Cobalt
2) ALP
3) Palm OS II

[countbuggula]

Ok, I'll give you Cobalt, but ALP is owned by an entirely different company (Access) and Palm OS II is still in early development...not exactly ready for consumer use.

[_Em]

Plus, the PalmOS CAN multitask... however, regular apps only get one thread to share. A number of background threads (with no GUI) can run concurrently however.

[Tinnus]

Unless you make clever use of sound streams

[_Em]

heh... that'd be kind of interesting... an AUI

[countbuggula]

em said:

heh... that'd be kind of interesting... an AUI

Blind people use that kind of thing all the time! They exist!

[Tinnus]

No, I mean you can actually use sound streams' callbacks to multithread instead of outputting sound. Let's say you have a 8KHz stream with a 8KB buffer. That means you have a second thread running that will call your function once per second. Then, just write silence to the sound stream, or keep the trash there and just mute it.

Incidentally, that's exactly how the SDL port checks events from PalmOS.

[samphex]

Wow haha

[thingyieD]

Really quickly going back to the first post in the thread, I *think* pelago was referring to the UI and NOT emulation mode, and simply wants to be able to exit the UI quickly and then return to the same place in the UI when it is launched again. I think I remember this being available a while back as well, but it really wouldn't matter to me since the new versions can filter with a keyboard button press to the first ROM with that letter (and likely with a Graffiti entry as well - I'd test the graffiti, but I been on the fone for about an hour with "her" so can't right now...)

[metaview]

Last ROM is now saved again and selected together with the last system. Will be updated soon.

[countbuggula]

Yay for more RC's!

You know...since we've been adding new features and all, shouldn't we stop calling them Release Candidates and just start with a new version number (1.1 or something)? That would make it way easier to keep track of what version we're actually on, as we went through I don't even know how many versions of RC9.

New version number for new features, and Alpha/Beta/RC for bug fixes, right? Just to standardize things a little?

[Tinnus]

Call it RC10, what's the matter? I don't like calling it 1.0 final if it still lacks something, but if you guys think it's worth it, then just call the next one 1.0 and each new feature 1.0.1, 1.0.2, etc

[countbuggula]

I don't know that LJP has actually lacked anything since pre-RC3 days. It's been stable and performing well for a long time. What we've had in almost every build since then are enhancements and new features, as well as adding support for new Treo/Centro models. That sounds to me like new versions, not subversions or builds of the same release.

[Tinnus]

Then let Henk call it 1.0

[metaview]

I will Just in time before it is outdated by LJX

[Tinnus]

Yep

[pelago]

Thanks for the replies. I look forward to the new version which will remember the last rom highlighted in the GUI. Along with the panic button (which I had used before but had forgotten about), that should make exiting and entering LJP pretty seemless.