I have been also getting on with the display list editor. This has proven a bit of a challenge, not with the programming itself, but with the design of it. I want to try and create something that is relatively easy to use, whilst at the same time, allowing all possible permutations for the display list. What I have come up with is:
What you can see here is the actual editor. I will explain each section:
Firstly, the table in the top left of the window displays the line types, with various properties. This means that when you are creating your display list, you do not need to worry about adding values to the code to make a DLI or a LMS entry. Even the smooth scrolling flags are taken care of. As you can see by the pop-up window, the antic codes are selected from a list, again meaning that you do not need to remember which code it is you need. (Looking at this right now, I thing I will add additional information in the list, such as pixels/characters per line, etc).
To the right of this, you enter your address for the display list. This can be either an actual address, or a label.
Directly below the address entry, there is a little box to set the display list to one of the predefined BASIC graphics modes. This can be useful if you are going to base your new display list on an existing mode.
At the bottom of the window, we have the preview section. The large rectangle (partially obscured by the pop-up menu) gives a graphical representation of the screen. Each antic mode on the preview is represented by the colours indicated to the right of it. This will allow you to get a quick feel for how the screen is laid out.
Finally, we have the buttons in the bottom right corner. These do the following:
Copy: Copies the completed display list to the clipboard.
Insert: Directly inserts the display list into the current insertion point in the source editor.
Preview: Displays a textual preview of the complete display list.
Close: Closes the window (obviously).
Save: Saves the display list to disk.
One thing I haven’t mentioned, the table also allows you to enter addresses for LMS functions. When copying or inserting the list and an address is found on a particular line, then the Antic Code is automatically converted to an LMS instruction. The software will also append the Jump At Vertical Blank instruction to save you worrying about it. As it stands right now, there is no Jump To Address instruction, however, I will be adding this in for completeness.
Firstly, the table in the top left of the window displays the line types, with various properties. This means that when you are creating your display list, you do not need to worry about adding values to the code to make a DLI or a LMS entry. Even the smooth scrolling flags are taken care of. As you can see by the pop-up window, the antic codes are selected from a list, again meaning that you do not need to remember which code it is you need. (Looking at this right now, I thing I will add additional information in the list, such as pixels/characters per line, etc).
To the right of this, you enter your address for the display list. This can be either an actual address, or a label.
Directly below the address entry, there is a little box to set the display list to one of the predefined BASIC graphics modes. This can be useful if you are going to base your new display list on an existing mode.
At the bottom of the window, we have the preview section. The large rectangle (partially obscured by the pop-up menu) gives a graphical representation of the screen. Each antic mode on the preview is represented by the colours indicated to the right of it. This will allow you to get a quick feel for how the screen is laid out.
Finally, we have the buttons in the bottom right corner. These do the following:
Copy: Copies the completed display list to the clipboard.
Insert: Directly inserts the display list into the current insertion point in the source editor.
Preview: Displays a textual preview of the complete display list.
Close: Closes the window (obviously).
Save: Saves the display list to disk.
One thing I haven’t mentioned, the table also allows you to enter addresses for LMS functions. When copying or inserting the list and an address is found on a particular line, then the Antic Code is automatically converted to an LMS instruction. The software will also append the Jump At Vertical Blank instruction to save you worrying about it. As it stands right now, there is no Jump To Address instruction, however, I will be adding this in for completeness.
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