https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/ 2026-08-24T07:19:23+00:00 https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/ https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/lib/tpl/dokuwiki/images/favicon.ico text/html 2026-08-23T18:10:37+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0823_mid_late_august_work_multi-aliases?rev=1787501437&do=diff Mid late August work: Multi-aliases 2026-08-23 Most of this week's work was about adding multi-alias support to the alias Extension for lDebug. Multi-aliases are injected into the debugger command loop using the inject handler rather than only replacing the command in the preprocess handler. This allows multi-aliases to consist of any number of commands, from zero to one to multiple. The old style aliases are called single-aliases. text/html 2026-08-16T16:00:18+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0816_early_mid_august_work_on_lbacache_and_a_dosemu2_bug?rev=1786888818&do=diff Early mid August work on LBACACHE, and a dosemu2 bug 2026-08-16 dosemu2 A test case and patch so that XMS move destination handles are validated. Without this, an invalid handle (eg FFFFh) could lead to a crash of the dosemu process. Discovered while checking the LBACACHE behaviour on XMS errors, which were induced by overwriting the XMS handle with FFFFh. text/html 2026-08-11T22:10:55+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0811_early_august_work_on_lbacache_bugs?rev=1786479055&do=diff Early August work on LBAcache & bugs 2026-08-09 Most of the work this week was on converting Eric Auer's LBAcache to provide and use an Alternate Multiplex Interrupt Specification (AMIS) multiplexer. (The use is in uncache, the transient part that works with previously installed instances rather than installing a new one.) The advantages are as follows: text/html 2026-08-04T20:30:48+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0804_more_compression_work_lzsa_for_vgapride_benchmarking_zx0_scanner_salvador_and_safe_distance?rev=1785868248&do=diff More compression work: LZSA for VGAPride, benchmarking, ZX0 scanner, Salvador and safe distance 2026-08-02 kernwrap * Add uncomp inicomp method, uncompressed payload copy. lDebug * Add uncomp inicomp method. inicomp * lzo.asm: * Optimise check for End Of Data marker, check the ZR after add ax,si * Optimise, directly branch to depack.error on buffer overflows. text/html 2026-07-26T21:27:49+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0726_mid_late_july_work_on_compression_exomizer_depackers_benchmark?rev=1785094069&do=diff Mid late July work on compression, Exomizer depackers benchmark 2026-07-26 testrand * Add the defines REPEAT, REPEATAMOUNT, REPEATSIZE. These were used to test match lengths and match offsets of nearly 64 KiB in Exomizer 3 compressed files. lDebug All changes concern the mak.sh build script. text/html 2026-07-19T21:33:56+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0719_more_compression_work_in_mid_july_and_an_overview_of_inicomp_methods_and_depackers?rev=1784489636&do=diff More compression work in mid July, and an overview of inicomp methods and depackers 2026-07-19 lDebug * doc: Fix a typo in eld-s manual section. * mak.sh: Support LZSA1 inicomp method. * doc: Update the LZSA depacker usage conditions to indicate LZSA2 or LZSA1, and update attribution year. * doc: List LZSA1 inicomp choice. text/html 2026-07-14T21:30:17+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0714_overview_of_ldos_related_projects?rev=1784057417&do=diff Overview of lDOS related projects This is a list of the core lDOS projects in development yet. lDebug: Originally forked from FreeDOS Debug/X around 2008. Named NDebug earlier (like the "N" in "Netwide Assembler"), then in 2012 renamed to lDebug. text/html 2026-07-11T20:33:58+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0711_early_july_compression_woes?rev=1783794838&do=diff Early July: Compression woes 2026-07-11 This week I found some bugs in several compression details, and I also found something I thought was a bug but isn't. lDOS kernel * Empty changeset to rebuild with new LZSA2N depacker. mvcomp * Import several commits from last year. lDOS boot * text/html 2026-07-04T23:14:51+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0704_early_july_work_on_compression_and_freedos_label_device_findfirst_bug?rev=1783199691&do=diff Early July work on compression, and FreeDOS label device FindFirst bug 2026-07-04 lDOS kernel * Fix ticket #1009, all-caps the MODULE define and replace the spurious blank by an LF. (I noticed these while copying the iniloadc.mac file to set up lfreedos.) lFreeDOS * New repo to pack an existing FreeDOS kernel file into an lDOS inicomp, iniload, or drload stage. Files based on the lDOS kernel repo's scripts. text/html 2026-06-28T17:43:12+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0628_mid_to_late_june_work?rev=1782661392&do=diff Mid to late June work 2026-06-28 webecm * Add section on the bugtracker, a link in links, and list it in the news * Update news item and hgweb link, on use of the Anubis Web AI Firewall Utility for the hgweb service lDOS patchini * Add halt flag 16 to mean do not halt on an expected device mismatch (DEVCRASHDOS, added on 2026-05-25) Buggy (bug ticket format tool) text/html 2026-06-23T23:46:21+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0623_a_computer_can_never_be_held_accountable_idiom?rev=1782251181&do=diff A computer can never be held accountable (idiom) a page by Simon Willison idioms text/html 2026-06-22T03:06:24+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0622_i_develop_software_an_idiom?rev=1782090384&do=diff I develop software (an idiom) their github sponsors page idioms anubis text/html 2026-06-16T12:47:55+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0616_update_on_the_anti-scraping_measures_for_our_hgweb?rev=1781606875&do=diff Update on the anti-scraping measures for our hgweb As of 2025 October, we required password sign in for the hgweb service. The idea was to instruct users on what username and password to enter but have malicious automated scrapers fail to enter the correct sign in. This did work, but it wasn't a very nice change to communicate to users. text/html 2026-06-07T18:18:25+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0607_a_few_more_parts_of_the_bugtracker_and_the_first_tickets?rev=1780849105&do=diff A few more parts of the bugtracker, and the first tickets 2026-06-07 The tracker at <https://pushbx.org/ecm/bug/> is populated by some tickets now. Most of them are closed, pertaining to tasks already finished. Buggy (bug format tool) Do not symlink hidden files (eg nano swap files) into the out subdirectories. text/html 2026-06-06T10:52:25+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0606_early_june_work_setting_up_the_bug_tracker?rev=1780735945&do=diff Early June work: Setting up the bug tracker 2026-06-05 This week I copied the bugtracker and its companion tool called "buggy" from the Dillo browser. I forked both to use as a bug tracker on <https://pushbx.org/ecm/bug/> Buggy (bug tracker format tool) * Import git repo history from Dillo * text/html 2026-06-03T20:54:11+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0603_if_you_want_a_job_done_an_idiom?rev=1780512851&do=diff If you want a job done (an idiom) 2014-06-25 Minimal Viable Programs idioms text/html 2026-06-02T16:44:37+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0602_mid_to_late_may_work?rev=1780411477&do=diff Mid to late May work 2026-05-31 lDOS kernel * Fix to not find a character device on FindFirst with an exact name match and the volume label attribute bit set. (Contains testfind.asm, a test case.) This bug used to be documented in the interrupt list, except the sense is wrong. The intended (MS-DOS v5) behaviour is to never find devices when searching for labels. The DEVNAME function checks "Attrib" to determine that a label search is in progress, but it was set from "SAttrib" only later. Th… text/html 2026-06-01T20:03:02+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2025/0119_ms-dos_simpler_buffers_and_doscode_split?rev=1780336982&do=diff MS-DOS: simpler buffers and DOSCODE split 2025-01-19 This week I first uploaded some changes from the last 20 days concerning an adaptation of the MS-DOS v2.11 buffers subsystem to the lMS-DOS code base. Then I worked on splitting the DOSCODE segment from DOSDATA. This work isn't finished: While the split is done, it is not yet useful. But the hardest part seems to be done. text/html 2026-05-28T21:15:17+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0528_two_hard_problems?rev=1779995717&do=diff Two hard problems Leon Bambrickquoted by Martin Fowler That page collects some more variations on this idiom. idioms text/html 2026-05-18T19:55:11+00:00 ecm (ecm@undisclosed.example.com) https://pushbx.org/ecm/dokuwiki/blog/pushbx/2026/0518_early_mid_may_work?rev=1779126911&do=diff Early mid May work 2026-05-17 This week I worked some on debugging DR-DOS v9. The relevant updates to the debugger and loader are listed in yesterday's blog post dedicated to that. Except for Sunday's update to the manual to list nreserve.eld more completely. The only other changes concern the list and WarpLink.