Posted By
Dunric
on 2005-10-17
18:16:03
|  32 values which don't make sense
This afternoon, while resting, 32 numbers came to me from a waking vision which don't make sense. But I believe these numbers represent 5
distinct possibilities:
1. A Machine Language (ML) program
Could these numbers represent a small ML program, either for the C64 or 128, which is TSR (Terminate and Stay Ready) in RAM? Perhaps this "ML Program" works in either the computer's RAM or the disk drive's?
2. Sprite data
These are 32 specific numbers, some of which are repeating (the number "8" shows up more than twice). Could this be sprite data?
3. SID values
Another possibility exists that these values represent SID tunes, or note values.
4. PETSCII characters
Although remote, a possibility also exits that these are PETSCII values, stored in CHR$(n) (where "n" is the number of each value, which is then POKEd into locations 1024 through 1056).
5. Normal ASCII values
A final possibility exists that these values are for the PC, which represent traditional ASCII numbers.
Here are the 32 specific numbers:
196,122,188,64,92,18,36,12,8,13,124,8,0
8,74,102,84,8,36,52,8,18,99,52,12,13
8,112,94,88,20,0,84,13,9,82,48,34,0
5,8
(by a "Mr. Stack").
I will check these values out on my computer shortly. Hopefully they will have some relation to the disk data recovery efforts I have been mentioning in previous posts.
Here is a webpage I have written which displays the output from the VICE emulator in 128 mode:
http://members.tripod.com/~panks/32.html
Other possibilities exist which have not been tested (e.g. regular ASCII values, SID music values and an ML program).
Paul
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2005-10-17
19:35:25
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
Oooooh... myyyyy... god... Weirdest topic ever. Umm, do let us know if you find out what it was.
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Posted By
Dunric
on 2005-10-18
02:54:39
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
These are ML programs -- not sprite data, not PETSCII, not SID sounds,
not regular ASCII.
Consider the following example:
10 PRINTCHR$(147):FORX=49152TO49152+73:READA OKEX,A:NEXT:SYS49152
100 DATA 176,0,87,250,77,62,18,8,76,97,248,172,63,17,28,192
110 DATA 63,18,172,250,0,36,82,117,84,78,62,119,148,92,71
120 DATA 198,0,62,177,9,58
130 DATA 172,118,52,112,84,61,83,197,254,80,23,72,8,119,0
140 DATA 78,252,116,84,60,94,72,51,63,252,163,82
150 DATA 7,64,98,63,218,174,0,0,0,96
If you type in the DATA exactly as listed above, the following
message will appear on the screen:
PRESS RECORD & PLAY ON TAPE
Remember, these numbers don't come from me...they come from
Mr. Stack.
Paul
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2005-10-18
03:46:03
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
This "program" doesn't work on a plus/4. At least you could have checked before posting it here.
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Posted By
Dunric
on 2005-10-18
04:29:25
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
From Lemon64:
"Disassembly of the first 11 bytes;
Code:
176,0 BCS *+$02 ; branch Carry Set to PC+2)
87,250 SRE $FA,X ; pseudo opcode, would have to look it up
77,62,18 EOR $123E ; exclusive OR accumulator with contents of 4670)
8 PHP ; push processor status to stack
76,97,208 JMP $F861 ; direct jump into Kernel ROM
Only the first eleven bytes actually do anything before that jump so the rest is redundant, no registers are initialised at any point so it runs "wild" on whatever happens to be in them at the time, the jump is a "leap of faith" and it's a fluke it works, what little is done is pointless and it would be possible to produce a similar "interesting" effect with random numbers. This isn't a legitimate piece of code."
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2005-10-18
04:49:09
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
You have posted this in comp.sys.cbm, too. Could you possibly spare us from this here and those who are so inclined can still follow it at CSC.
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Posted By
TMR
on 2005-10-18
11:33:57
 | Re: 32 values which don't make sense
The disassembly was mine by the way, i was being C64 specific so natch the ROM leap of faith bears no relevance to the 264 series, VIC 20, C128, PET or anything else...
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2005-10-18
11:51:27
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
No offence meant for you TMR  Anyways, I refered to the actual BASIC program that pokes bytes to the RAM and then jumps to the ROM (because on the 264, SYS49152 does just that).
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Posted By
Dunric
on 2005-10-19
18:28:04
| Re: 32 values which don't make sense
It does unusual things, even on the Plus/4. I've tested this code out on three different machines.
Paul
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