BBS Door Development (Part 1) · retro shed reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LordDarkenbeast · 2022-11-30 00:35 Very nice!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2022-11-30 00:43 Great stuff. Mind if I provide a link from The BBS Corner to your article? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- robbiew · 2022-11-30 00:44 That's be awesome! Cheers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- izzo34 · 2022-11-30 02:40 Saved. Thanks for this! Always wanted to mess around with it. Will keep an eye out for part 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ebookit · 2022-11-30 03:04 There should be BBS Doors in Python 3, so it is more portable. 32 bit OSes are dead now. Everything is 64 bit OSes now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- robbiew · 2022-11-30 04:56 I think it'd be great to have BBS Kits in modern (and ubiquitous) languages/frameworks -- especially Python and Node. Just need to account for the differences in linux STDIO and Window sockets for printing to the console. I started a Go library but got stalled on the windows part. Would also be rad to include modern things like API fetching, loadable fonts and SIXEL support :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-11-30 05:29 you don't know how to get around rte200? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-11-30 05:31 you can write something in python and run it in synchronet. regarding oses, i prefer to run a 32bit os in a vm. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ebookit · 2022-11-30 06:08 Or you can run this OS: https://reactos.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-11-30 08:13 oh god no. that's been a joke for so long. I'll stick to windows and linux. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- robbiew · 2022-11-30 16:05 There have been a few methods over the years that developers have used to patch Pascal binaries to address the dreaded "200" run time error (it more or less affects machines running faster than 200 MHz, which is ALL machines now). Since Borland never officially patched the compiler, we're left with these attempts to patch the .exe's, with some success: [https://www.pcmicro.com/elebbs/faq/rte200.html](https://www.pcmicro.c om/elebbs/faq/rte200.html) << good summary of options I tend to use TPPatch, it has the best hit rate for me, and has been working for binaries created by the methods mentioned in the article... so far :) This is not a problem in Pascal modern compilers, like Free Pascal/Lazarus. I'm sure a Pascal wiz could probably update/adapt/re- write g00r00's door kit to work with FPC? That would be AMAZING as it has the ability to compile to ARM as well (e.g. Raspberry Pi and potentially Mac Silicon). And I think it's object-oriented, unlike old-school Pascal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- awendero · 2022-11-30 16:06 Amazing, I was just looking for an article of this type and this is great!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-12-01 06:19 okay in your posting you were mentioned that you didn't know how. \[quote\]We’ll get to the dreaded Borland “Runtime Error 200 - ‘Divide by 0’” bug later on in Part 2. The issue was never officially patched by Borland and still plagues those of us interested in preserving BBS history, much of which was created using Pascal.\[/quote\] I wasn't asking you how to do it; I have been a sysop since the 90s. are you sure you need a part 1 and part 2? there's not much info and you can probably just make 1 part. and what bbs doorgame did you develop? eagerly awaiting downvotes :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- robbiew · 2022-12-01 16:14 Fair enough, I just ran out of time and was going to detail the Pascal compilation part in a separate article. I'm new to Pascal, so I wanted to document some of the compiler things I ran into, plus talk a little about the RTE patch options, which don't always work. I work mostly in Go, and develop a lot of my own BBS applications. I wanted to try the old school method, and I thought others might be interested. You're right, it probably doesn't need a Part II, as I'm not teaching anyone Pascal. Just a quick overview of compiling notes on each platform and then the RTE patch approaches. Thanks for reading! I've been a sysop since the 90's as well. Just a hobby off an on :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-12-02 09:21 Just take your time and come up with something polished. we are in a huge bbsing slump right now so there's no reason to rush anything. regarding the run time error 200, i prefer patchcrt. if the executable is packed or has some other type of protection by obscurity you can use a TSR or moslo to launch it and get it to work. usually it's not worth the effort. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- robbiew · 2022-12-02 19:04 Thanks, i'll give it a go! I have a go-based door about 80% done that I've been working on, but porting to Pascal would be basically starting over, so gonna just release it on Linux until I'm less of a n00b :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HerpieMcDerpie · 2022-12-20 18:08 Thank you for writing this up! I really (really!) want to make a simple door game and have tried off and on over the years. I plan to follow your guide!