Date   : Mon, 19 Dec 2005 11:52:35 +0000
From   : Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk@...>
Subject: Re: Connecting a BBC Micro to a PC

Mark Usher wrote:
>> Getting the application onto the BBC side is likely a bit 
>> more tricky, but maybe someone can come up with a handful of 
>> BASIC lines which can receive initial data from the PC host 
>> over the link, rather than expecting the user to type the 
>> whole lot in. Not as ideal as the Xfer case though.
> That is really simple with the BBC. Just use the *FX 2 command to accept
> input from the serial port instead of the keyboard, then get the other
> computer to send the program across in ASCII as if it was being typed in. 

You misunderstand - I know that's how Xfer does it, but I'm talking about the 
case where the link is between User port and PC parallel port. So something 
needs to run on the BBC side and do the bare minimum to transfer the 'real' 
program over to the BBC side so that it can be run.

I'm hoping something simple would be possible - a few lines of BASIC to get 
successive bytes forming the 'real' program from the User port and put them 
somewhere in memory, allowing the user to then run them.

Or possibly just do it so that the PC-side can send across the 'real' BASIC 
program in ASCII. Maybe the user types in some inline assembler which installs 
the equivalent of what "*FX 2" does, but for the User port.

I've no idea what the best way would be, but something that involved the 
minimum of typing from the user would be best.

You know, maybe Xfer is even modifyable to use the User port / PC parallel 
port rather than talking over a serial link? That might be a better approach - 
same familiar program, just a huge boost in speed. I assume data is handed to 
the serial port a byte at a time, so in theory it's not much different to hand 
it to the parallel/User port a byte at a time instead...

Still needs a way of getting the Xfer BBC-side program onto the machine though...

cheers

Jules