DOS ain't dead - Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Laaca

Czech republic,
24.11.2024, 13:30

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar (Announce)

My font editor Kasmar (read "Kashmaar") is definitely not new but in the last months am I trying to modify it to more ambicious program.
It is still very alpha, lot of things is not done and something is broken, however.
Over older versions this build can:
- open bitmap font files in Microsoft FNT, BDF, FN (czech diskmags), FU (proprietal format) and VGA font formats
- open font containers in Microsoft FON, CPI (MSDOS, DRDOS, WinNT subformats), CPX (from FreeDOS) and WFN and WFV (proprietal but very simple formats)
- import from vector Borland CHT fonts
- save into VGA, FN, FU
- writting with edited font
- many oher features

First plans are:
- add loader for vector TTF fonts
- saving to FNT and BDF formats
- finalize support for X-offsets and Y-ofsets of font bitmaps (now works partialy)

The download link: here

...and I am considering to rename the project to "Fontána"

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DOS-u-akbar!

RayeR

CZ,
14.12.2024, 22:56

@ Laaca

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

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What did you changed on EXE format that it cannot be compressed by UPX now?
UPX 4.2x compress it but destroy it, UPX 3.x tells it's already compressed...

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DOS gives me freedom to unlimited HW access.

Rugxulo

Usono,
15.12.2024, 01:06

@ RayeR

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

> What did you changed on EXE format that it cannot be compressed by UPX
> now?
> UPX 4.2x compress it but destroy it, UPX 3.x tells it's already
> compressed...

I think it's compiled by Free Pascal, whose Go32v2 output nowadays by default uses the built-in assembler and linker (for faster speed and easier cross-compilation). That has long been unable to be UPX'd, for whatever obscure reason (non-standard COFF sections or whatever).

Laaca

Czech republic,
17.12.2024, 22:42

@ Rugxulo

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

> I think it's compiled by Free Pascal, whose Go32v2 output nowadays by
> default uses the built-in assembler and linker (for faster speed and easier
> cross-compilation). That has long been unable to be UPX'd, for whatever
> obscure reason (non-standard COFF sections or whatever).

Yes. We have already several times discussed the incompatibility between UPX and FPC 3.x.y
I can to avoid it be switching to external linkrer during the complilation process. Or I can use the very olf FPC 1.0.10 version as I code in very ancient syntax not using any later FPC or Delphi extensions or features.

However, other solution is not to use UPX but packer 32Lite (32-bit DOS Executable Packer). It works perfectly.

---
DOS-u-akbar!

RayeR

CZ,
18.12.2024, 01:43

@ Laaca

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

> However, other solution is not to use UPX but packer 32Lite (32-bit DOS
> Executable Packer). It works perfectly.

OK, I tried 32LiTE v0.02d that I have but the compression ratio is quite bad - 1,5MB result. Old Kasmar 2.0, I don't remeber if compressed (by what but not UPX header found), is only 331kB...

---
DOS gives me freedom to unlimited HW access.

Laaca

Czech republic,
18.12.2024, 17:33

@ RayeR

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

> OK, I tried 32LiTE v0.02d that I have but the compression ratio is quite
> bad - 1,5MB result. Old Kasmar 2.0, I don't remeber if compressed (by what
> but not UPX header found), is only 331kB...

Well, the WIP version is very probably compiled with debug information.
You can try to to use the STRIP.EXE utility from Free pascal distribution. Or you can try this:
1) UPX KASMAR.EXE (use UPX 4.x.y)
/the created binary will not work/

2) UPX -d KASMAR.EXE
In unpacks the binary but the debug info will be stripped out.
Now it should work again.

---
DOS-u-akbar!

RayeR

CZ,
22.12.2024, 01:40

@ Laaca

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

Thx, I used strip from djgpp and then 32lite. The result is 261kB.

---
DOS gives me freedom to unlimited HW access.

Rugxulo Usono, 18.12.2024, 04:45 @ Laaca	Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar Post reply
	> However, other solution is not to use UPX but packer 32Lite (32-bit DOS > Executable Packer). It works perfectly. WDOSX's STUBIT probably works too.

marcov 18.12.2024, 11:04 @ Rugxulo	Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar Post reply
	> I think it's compiled by Free Pascal, whose Go32v2 output nowadays by > default uses the built-in assembler and linker (for faster speed and easier > cross-compilation). That has long been unable to be UPX'd, for whatever > obscure reason (non-standard COFF sections or whatever). If it would only hint at that properly, the problem is that UPX errorhandling is not great.

Zyzzle

01.01.2025, 03:16

@ Laaca

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

> My font editor Kasmar (read "Kashmaar") is definitely not new but in the
> last months am I trying to modify it to more ambicious program.
> It is still very alpha, lot of things is not done and something is broken,
> however.
> Over older versions this build can:
> - open bitmap font files in Microsoft FNT, BDF, FN (czech diskmags), FU
> (proprietal format) and VGA font formats
> - open font containers in Microsoft FON, CPI (MSDOS, DRDOS, WinNT
> subformats), CPX (from FreeDOS) and WFN and WFV (proprietal but very
> simple formats)
> - import from vector Borland CHT fonts
> - save into VGA, FN, FU
> - writting with edited font
> - many oher features
>
> First plans are:
> - add loader for vector TTF fonts
> - saving to FNT and BDF formats
> - finalize support for X-offsets and Y-ofsets of font bitmaps (now works
> partialy)
>
> The download link:
> here
>
> ...and I am considering to rename the project to "Fontána"
For some unknown reason, this font editor, and also your word processor loads and then becomes totally unresponsive on my systems. Same behavior in both programs. Have been unable to troubleshoot, but do your programs do anything strange with memory (use > 64M XMS or require / use EMS)? Using DOS 7.1, with a 64M ramdisk, regular HIMEM.SYS. Same behavior with JEMM386 also.

Your blocek editor worked fine at one time, back around two years ago, has been broken ever since. A hard freeze doesn't occur, the mouse pointer and keyboard just do nothing, all error-trapping is absent (CTRL-BREAK, ctrl C dont exit), and no fault or error code is generated. The programs load fine, then just go into netherworld of not responding to any input.

Laaca

Czech republic,
01.01.2025, 13:18

@ Zyzzle

Work-in-progress build of font editor Kasmar

Post reply

> For some unknown reason, this font editor, and also your word processor
> loads and then becomes totally unresponsive on my systems. Same behavior in
> both programs. Have been unable to troubleshoot, but do your programs do
> anything strange with memory (use > 64M XMS or require / use EMS)? Using
> DOS 7.1, with a 64M ramdisk, regular HIMEM.SYS. Same behavior with JEMM386
> also.
>
> Your blocek editor worked fine at one time, back around two years ago, has
> been broken ever since. A hard freeze doesn't occur, the mouse pointer and
> keyboard just do nothing, all error-trapping is absent (CTRL-BREAK, ctrl C
> dont exit), and no fault or error code is generated. The programs load
> fine, then just go into netherworld of not responding to any input.

Well, it is strange, I do not understand what is wrong in your system.
Blocek hooks one or two interrupts so it can be prone for crashes but Kasmar not.
It could be some incompatibility between your environment and my used DPMI server CWSDPMI. I do not use the very official build but some tweaked version.
Try to use the CWSDPMI.EXE from some other application.
Or use some alternate DPMI server like HDPMI32.
You also could post here your configuration. To do that, please run my other program called MySysInf
You can reroute the program output to disk file.

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DOS-u-akbar!