Machine Memory pane "flash" when switching to it

[nww02]

Hi There,
When I'm debugging, I frequently need to check the running state of RAM to view memory locations. In the absence of a "Watch" list for memory locations (variable), I have to switch to the Machine Memory tab to quickly check the value of a byte, and then switch back to the running program.

When I switch to the Machine Memory tab, it initially shows Bottom of RAM, and then turns black, then redraws moments later showing the last observed memory location. Sometimes the location it returns to isn't quite where I was at, but usually it is. This makes it distracting to flip back and forth between the panes.

Is it possible to remove this "flash" of black, and the return to $0000 before going back to (say) $8000?

If it is not impolite to ask for features which might be alternatives if this fix is not possible... It could make the debug experience easier if the Machine Memory could be a separate floating window (or a different panel to the code) so I could see them side-by-side without needing to ask it to redraw the window each time.

Or, alternatively, if that isn't possible, then if a particular byte of RAM was given a LABEL: in code, that it appeared in a Watch List underneath the REGS. CALL STACK, ULA & I/O etc.0 If the watch list could have a column of "number of bytes to watch" too, that would help with 16bit counters. For example:

Code:
VAR_i:
.db $00,$00
VAR_j:
.db $00,$00
VAR_str:
.dm "Hello World"

Watch list:

VAR_i | 2 bytes | 22 0E
VAR_j | 2 bytes | 24 01
VAR_str| 11 bytes | 48 65 6c 6c 6f 20 ....

If the above isn't possible, then a fallback may be to be able to right-click on a LABEL, and have a Context-Menu "Go To Memory", which switches to the Machine Memory panel, and sets the address to that of the label.

Any of these would help when I'm trying to figure out why my binary search / sprite copy routines seem to be resulting in garbage :)

Thanks again for this amazing project. I hope that this bug report and possible suggestions are helpful!

I am running the new v0.49.4 on Linux Mint, OS version #33~24.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC

Have a wonderful day.

Nick

[Dotneteer]

Nick, thanks for describing this annoying issue in detail. I'm about to refactor the memory view, as I'm dissatisfied with how it currently works. Additionally, you knock open doors with the Watch panel; I intend to implement this feature.

[nww02]

Thank you :-) I'm glad it's helpful. The development cycle is getting so much better with each improvement. Have a great day :)

Nick

[Dotneteer]

@nww02, Nick, I've implemented the prototype of the Watch panel. You can download the build here: https://github.com/Dotneteer/kliveide/releases/tag/v0.50.0
You can read some more info about using it: https://dotneteer.github.io/kliveide/working-with-ide/watch/

I'm also working on making the Memory view faster and more convenient.

[nww02]

Awesome, I'll check it out.. it might help me understand why my draw routines keep missing the bottom third of the screen :).

Thanks again! I'll let you know how it goes!

[nww02]

Quick bug (not critical): Sometimes when I remove a watched item, the IDE goes all white. noticed it the first time when I tried to remove a watch that I'd added with a typo, so the tag didn't really exist. The second time, it was the tag of a byte array and I removed it why the program was paused in a breakpoint.

Another quick bug (also not critical): The Emulator Window cannot be set to go "behind" other windows. It seems to be permanently locked into being in Dialog mode. If I right-click the menu bar and untick "Always Stay On Top", and then click away, then when I click back and right-click the menu bar again, the "Always Stay On Top" is re-ticked. I've tested it with a LibreOffice window, Firefox and Terminal window and they work as expected. When I until 'stay on top', then they become like normal windows, and when I return to them, the "Always Stay On Top" option is unticked as you'd expect. It's only the Machine Emulator. Interestingly, the other windows I set to "Always be on top" will not come 'in front' of the machine emulator window.... It's like it's in Dialog Box Modal Mode and refuses to be upstaged by another window :D

[Dotneteer]

@nww02, thanks for reporting these issues. I will look after them. If you ever happen to see a "white window", it always means an unhandled error. The following article helps you turn on and view diagnostics: https://dotneteer.github.io/kliveide/howto/diagnostics/

If you experience an error, you can see it in the console tab of the development tools. When you attach it to an issue report, it helps me find the location.

[Dotneteer]

@nww02, if you happened to experience the "white window", please send me the error message(s) in the console log. It would help me to catch and fix the issue :-)

[Dotneteer]

@nww02, I'm using macOS, but I'm also testing Klive on Windows (on Parallels). What do you mean by "If I right-click the menu bar and untick Always Stay On Top, and then click away, then when I click back and right-click the menu bar again, the Always Stay On Top is re-ticked."?

I do not see such a function on Windows.

[nww02]

@nww02, I'm using macOS, but I'm also testing Klive on Windows (on Parallels). What do you mean by "If I right-click the menu bar and untick Always Stay On Top, and then click away, then when I click back and right-click the menu bar again, the Always Stay On Top is re-ticked."?

I do not see such a function on Windows.

I'm on Linux using Cinnamon, but I think most WM's are the same: When you right-click the window title you get a context menu that allows you to:

Minimize
Maximise
Move
Resize
[ ] Always on top
( ) Always on visible workspace
( ) Only on this workspace
Move To Another Workspace >
Close

Checking one of the boxes, or selecting an option makes the menu close, so if you want to see the result of a change you have to right-click again to open the menu.

You can make a window remain "on top" by checking the Always On Top option.. All other windows (including the main IDE window) work fine. When you check the box, they stay on top. When you uncheck the box, they act like normal windows.

The Simulator window, for some weird reason has "Always on top" checked by default. When I uncheck it, it looks like it's unchecked, but going back to the menu, the option is still checked. It only happens for that one window. I've tested it with many others, and cannot make it act like a normal window, which can be inconvenient if I have the IDE on one side.

It's a really minor issue, so please don't worry about it too much. It's just inconvenient having a window that refuses to respect the z-order when your laptop screen is small :-)

I got the white screen of death. The error seems to be in "index.js" :

index-pxGHoSEJ.js:3947 TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'typeName')
at index-pxGHoSEJ.js:200264:29
at Nh (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:3426:14)
at cj (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:4080:14)
at bj (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:4056:16)
at Vk (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:6534:20)
at Uk (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:6063:18)
at Tk (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:6057:31)
at Ik (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:6042:13)
at Nk (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:5773:14)
at Gk (index-pxGHoSEJ.js:5709:64)

Hope this helps!

:)

Nick

[Dotneteer]

Nick, thanks for the diagnostics info! It will definitely help. I try to find out why the Always on Top option works the way it does on Linux. On macOS and Windows, it seems to be ok. I'll try to check what might be different on Cinnamon.

I managed to increase the performance of the Memory View window; I'll release it when it's stabilized.

[nww02]

Sounds great! The watch feature helped me solve my problem, and I got my little program working. This is a great app :)