Omnimaga

Calculator Community => Casio Calculators => Topic started by: fxdev on January 20, 2011, 06:14:06 pm

Title: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: fxdev on January 20, 2011, 06:14:06 pm
Although the Prizm is a revolutionary new device and more worth hacking, the famous fx-9860G and GII series are very similar to the Prizm and I guess, still better than most TI calculators. Indeed, what makes the Prizm different is basically a more powerful display, an easier calc-to-PC connection and a larger flash chip.

For instance, if you are going to port the Axe parser to the Prizm, it will most likely run on the fx-9860 series, too - with only a few modifications (mainly because of the smaller screen resolution). And it is not only the fx-9860G and fx-9860GII that will benefit from your efforts. There is also the fx-9750GII (almost identical to an fx-9860GII on the hardware level but without backlight) and the fx-7400GII (this is the weakest of the GII calculators: Only 2 MB of flash memory (as compared to 4 MB) and no USB 1.1 port). However, the last two are not add-in capable - but there is a hack for the fx-9750GII at least.

Furthermore, as the Prizm is so fx-9860-like, reverse-engineering may be sped up by looking closer on its predecessors first. And did I mention that there is already an SDK available for these? Just visit: https://edu.casio.com

You may also ask Simon Lothar or Andreas B. to obtain a list of syscalls (they are collecting those on a non-public wiki).
A document with a few selected ones is available here: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/fxsdk/fxreverse-docs-1.pdf

You may also be interested in how to communicate with pre-Prizm calculators:
http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fxsdk

Or interested in the built-in hardware components:
http://prizmwiki.omnimaga.org/wiki/Fx-9860G/GII_hardware_list
Title: Re: Any plans to reverse-engineer the fx-9860 series, too?
Post by: AngelFish on January 20, 2011, 06:17:44 pm
The problem with the SDK (which I would dearly like access too) is that you need a Casio account to download it. Casio hasn't made an FX-CG series calculator code box on their registration page, so I can't sign up and download it  <_<
Title: Re: Any plans to reverse-engineer the fx-9860 series, too?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on January 20, 2011, 06:19:57 pm
I thought the 9860G was already reverse-engineered with the use of the SDK? O.O

It would be cool to do it, I guess, though, because it pretty much runs the same processor.
Title: Re: Any plans to reverse-engineer the fx-9860 series, too?
Post by: fxdev on January 20, 2011, 06:30:25 pm
Here is the product code from an fx-9860G SD:

Quote
Code A: G363-51
Code B: A162239

Quote
I thought the 9860G was already reverse-engineered with the use of the SDK?
Yeah, this is true - for the most part. But the Casio community is REALLY small compared to the TI community and there was not much activity for quite a while...

EDIT: Changed topic title.
Title: Re: Any plans to reverse-engineer the fx-9860 series, too?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on January 20, 2011, 06:58:55 pm
Ah, right. I wish the Casio community was larger. Imagine what kind of CFX-9850G ASM games could've been done. On the TI-85 there's no ASM support, yet people still managed to achieve it. All you do on a TI-85 is send a hacked backup of the RAM to the calc (that someone modified) and it installs a shell to launch assembly files. The ASM files are stored into string variables. I know MPoupe did stuff with the CFX but I am sure a lot more would've been done if the community was larger. Today maybe someone could attempt reverse-engineering the CFX series, but unfortunately it wouldn't have a huge audience anymore because it got discontinued. :(

On a side note, the Casio community used to be a bit larger than the TI community during the middle part of 2008. The TI community just started to pick up again somewhere in 2009 to finally reach high activity levels again like in the old days, it went through bad times in 2008. On ticalc.org, sometimes there were no news for 2 months.
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: JosJuice on January 21, 2011, 01:33:00 am
Quote from: cfxm on January 20, 2011, 06:30:25 pm
Here is the product code from an fx-9860G SD:

Quote
Code A: G363-51
Code B: A162239
Is it possible to use this code multiple times, or only once?
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: fxdev on January 21, 2011, 07:36:07 am
Just use it and tell me. :P
This particular calculator does not exist anymore either...
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: JosJuice on January 21, 2011, 01:25:58 pm
I registered an account using that code, and it seems to work. Thanks!
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: Spyro543 on April 18, 2011, 06:48:04 am
Quote from: Topic Title
Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
You mean this?
Spoiler For picture:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51v6iqQ%2BZSL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

Yeah I'm (hopefully) getting one of these. I think.
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on April 24, 2011, 03:17:48 pm
There are multiple versions of it: This slim version, the regular calc thing, the SD card version and the newer models with a backlight like the slim version.
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: Eiyeron on August 13, 2011, 07:49:48 pm
Don'tt get the slim version, there many imcompatabilities with many addins.
So... Veb decided to port the Lua to AFX, trying to increase the AFX's communauty...
Result: 2 only coders, for 2 games and an useless utility... :/

TOday, i'm working with Veb and Louloux to port TO Fx 98xx, but... to rival with your communaty is impossible! So Lua is the 2nd added language, after the MLC.
Kristaba is thinking about a new Basic interpreter (i talked about this months ago, but today... zero news)
We have a programming contest at Planète-Casio, but the two only games already posted are a Pong and a Tekken. 10 Prizsm to win... There are projects, but I must to see them. mine is a Mario party like game.
The lasts Fx-98xx addins: my metabbals tests, my sokoban [BOXED], souris, thing similar to Pokemon's Ice Cave...

No more great games, like Drug War...

Shit... I want to see news, tutorials, games...

(Moderator of the maybe last alive french site...)
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on August 13, 2011, 11:20:00 pm
THis sucks the AFX didn't pick up again, but I guess it's to be expected, like with the TI-86, because Casio discontinued them several years ago, meaning they're hard to find anywhere now, not to mention apparently they break after 3 years due to the Flash chip wearing out (this was fixed in newer calcs).

As for the FX-9860G the problem is that it's so hard to find anywhere. It was never sold in Canada I think. Where I live the only Casio calcs I ever saw are the FX-9850G series calcs, the 9750G+ (the $25 calc) and the Casio Prizm.



And yeah I think PC is pretty much the last active Casio site. Even Casiocalc and CK are dead. In the TI Community, it's pretty much just TI-BANK nowadays, along with a TI-82 forum somewhere. English-wise, it's mostly Omnimaga and Cemetech.
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: Eiyeron on August 14, 2011, 05:35:23 am
The wind is changing...
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: flyingfisch on August 26, 2011, 04:23:18 pm
Quote
The wind is changing...
Yes. I have high hopes in the LuaFX project. I think it will inspire people who want speed, but not the hassle of learning C (me).

Also, a fresh new tide of casio programmers is arriving. They unfortuanately only know BASIC. Almost all the links to resources for learning C/ASM are down, which is a major roadblock to learning it. If anyone could make a tutorial, specifically for people trying to learn C/ASM for the FX-98xx I think it would help alot.

Also a comprehensive tutorial to luaFX/AFX may help in that area. Maybe getting one out before LuaFX is even released might be a good idea. It would let us programmers see how difficult it would be to learn.(I know, I know, I use the term too liberally. We aren't real programmers because we can't do C.) Actually, I have used lua before and I have every confidence that it will result in more programmer's.

BTW Eiyron: No one was really programming for afx back then, so 2 new programmers is actually a plus. And there are six games now in luaAFX.

Quote
Even Casiocalc and CK are dead.

Casiocalc.org is on the rebound! We are now growing rapidly. CK is dead only because their crazy admin has decided to go MIA. :'(
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on August 26, 2011, 04:40:45 pm
What did not help the FX-9860 series is that it's so incredibly hard to find anywhere. It was never actually sold in Canadian retail stores I think. Over here, all they sold until the Prizm arrived was the FX-9750G+. Also In 2005 Earthforge died with 90% of the existing Casio community sites :'(. I wish something like Lua and Axe Parser arrived on this calc, because when Lua arrived on the TI-Nspire, a big load of programmers started coding for this platform, while before when there was only C and ASM only about 3 or 4 coders did.

It would also help if someone made a FX-9860G emulator for the Casio PRIZM, since that calc might attract people with the color screen. It would let them play a wider range of games.

I'M glad the UCF is rebounding. It seemed like it was dying like a few months ago. As for CK not only the admin left (twice) but now we cannot even login anymore. X.x
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: flyingfisch on August 26, 2011, 09:18:12 pm
YES!!!!

Earthforge's death did not help at all.

Also, they are almost done with LuaFX (probably coming out some time in sept/oct)

And I think all of us have experienced probs with CK since april. I am trying to salvage good posts, in case it goes all the way under and we can't get them anymore. :'(

It is a bittersweet year in casio's life...
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on August 30, 2011, 08:59:01 pm
I still remember when I was staff at Epic Programming Studio on Earthforge. I think the owner of the host eventually left and then Omnimaga/EPS, which were hosted there, vanished one day. I contacted CrimsonCasio and he said he would bring them back up due to the demand, but only one last year, so we can back our stuff up. Sadly a lot of the sites there died years before, so the admins never came back to move them.

Thankfully there is still Planète-Casio that has some life and here we got the Prizm guys, although I hope eventually there are more coders.
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: flyingfisch on August 30, 2011, 09:35:55 pm
yeah. but omni is pretty active too, even for casio guys
Title: Re: Any plans to contribute to the fx-9860 series?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on August 30, 2011, 11:58:44 pm
Yeah true. I remember on the Invisionfree board we tried to attract some Casio guys as we had a Casio RPG downloads section, but only one ever came. Later we got Kucalc, but he posted like 8 times, then in 2010 the Prizm came out then we started trying to hack it.