can we do another 512byte challenge?

[piranha]

Simple poll to decide the winner?

-JL

[jtokarchuk]

I like the poll, looks like it's what was done in the past too.

[Darwin]

All in favor of a poll, rotate your head 270 degrees counterclockwise.

[Combuster]

rotate your head

*spins office chair*

[shikhin]

I see a bunch of rules and the way to decide the winner but no real incentive for the winner to participate in the first place?

[Darwin]

I see a bunch of rules and the way to decide the winner but no real incentive for the winner to participate in the first place?

You're right.

We could crown the winner Champion of OSDev.org, but I'm afraid Brynet-Inc already holds that title. The main prizes from the last contest were Amazon.com gift certificates, so perhaps something similar?

[shikhin]

Hi,

We could crown the winner Champion of OSDev.org, but I'm afraid Brynet-Inc already holds that title. The main prizes from the last contest were Amazon.com gift certificates, so perhaps something similar?

Reasonable enough.

I was also wondering if the rules could be narrowed down, thus having a minimum requirement as to what the entry should (minimally) do. For example, you could ask to load some sort of a file and just jump to it.

Then, people could expand on the minimal rules, and perhaps do things like music in the background while they load the file or something?

Regards,
Shikhin

[jtokarchuk]

I would like the finished product to be open ended. I want to see creativity, not stifle it.

There will be prizes, again, I am just brainstorming in this thread. When it begins, I will kick off a new topic.

So please, suggest away. I am noting all suggestions and will formulate a whole in the end.

[Gigasoft]

Could you clarify what exactly you mean by "live within a single segment in 16bit real mode"? Does it mean that the segment registers must contain the same value at all times, or does it just mean that all the RAM addresses ever accessed by the system must be addressable using a single real mode segment? Does this mean no BIOS calls, since that would cause memory locations outside this range to be accessed? Or are BIOS calls allowed as long as they don't access memory locations outside of the allowed range (except EBDA and shadow RAM)? Can the OS itself access BIOS memory (for example, ROM fonts?) Any restrictions on the use of video memory?

[jtokarchuk]

BIOS calls are certainly allowed, and encouraged.

To clarify:

I would like the segment registers to remain unchanged. BIOS calls are fine, and accessing video memory is fine.

However, kernel, disk operations, and application entry point can only be within the single segment.

Keep in mind that I am not an all encompassing guru, and if this sounds like jackassery, I would like to be let known.

[evoex]

You can use an entire segment? And it doesn't have to fit in a single boot sector? In that case, wouldn't that allow one to use the entire memory from 0x7C00 to 0xFFFF (probably even more), or am I missing something here? I really can't be bothered to code anything that is allowed to be that big, it's simply too much work. Heck, I reckon that with some clever memory swapping techniques you could write epic 3D games (though probably way too slow) without using more than that amount of memory by constantly saving/loading anything you need. As in; you could use the disk as memory, rather than using the memory itself.
Or am I missing something here?
Even if you wouldn't be allowed to write on the disk, it's a LOT of instructions. Too much for me.

I do like the idea of a 512 byte challenge. It's not too much work, and it will be a nice puzzle to try to get something amazing down to that size...

[GAT]

Personally I like the idea of doing it all in one segment. It just gives us more space to do something cool with than a 512 or 502 byte challenge.

[evoex]

Personally I like the idea of doing it all in one segment. It just gives us more space to do something cool with than a 512 or 502 byte challenge.

Yes, but then it's more a contest on whoever has the most time on their hands... And that would not even be worth competing for me.
Maybe, if this contest were to be held, I'd build a POC to show that you can as well remove the size constraint completely in this case. Because I do think you can write *any* application in one segment.

I'd actually say 510 bytes; anything that fits in the boot sector only. Minus the two magic bytes of course.

[GAT]

Compromise? Maybe two challengers, on 510 byte, and one 1 segment?

[jtokarchuk]

I recognize that a single segment for space would take an inordinate amount of time, and most of us don't have it to spare.

I have decided to then do a 512b challenge, and if others are interested in more, we can run something afterward.

Give me a couple days to put the thread together (very busy at work) and we will get this started.