The creation of memory maps gets easier with this release.
New features in the memory view:
BASIC program layout
Load or type a BASIC program and hit ctrl-L in the memory view to watch the memory map of its code. After RUN, you have to press ctrl-L periodically to update that map, because a running BASIC program updates the layout of the data area (which is located after the code area) as it meets new variables for the first time. Enable the text view (ctrl-A) to get a more meaningful view (or type LIST in the emulator but this is like cheating!)
Data Classification (Order In Chaos)
The data classification view colorize the memory in a chaotic still consistent way. Using only your pattern recognition abilities you can organize the data even if you don't understand their meaning!
So far, watching the internals of the C64 in action may was something, yet you may have this feeling: "wow! I see everything
but still I understand almost nothing
". Well, the new feature lets the CPU to interpret to us the meaning of the data using a color language. And no, you don't have to learn another color code, since these colors are meaningless this time (it's just a meaningless 'alphabet'). What's important is their patterns (i.e. the 'words' and 'phrases' that they form). These patterns are not the usual data patterns (as in the grayscale view), they are event patterns arranged in space that highlight the internal data structures as being used by the code (who always knows their meaning, and this is where we rely).
In particular, this visualization is based on 'what code access what data', and actually it's a simple hash function of the "last access" address that located in the upper left corner on every cell (visible in deep zoom). So, actually, this information was always there in a numerical/textual form, proper only for serial/boring reading. By translating this information into colors, patterns emerge (from chaos!) that can recognized immediately by the human brain in a parallel way, and organized manually. This view it's especially useful to find large internal structures like arrays or lists of data, and analyze their entries down to their most individual parts.
Map Editing
Some new functions that will help you with your memory maps:
Enter / Shift-Enter : Split / Join line
Backspace / Shift-Backspace : Move line Left / Right
(the above operations never overwrite non empty cells)
Delete / Shift-Delete : Delete cell / line
right click / Insert : Pick cell / Put cell++
F2 : Rename cell (change address)
Note that the editing functions are minimal yet, and they are line oriented. If you want to move blocks around you must export the map and use some spreadsheet application.
Drag 'n' Drop
If you drop a .txt file in the memory view, it will open as a memory map. Any other file will be imported as a .prg file (i.e. will be loaded in the RAM at the location that the first two bytes specify). Btw, the Frodo Redpill window accepts .fss files (Frodo snapshots).
Press F1 on every window (even in the main menu) to see more functions.
