unknown slot option

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rsarson
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:53 am

unknown slot option

Post by rsarson »

hi!

i'm new to negatron because qmc2 development has stalled.

i'm using linux (debian 10.6) and i get a "unknown slot option" warning (see screenshot) when trying to run the vic-20. the machine does not load after the warning.

from advanced configuration:
mame vic20 -bios cbm -ramsize 5120 -exp "" -iec10 "" -iec11 "" -iec4 "" -iec8 c1541 -iec9 "" -joy1 joy -tape c1530 -user "" -cartridge "" -cassette "" -floppydisk "" -quickload ""

it has something to do with the double quotes for nulls, which i can't seem to disable using the machine configuration in negatron (see screenshot). and if i have to manually adjust the parameters, what's the point of using negatron? it's a lot easier just to type "mame vic20" in the command line, isn't it?

also, i tried searching for this problem in the forum, but search is broken (see screenshot)

anyway, i'm trying here, but i can't say i've had a very good start with negatron,
ryan
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BabelSoft
Site Admin
Posts: 342
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:23 pm

Re: unknown slot option

Post by BabelSoft »

rsarson wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:31 pm i'm using linux (debian 10.6) and i get a "unknown slot option" warning (see screenshot) when trying to run the vic-20. the machine does not load after the warning.

from advanced configuration:
mame vic20 -bios cbm -ramsize 5120 -exp "" -iec10 "" -iec11 "" -iec4 "" -iec8 c1541 -iec9 "" -joy1 joy -tape c1530 -user "" -cartridge "" -cassette "" -floppydisk "" -quickload ""

it has something to do with the double quotes for nulls, which i can't seem to disable using the machine configuration in negatron (see screenshot). and if i have to manually adjust the parameters, what's the point of using negatron? it's a lot easier just to type "mame vic20" in the command line, isn't it?
It's an old bug that should have been fixed back in July 2018. See this commit. What are you using? Which version of Negatron? Which flavour and version of MAME e.g. NegaMAME v0.225-1?
rsarson wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:31 pm anyway, i'm trying here, but i can't say i've had a very good start with negatron
Well, I owe you nothing. If you aren't happy about this free app, you're welcome to try another F/E or even develop your own.
As people from the USA says, it's a free world...
rsarson
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:53 am

Re: unknown slot option

Post by rsarson »

i'm using the latest linux version of negatron, currently v0.100.1.

as i mentioned, i use debian 10.6 (64-bit), which i keep up to date.

i compile mame from source every release, currently v0.225. which brings up another bug - i have to delete negatron.ini each new mame release, otherwise negatron.sh crashes with a bunch of java errors. also, i tried negamame, but it failed to run due to missing dependencies - if i can get negatron to work, i will install those dependencies and try negamame again later.
BabelSoft
Site Admin
Posts: 342
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:23 pm

Re: unknown slot option

Post by BabelSoft »

1/ It's weird. I don't have any issues on Fedora 31, Negatron 0.100.1 and NegaMAME 0.225-1. I didn't update my Fedora to Fedora 32 but well it's on kernel 5.5 already. I'll try with Debian later. I'll move to a new appartment this weekend so I won't be able to do much in the meantime. But can you upload your MAME somewhere so I can test with your version?

2/ I fail to see the connection between negatron.ini and negatron.sh failing because of java errors. I need you to give me more details on how to reproduce this bug. How do you update MAME? Do you simply override the old main binary with the new version, or do you create a new folder and redirect Negatron to this new folder? Do you have still somewhere those java errors the bug triggers?

3/ You can also compile NegaMAME from source, making it works with the libraries available on your machine.
rsarson
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:53 am

Re: unknown slot option

Post by rsarson »

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k59abbeyholjd ... ar.gz?dl=0 i do a clean install from source every release using 'make REGENIE=1 TOOLS=1 NOWERROR=1 -j3'. my kernel is 4.9.0-11 and gcc is version 8.3.0. and ignore the symlinks - i just run a little script after compiling to re-link all the "extras" files.

regarding the ini/sh issue, i simply did a quick google search when it crashed and deleting the ini was the first and easiest solution for me. it's also common to have to do this when i upgrade qmc2, too. oh, and vice, as well. seems to be a pattern here, lol. anyway, i will give you more details when i compile mame 0.226 in a week or two, so you can take a look after your move. i will also take a look at negamame between now and then.

and i just wanted to apologize for my tone in the last comment i made in my first post. i was going for sympathy, not commenting about negatron, but i can see how my wording could be mis-interpreted. making words is hard.
rsarson
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:53 am

Re: unknown slot option

Post by rsarson »

Attached is the error screen I got after compiling MAME 0.226 and then running ./Negatron.sh without first deleting Negatron.ini.

And here is the terminal output:

main:~/mame/negatron/Negatron-0.100.1$ ./Negatron.sh
main:~/mame/negatron/Negatron-0.100.1$ Nov 02, 2020 7:48:17 AM net.babelsoft.negatron.NegatronApp onConfigurationSucceeded
SEVERE: Couldn't read .ini file
java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 1 out of bounds for length 1
at negatron@0.100.1/net.babelsoft.negatron.io.configuration.Configuration.lambda$initialise$5(Configuration.java:176)
at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.accept(ForEachOps.java:183)
at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:195)
at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$2$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:177)
at java.base/java.util.Iterator.forEachRemaining(Iterator.java:133)
at java.base/java.util.Spliterators$IteratorSpliterator.forEachRemaining(Spliterators.java:1801)
at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.copyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:484)
at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.wrapAndCopyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:474)
at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:150)
at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:173)
at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.evaluate(AbstractPipeline.java:234)
at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline.forEach(ReferencePipeline.java:497)
at negatron@0.100.1/net.babelsoft.negatron.io.configuration.Configuration.initialise(Configuration.java:157)
at negatron@0.100.1/net.babelsoft.negatron.NegatronApp.onConfigurationSucceeded(NegatronApp.java:132)
at negatron.preloader@0.100.1/net.babelsoft.negatron.preloader.NegatronPreloader.handleStateChangeNotification(NegatronPreloader.java:474)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.lambda$notifyStateChange$11(LauncherImpl.java:919)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runAndWait$12(PlatformImpl.java:455)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runLater$10(PlatformImpl.java:428)
at java.base/java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runLater$11(PlatformImpl.java:427)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.glass.ui.InvokeLaterDispatcher$Future.run(InvokeLaterDispatcher.java:96)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.glass.ui.gtk.GtkApplication._runLoop(Native Method)
at javafx.graphics/com.sun.glass.ui.gtk.GtkApplication.lambda$runLoop$11(GtkApplication.java:277)
at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:834)

If I remove the Negatron.ini file and re-run ./Negatron.sh, it works as expected. Also note if I diff the new Negatron.ini with the old one, there are no differences.
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BabelSoft
Site Admin
Posts: 342
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:23 pm

Re: unknown slot option

Post by BabelSoft »

No diff between the old and the new ini files? This is really weird and, now each time you re-launch Negatron with MAME 0.226, it works fine?
rsarson
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:53 am

Re: unknown slot option

Post by rsarson »

I have to delete the ini before every run of ./Negatron.sh if I add a path to MAME EXTRAs in the Negatron configuration screen. I do not need to delete the ini if I leave the EXTRAs path empty.

Another probably related issue is during the config process my computer because unusable. I can't even click on another window. It takes about 2 minutes before Negatron is fully loaded. That may just be java, though, which always seems to struggle on my computer.

I've noticed, too, that ./mame64 -verifysoftware and ./mame64 -verifyroms are left in memory after running Negatron (clicking x to close the window, followed by ctrl-c to get back to the command line) and I've had to manually kill several instances of both after testing.
BabelSoft
Site Admin
Posts: 342
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:23 pm

Re: unknown slot option

Post by BabelSoft »

Ok, it's weird that you have to leave the path to MAME EXTRAs out to make everything working. I'll try to reproduce the bug.

For the temporary freezing issue, it may be because your compter don't have a lot of RAM. Negatron.sh is configured under the assumption that your computer has more than 2 GB of RAM.

./mame64 -verifysoftware and ./mame64 -verifyroms instances should be killed after closing Negatron. Well, at least that's what happens on Windows...


I'll look at those issues next week. This week, I still have a lot to do at work lol
BabelSoft
Site Admin
Posts: 342
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:23 pm

Re: unknown slot option

Post by BabelSoft »

I've just spent several hours to set up a fresh install of the last version of Debian available (10.6). I installed the last openjdk and openjfx available on Debian (version 11 for both). I used Negatron 100.1 and NegaMAME 0.226-1 (it's the same as MAME 0.226, I didn't use the one available on my website, I had to recompile a version on my Debian as Debian didn't package more recent versions of Qt and other libs as in Fedora). I then tried with a regular MAME 0.226. And everything works, vic20 included. No bugs.

My system is set to English and French. Did you activate anything like Chinese, Japanese or any other Asian language?

I really don't see what could be wrong with your system apart from that. It looks like your system has a lot of issues. I strongly recommend you to re-install Debian from scratch if possible.
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