DAT generator produces inconsistent results in Windows x64

[markwkidd]

I have noticed today when trying to update the DAT file that the XML DAT Generator seems to be producing inconsistent results in Windows 7 x64. Maybe this is related to the issue that prevents the optimizer from being used on the DAT generation code.

[ghost]

well the optimizer disabling works for gcc the sample code will just need redone or if conditions added to msvc compiler options for msvc complier until someone updates the sample code. We have to be careful how we code as well with c90 scopes and such.

[ghost]

@markwkidd when was the history added mate ?

[ghost]

im going to look at this code over the next mark few days mark to fix this without the diasable optimizations

[ghost]

@markwkidd teh only difference in your dat and mine is the game history youll need to format the illeagle chars in there. For some reason mines not generating the history at all when making the dat hope this helps you :). I personally use this https://desktop.github.com/ for diff changes that are too large to display on github itself you can look for yourself the history dat in your dat has illeagle xml chars. I dont know if we have code missing as mine isint generating history in the dat at all.

[ghost]

the last screenshot wasnt the best example

[ghost]

https://keylimetie.com/blog/2008/9/25/how-to-safely-escape-invalid-xml-characters/

[markwkidd]

Thanks, this seems like more than enough to get me started.

I have to wonder, is there any value in the core copying history information into the DAT? I can't think of any value...

Just when I think I've seen all variations of the DAT format. @Wilstorm have you come across romset DATs that also include the history.dat information? I'm tempted to just disable this.

On Tue, May 22, 2018, 11:15 PM grant2258 notifications@github.com wrote:

https://keylimetie.com/blog/2008/9/25/how-to-safely-escape-invalid-xml-characters/

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[ghost]

well this was never part of the dat as far as i know its been added at some point. I dont see any real benefit in adding this to the dat in all honesty but if you want to keep it change all the illegal chars.

[Wilstorm]

I have not. That's a first, it looks strange. I wouldn't even know how to utilize the history part unless there's some setting to view it in ClrMamePro or similar.

[markwkidd]

It must have been there in the code somewhere all along. Believe me it's not my addition lol

On Tue, May 22, 2018, 11:36 PM grant2258 notifications@github.com wrote:

well this was never part of the dat as far as i know its been added at some point. I dont see any real benefit in adding this to the dat in all honesty but if you want to keep it change all the illegal chars.

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[Wilstorm]

In the context of building a ROM set it just doesn't seem to have any value.

[Wilstorm]

Ok, yeah that's a strange one! Someone was experimenting or something.

[ghost]

@markwkidd the option to list this has always been there but at some point its been added to the dat creation.

It isint present in mame078 dat creation but probably it listable via a command line switch . its not currently active in our code base at the moment by the looks of things

[ghost]

maybe it is i dont think we had the history dat before anyway maybe that is the issue doesnt matter how it got there we know what the problem is 👍 its easily fixed it you want to keep it just process all the & and it should work i dont see any real benefit in keeping it though tbh.

[ghost]

@markwkidd what directory is the history.dat tied to in libretro? if its libretro system dir that could explain why im not getting these issues. Ill fix my environment up properly i have my system set to content. Could explain me not having any issues with this. coming to think of it my savefile and system are set to content ill fix that up not ideal not being set right for testing

[markwkidd]

history.dat goes in the libretro system folder, inside the mame2003-plus subfolder. In other words the same location as cheats.dat and history.dat

I have been away from keyboard during this conversation so I can't test yet but I am assuming that the history information only gets added to the romset DAT if it is present in that folder.

On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 12:06 AM, grant2258 notifications@github.com wrote:

@markwkidd https://github.com/markwkidd what directory is the history.dat tied to in libretro?

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-- Mark W. Kidd http://facebook.com/markwkidd (606)536-0115

[ghost]

well ill set my dirs up properly that is probably why i didnt get this problem. Its no biggie really we know whats causing the problem. I will fix my x64 box up to have the right directorys setup in the future testing. Its just laziness on my part

[ghost]

just tried on retropie

mame2003-plus.xml is saving in contents (probably savefile) hiscore.dat is saving in system

i cant see any cheat.dat at all. retropie isint creating the history in the .xml either so it is probably something in the code in setting the directorys. for the hiscore.dat that makes it work on windows and not my setup or retropie.

ps the system directory is set on retropie.

duh retropie isint on the lastest commit ill update and try again.

just recompiled not cheat.dat and datfile generates fine no history added

data from retropie [INFO] Environ SYSTEM_DIRECTORY: "/home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS". [libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] content path: /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/mame-libretro/mame2003_plus_split/ [libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] system path: /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS [libretro INFO] [MAME 2003+] save path: /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/mame-libretro/mame2003_plus_split/

[ghost]

my system and retropie are safe from this so far because the history.dat hasnt been copied over

https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-plus-libretro/issues/229

the solution is just to remove it from the dat or fix the & up if you want to keep it ill close the other issue as its solved just a matter of how you want to deal with it

[Wilstorm]

I downloaded from source last night and I have the history.dat located in /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame2003-plus/history.dat but I still don't get history added to my DAT file.

[ghost]

@Wilstorm stange it adds the history for me on retropie when i have the hisory.dat

the datfile is written to your content dir now not the bios folder

/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/mame-libretro/mame2003_plus_split/mame2003-plus/ or wherever your roms are kept check the date of the dat file make sure your reading the right one it used to be the bios folder that changed

[markwkidd]

(It's technically written to the libretro save folder, but for yall with retropie that is the same as the content folder)

I'm hoping to experiment with this tonight or tomorrow

[ghost]

it is only writing when the file is there mark looking at the source it can load a mame.dat was probably another list option that shouldnt have made it into the xml but did. easy enough to fix or remove no mystery there at least

[Wilstorm]

Ok, I see it wrote to /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/mame-libretro/mame2003-plus/mame2003-plus.xml and it does have history information.

[ghost]

its not a biggie its a mame078 oversight its easy enough to fix or remove :)

[Wilstorm]

Ok, sounds good. Will this be the new location of the xml file?

[ghost]

@Wilstorm for retropie yes the contentfolder/mame2003-plus as it doesnt have a savefile path

[Wilstorm]

@grant2258 - Ok, thanks for the information. I never fully understood the savefile path discussion so the short straight answer really helps! ;)

I saw you posted you have potential sciatica. I was going to mention I struggle with that myself and that's why I started working out 7 days a week (after some physical therapy) as well as stretching (yoga style), a lot of core work, planks, pushups, etc. Taking breaks more frequently at work getting up and moving around. Less work at night and resting! ;) Surprisingly a lot of water allows the lymph nodes to carry out the muscle/tissue "waste". My wife has a Masters in Physical Therapy (just short of a doctorate) so I pick her brain quite a lot to understand certain things.

I hate getting old. The days of going at 18 hours a day with no issues. I almost have it whipped. But one of the tools I find invaluable is an inversion table. It's a slow process and I could only do about 2 to 3 minutes (about 2 years ago) and I swear my head was going to explode. You feel every ounce of blood flowing to your head. Our bodies are fine being inclined but we stop doing it as kids so it's process to re-acclimate.

Now I can watch a movie upside if need be and it doesn't bother me at all. I don't fully incline upside down but somewhere between about 45 to 60 degree angle for about 15 minutes or so (every day) allows gravity to get some space between the vertebrae and relieve a lot of pressure on pinched nerves. I forget the angle but there's a specific number that there's no more real benefit so I don't fully incline. In physical therapy they hang a weight (harness style) around your lower half and literally let it hang while you lay for 30 minutes or so to get that space between vertebrae. When we sleep it will naturally decompress and then it starts all over compressing during the day as we sit, walk, etc. Looking back it's incredible how far I've come with the sciatica and how much better I feel. Anyway I just thought I would mention it as I know how incredibly uncomfortable and painful it can be.

[ghost]

@Wilstorm appreciate the information i found sleeping on my stomach is extremely painful but helping getting my spines natural curve back. Im in a waiting list for physio threapy. I have done heavy lifting my whole life. I didnt fancy a career in programming so i done warehousing instead. Im more of a phsycial person cant be sitting down all day :)

[markwkidd]

Wow you all are right on my wavelength. Getting old is a good way to put it! I wish I started yoga before I started having chronic pain because it would have made my life much better. Now I swear by it. Better late than never.

I know a few other people who swear by inversion tables, including my chiropractor. My issue is that I travel somewhere around 90-120 days per year. Maybe more this year! If I had a table I often would not have it with me.

For portable tools, I have my own TENS electrostimulation device to help stop muscle spasms and interrupt pain signals. Worth its weight in gold. I recently purchased a "percussive" massager to work on muscle cramps in my leg and back. I'm liking it so far!

On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 1:10 PM, grant2258 notifications@github.com wrote:

@Wilstorm https://github.com/Wilstorm appreciate the information i found sleeping on my stomach is extremely painful but helping getting my spines natural curve back. Im in a waiting list for physio threapy. I have done heavy lifting my whole life. I didnt fancy a career in programming so i done warehousing instead. Im more of a phsycial person cant be sitting down all day :)

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-plus-libretro/issues/227#issuecomment-391445504, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ASphdlG-1okhRlhXNnBe02WcDPKjQTXHks5t1aYigaJpZM4UJf5Z .

-- Mark W. Kidd http://facebook.com/markwkidd (606)536-0115

[ghost]

oh the joys of getting old it cant be easy driving with that kind of pain mark :(

[Wilstorm]

@grant2258 - Well you're a good programmer for not being in the field! My Dad was the same way. He preferred "blue collar" work over white and hated working indoors. His whole life he spent outdoors. My brother is the same but my sisters aren't.

I sleep with a very thick pillow to fill the space between my shoulder and neck as I am tall over 6 foot and I am starting to notice some shoulder/neck pain when I sleep on my side. I can't do my back....uuugh!

One other thing I did, since I spend so much time at my desk is re-evaluate desk ergonomics at work and at home. It took me several weeks to get the correct height, distance for arms, legs, eyes, etc. Chair height, arm height (lack of adjustments on my chair arms, I removed them altogether and it's much better). Foot adjustments, good posture, etc. It took me several weeks of trying different things before I found what worked in all areas being pain free after a day at work. ;) Lot's of good information on the net for desk ergonomics.

@markwkidd - I was hesitant on the inversion table investment but it has been worth it's weight in gold. I thought about traveling also and they make some interesting devices that are "arced" you lay your back over to stretch out. I haven't tried it yet though. I invested in a few lumbar support devices for traveling that really are quite helpful more than I thought. Even a quality inflatable one for flying.

I don't mean to get off topic but man if one person can benefit and change one habit that helps them down the road it's worth it's weight in gold. Muscles are incredibly versatile and will compensate other muscles for years and years until "pop" things really start hurting. I wish ergonomics were more discussed and in practice about 40 years ago. That long term micro-trauma to the muscles is more damaging than hard impacts. I know it might sound weird but our muscles recover better/easier from large impacts (evolution) than the micro-trauma of keyboarding.

[markwkidd]

yep, you nailed it. driving is a problem -- I have to stop every hour or so. however it turns out that flying is even worse so I generally insist when I'm hired that I get to drive. I racked up about 24,000 miles / 39,000km on my car in 2017. 👾

On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 1:35 PM, grant2258 notifications@github.com wrote:

oh the joys of getting old it cant be easy driving with that kind of pain mark :(

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-plus-libretro/issues/227#issuecomment-391452978, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ASphdvnD5WO_FWGD6eeI5mkiYAXQmAEVks5t1avkgaJpZM4UJf5Z .

-- Mark W. Kidd http://facebook.com/markwkidd (606)536-0115

[Wilstorm]

@markwkidd - That's some serious windshield time. You must have every radio station and song memorized....or a new language! ;)

[Wilstorm]

One interesting exercise is laying on your back and lift your heels off the ground 2 inches. Do several reps daily. This is a huge help for core and might help driving. It's interesting to see how strong your core is when you shake. ;) Woman have stronger cores naturally, not sure for birthing or why.

[ghost]

Come on guys, i've had 8 alerts now about your therapy session !! :)

[Wilstorm]

@zappautopia - lol...that's what old guys do we discuss our aches and pains but it could be worse like BM's or something! ;)

[ghost]

issue is fixed please close if your happy enough with the fix mark