Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
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posted: 27 Nov 2019 02:54 from: Martin Wynne
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As you know I recently introduced a new MECBOX interchange file format for BOX data transfers between T2 and T3. So thoughts naturally turned to doing something similar for the BGS background shapes files, which are equally incompatible between T2 and T3 as they stand. The existing BGS binary file format was invented in 5 minutes flat on a wet Wednesday afternoon 25 years ago, solely for the purpose of getting some data from one computer to another before teatime, on a floppy disk. (The data, not the tea.) The BGS format has been a constant thorn in my side ever since. It is so primitive that it has been impossible to add some much-needed extra functions to the background shapes, and the picture shapes and maps had to be bolted on the side as separate SK7n and SK8n files. It should have been replaced years ago of course -- but I originally intended that the sketchboard functions would replace the background shapes entirely. That didn't work out in the end, and now with the screenshot maps it wouldn't have been ideal. So we are where we are, still using the same old BGS file format. Until now that is. It seemed that if I was going to invent a new transfer format, I might as well do it properly and invent a completely new compatible format for T2 and T3 to replace the BGS files entirely. So for the next program update 225a we have a new BGS3 file format. Your old BGS/SK7/SK8 files can still be loaded (in T2 only), but all saving of background shapes will now be in BGS3. A single file including the picture shapes and maps, making it much easier to share with other users and attach to posts here. For MECBOX with around 500 settings for every template, I used the old Windows INI format, which is natively supported in both Delphi and Lazarus. It's easy to use, tried and tested, but slow. That doesn't really matter for one-time transfer use. Also it doesn't easily support embedded image files, which we need for the background shapes. So for BGS3 I have used XML instead. Like INI it is text-based and readable, and editable in a text editor, although I wouldn't recommend doing that. Fortunately we already have Nils's open-source XML engine used for the sketchboard SK9 files: http://sourceforge.net/projects/simdesign/files/trunk/nativexml/ So I was able to use that more or less as-is, and much to my relief I found that it compiled in Lazarus with only a few minor tweaks. Here is an example of what a BGS3 file looks like: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <BGS3> <HEADER> <program_name>Templot2 background shapes, saved from version 2.25.a</program_name> <program_version>225</program_version> <file_date>27/11/2019 01:50:17</file_date> <shapes_count>6</shapes_count> </HEADER> <BGND_SHAPE_0> <shape_name>baseboard joint</shape_name> <wrap_offset>0</wrap_offset> <show_transparent>False</show_transparent> <shape_code>0</shape_code> <shape_style>0</shape_style> <picture_is_metafile>False</picture_is_metafile> <hide_bits>0</hide_bits> <option_bits>0</option_bits> <p1.x>430.871098</p1.x> <p1.y>289.968693</p1.y> <p2.x>525.013974</p2.x> <p2.y>283.980807</p2.y> </BGND_SHAPE_0> <BGND_SHAPE_1> <shape_name>drawn rectangle</shape_name> <wrap_offset>0</wrap_offset> <show_transparent>False</show_transparent> <shape_code>1</shape_code> <shape_style>0</shape_style> <picture_is_metafile>False</picture_is_metafile> <hide_bits>0</hide_bits> <option_bits>0</option_bits> <p1.x>382.809599</p1.x> <p1.y>335.272227</p1.y> <p2.x>544.937057</p2.x> <p2.y>485.890637</p2.y> </BGND_SHAPE_1> <BGND_SHAPE_2> <shape_name>map::Bewdley OSM 6S19 screenshot</shape_name> <wrap_offset>0</wrap_offset> <show_transparent>False</show_transparent> <shape_code>-1</shape_code> <shape_style>0</shape_style> <picture_is_metafile>False</picture_is_metafile> <hide_bits>0</hide_bits> <option_bits>0</option_bits> <p1.x>0</p1.x> <p1.y>0</p1.y> <p2.x>6505.92284</p2.x> <p2.y>3397.68367</p2.y> <image_width>1978</image_width> <image_height>1033</image_height> <BITMAP> <SourceSize>6131942</SourceSize> <CompressedSize>728739</CompressedSize> <Buffer> hT4MAGsBCwBYpAkA/wAD/wIED8DwBfwGCz8K/ggHAQ48gAkM+xEvDRgoECMSFO8TvyAXFRYfGjAb GR4dHDL9+CJ/KyEuPiwkJ+AlOyr6JkApLTgzMTQ6gvk2PTU386BHOfew9exB9rxgQkNETUXuTEi+ 9ErPRpZLT/JJabu4TlBaVFGlU1jrUuRX8VVWXOOvWepfXdBbXnB0w9vf6G5kZXthjG+rZmLMY8qE 7bprzmfni+aIrKOOyGjpbNiPanrc5Yp8bYPikN5zcXV3dn6uctmz3b2F4Z+qeNN9zdTLgXmHponV t7mikaTFntqG19LEx8GtsbLWqLSYwo3Rnam2xpuZk5ynkqG1lMmal5X//PiE++v+7+/7/u+7f/// /3v/+/////////////////////+////v/////////////////////////////////////4qPGCeh EzoTJ/LII0/oxIoMOmJH/Igr0om8jzziiLmEjzQj6oGOPOESNnETOiI78h/yivwipoi/EjdhI/KE TeyMKAs68sSPrBM6sRM3IjnyGuKK/CK+yOsSO/LIJqETPiPLDE3oyDrxEzvihM+Mg478B6uIL+KL uCuhIk6shI80I2rITdjIOzJG2Igj3ogWYSM+gityG+KNvCeiiD3hI03YhM7II7ITNrKK/BI6oRM6 Y6d+ue+16l/72eNlqtrbdeme13y7oXvdPvLESeiEzsgz+iOP/CK+ETuhEzbzun35l919677X5t9l ... There is an option setting to make it easily readable as above for bug tracking, but for normal use it will be in the compact style as below (I'm not convinced the compressed image data will be reliable with inserted line feed characters and indents as above, although it has worked fine in my tests.) <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <BGS3><HEADER><program_name>Templot2 background shapes, saved from version 2.25.a</program_name><program_version>225</program_version><file_date>27/11/2019 01:55:11</file_date><shapes_count>6</shapes_count></HEADER><BGND_SHAPE_0><shape_name>baseboard joint</shape_name><wrap_offset>0</wrap_offset><show_transparent>False</show_transparent><shape_code>0</shape_code><shape_style>0</shape_style><picture_is_metafile>False</picture_is_metafile><hide_bits>0</hide_bits><option_bits>0</option_bits><p1.x>430.871098</p1.x><p1.y>289.968693</p1.y><p2.x>525.013974</p2.x><p2.y>283.980807</p2.y></BGND_SHAPE_0><BGND_SHAPE_1><shape_name>drawn rectangle</shape_name><wrap_offset>0</wrap_offset><show_transparent>False</show_transparent><shape_code>1</shape_code><shape_style>0</shape_style><picture_is_metafile>False</picture_is_metafile><hide_bits>0</hide_bits><option_bits>0</option_bits><p1.x>382.809599</p1.x><p1.y>335.272227</p1.y><p2.x>544.937057</p2.x><p2.y>485.890637</p2.y></BGND_SHAPE_1><BGND_SHAPE_2><shape_name>map::Bewdley OSM 6S19 screenshot</shape_name><wrap_offset>0</wrap_offset><show_transparent>False</show_transparent><shape_code>-1</shape_code><shape_style>0</shape_style><picture_is_metafile>False</picture_is_metafile><hide_bits>0</hide_bits><option_bits>0</option_bits><p1.x>0</p1.x><p1.y>0</p1.y><p2.x>6505.92284</p2.x><p2.y>3397.68367</p2.y><image_width>1978</image_width><image_height>1033</image_height><BITMAP><SourceSize>6131942</SourceSize><CompressedSize>728739</CompressedSize><Buffer>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 ... In the next program update soon. cheers, Martin. |
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