[WP34S] Creating My Own calc_full.bin Message #1 Posted by Les Wright on 3 Apr 2012, 1:27 a.m.
I am aware that it is recommended to flash with the calc_full.bin binary provided with each release so that the user has all of the extra programs in flash memory on the calculator. I haven't been doing that since I really like to work with a "clean" machine to start.
However, in experimenting with how to get my programs back onto to my calc after erasing it with each new firmware update, I have found that concatenating files using the Unix cat function on Mac OS X works just fine. I guessed this was the analogy to the DOS/Windows copy /b command used in the the join.cmd file provided with the various releases. I had tried to concatenate my own binaries with copy /b when I was using v. 2.2, but could never seem to get it right so I eventually gave up.
If all of my programs are in programs.txt, I first create a flash library in the appropriate format:
$ wp34s_lib.pl -olib wp34s-lib.dat programs.txt
That done I concatenate this with the exist calc.bin file:
$ cat calc.bin wp34s-lib.dat > my_calc_full.bin
I then go over to MySamba in my Windows XP installation under Fusion, and flash the calc with my_calc_full.bin, and on resetting the calc from the flash cable and turning it on my programs are all there in the flash library.
This was easy enough to figure out but I don't recall seeing it documented explicitly anywhere. Should it be? Learning to do this saves me several steps and lots of time when restoring the calc's programs after a new firmware flashing. Of course, I will still need to use the emulator and calc serial transfer commands to move other RAM contents like registers and settings, but this seems to be the best way to move programs, especially when the size of one's library grows larger than the maximum allowable size of RAM.
Comments welcome!
Les
Edited: 3 Apr 2012, 1:45 a.m.
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