Is there a way to decompile a STOS program?

[ST Devil]

I used to program in STOS way back when (STart Magazine days) and have been able to find some of my programs recently on the web (couldn't believe it!) after a little searching. After playing around with them in STeem, I got the itch to want to see my code, but have not been able to find any information on if it's possible to get my STOS Basic code back out of the PRG files that I have. Is this even possible? It would be awesome to go back and see what your own thought processes were back then. I doubt I will ever find the source code (probably on some floppy disks in my parents attic that have either melted over the years or worse) and I'm sure I can't ask STart for my original disk on one of them .

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[ggn]

My advice is to start searching fo those source disks

Even if there could be such a thing as a decompiler, all comments would be lost anyway (you did comment your sources, right?)

[Mug UK]

Same with me .. lots of good old routines I did in GFA v2 / v3 lost as there's no decent decompiler out there.

However, when netatari is released, it apparently can do decompiling. But as per previous post, your comments don't appear in the end result .PRG file so you'd have to go through your code once more ..

[ST Devil]

Thanks for the speedy replies, guys. I was afraid that was going to be the answer. Maybe a trip to the parents attic isn't such a bad idea afterall. And yes, ggn, I did comment my code. Sometimes I think I spent more time doing that than actually coding. I used to have a bad habit of "hitting my stride" while coding and doing too much "I'll remember what I was doing..." only to come back some time later and spend 20 minutes wondering "What the heck was I trying to do? What is Q1$ for!?" So I made a habit of doing better REM statements and then going back through after a bit and making my comments more clear. Ahh, the memories!

I'll start looking for info on this netatari program. Thanks again for the help.

It's great to see there is still an Atari community around after all these years.

[ggn]

And if you manage to find your sources, I'm sure there will be a web space to store them so they won't be lost again

[charles]

hello faaithfull atari stos-ers.

hows things?

i am not neaRLY AS TALenteD AS MOST WOULD LIKE TO THINK BUT I SEEM TO remember a way to compile stos files withOUt the compiler...
but not to bore you with ramblings and babIlings.....my only suggestion is to change the extention of your program back to .bas instead of .prg .app or .tos.....then load it into the stos interprepter

lets hope the stos allows you to decipher the code from here!

o.k just a suggestion

charles

[ggn]

Hmmmm....

IIRC (STOS was used very little by me), if you put your .bas file in the stos folder and give it a specific name (autoexec.bas??), then the prog can be run without compilation.

But renaming an executable and loading it into the STOS interpreter? Hmmmmm.....

[Mug UK]

IIRC (STOS was used very little by me), if you put your .bas file in the stos folder and give it a specific name (autoexec.bas??), then the prog can be run without compilation.

But renaming an executable and loading it into the STOS interpreter? Hmmmmm.....

Very true .. before the compiler was released, most people placed their .BAS file(s) onto the disk and the disk was filled up with the STOS Runtime libraries.

If the program is in a proper executable format (ie. no runtime libraries or shell extensions) then a proper decompiler will be needed to "break in".

Same as on the PC with Visual Basic 3 .. decompiler was written by someone who initially wrote a GFA BASIC v2/v3 decompiler on the Atari ST