Proton BASIC Community

I've recently installed an older version of the proton-compiler on a I3-W10 latop. all went well except that I get the message

"the dynamic link library Sparkey.dll could not be found in the specified path".

checking with a different w10-laptop hasn't yielded usefull clues.
on this W10-laptop the picbasic suite works well, however this laptop is so slow I wanted to upgrade to one somewhat quicker

could someone help me out

kind regards Anne

Sorry I can't help with the sparkey.dll but the Proton suite is obsolete now anyway.

I would have thought that the cost of the latest compiler would be far less than the cost of a replacement laptop. Also, the compiler isn't particularly demanding of PC resources. If your laptop is very slow then it may have a hardware fault or Windows may need to be reinstalled.

I suggest that you purchase a copy of the Positron compilers which are far more up to date device wise and more advanced in terms of syntax than the Proton suite and no Spark dongle is required.

Quote from: Lemans on Jul 14, 2024, 07:45 PM"the dynamic link library Sparkey.dll could not be found in the specified path".

checking with a different w10-laptop hasn't yielded usefull clues

There was a Windows driver you have to install for the dongle that allows compilation to work, I think it is referring to that fact that the drive is missing.
If you have Proton installed & working on another PC you could could try using the File explorer to searching for the DLL on that one (may be in a hidden folder) as I am not sure iif t is was specific for Proton or a generic driver you could find online.

However as @John Lawton said, that is now a very old and unusupported version and you would be better off upgrading to the latest version (good value at £39.99?, message top204) as...

• It no longer uses dongels so that fact you may not be able to find the relevant dongle driver becomes irrellivant
• If you request help/example code from users, as most here are using more up to date version the solutions provided may not work for you as they are using commands/features not availabe on your version.
• You can compile for more newer devices devices, which can become beneficial as older devices are phased out of production.

 

the old proton-CD has given me more then 10 years of excellent performance. and the slow-top was perfect for oily mechanical workshop conditions but has also run out of very day use.
I think the advice to purchase a new licence is the best one. which I'll do. and acquire a faster laptop.

some questions:
- the positron8 and positron 16 are bundled together in the same download?
- can I use the positron the continue development of my old projects?
- can I install the suite on more laptops as I've one in my office and one in the workshop

kind regards Anne

I agree with John and Stephen. However I'm fairly sure I have a copy of sparkey.dll, I'll have a look tomorrow Anne.  It's nearly 23:00 here.
John

Hi Anne, our messages crossed.
When you buy Positron from Les he provides you with a personalised copy that can be loaded onto all of your machines. No key needed.
It's a good deal.
There are a few minor things that may need minor adjustment to old programs.
Cheers
John

Hi,
Here is the Sparkey DLL, I notice I have put 64 bit on the folder but not sure if there was a 32 bit one.

As others have said it is definitely worth upgrading to Positron, if nothing else it gives Les a bit of support to give us the continued support.
Also I doubt the version you have has procedures which is like subroutines on steroids.

sparkey_64bit.zip

Bob

Quote from: Lemans on Jul 15, 2024, 01:14 PMsome questions:
- the positron8 and positron 16 are bundled together in the same download?
- can I use the positron the continue development of my old projects?
- can I install the suite on more laptops as I've one in my office and one in the workshop

kind regards Anne

Both the 8bit & 16bit compilers are included.

Yes, you can still use it to work on older projects, however you may get the occasional warning if you have not kept them up to data with regard ot certain commands that have been depreciated to legacy (i.e. Paramater passing subroutines replaced by proceedures) and are now only retained so that older programs will still compile or rendered obsolete and so produce no code at compiler time like All_Digital as now the complier automatically sets the I/O pins to digital.
I did write a program that would help convert older Proton code to more Positron compatilbe code to account for some of those redunancy/legacy changes which you might find useful if you find you are having problems of that nature, information about it is in this post.

There is no inherent limit built in that would prevent you from installing it on multiple PC's as long as it is for you own use.   

Note:
The original Mechanique IDE that is supplied does not correctly show the current compiler version which can confuse some people, so if you are not doing so already you might want to consider using either the Positron Studio or FineLine IDE instead, I don't if know the VScode IDE by Atomix does but youu can find the alternative IDE's here.

Les send me the Link today, and I downloaded and installed the positron-software.
I now have a fast W10-laptop with positron,
ready for the next (10) years,
thanks for all help and advice.
Kind regards Anne