Housekeeping

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-18 07:55:48

This post is reserved for reports on update of WBA to Level 1

A shakedown run in test mode (output to file instead of Com port) revealed numerous adjustments needed to pull script items in correctly.

Once again, I'll set a goal of trying for a live test later today.

The script command count has increased from about 40 for Level 0 to over 100.

Many of those new commands are for control and monitoring.

***
Edit #1: For SpaceNut ... here is a tantalizing hint about Jeff Bezos that I can't pursue at the moment.

One New "Rocket Fuel" Tech
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos stunned investors recently when he revealed that one emerging technology is the key to Amazon’s future success…

I was under the impression Blue Origin was already at the peak of chemical technology, by mastering hydrogen and oxygen.

Edit#2: There are three phases in development of WBA (level 1) ...

The script is finished, after interaction with script loading into the runtime array.

Loading the script into the runtime command array appears to be finished.

The loading process allows for some errors to occur, with reporting so the operator can make adjustments.

Essentially NONE of the runtime array processing is working for the new commands.

I'll tackle that tomorrow.

It is a beautiful spring day here and chores await.

Edit#3: SpaceNut ... chances are you're the only forum member who might see this next item ...

In a current topic, Calliban made an observation that is at odds with work done previously. If we had a permanent repository, the statement made about the use of CO would be shown to have been refuted long ago by engineers on Earth.

As can be seen by searching the archive, it was duly reported in one of the posts about Internal Combustion engines that CO is a viable fuel. The only change from, Earth practice was GW Johnson's recommendation that Mars users substitute CO2 for Nitrogen as the buffer gas.

Calliban, having not read the previous work, has inadvertently created confusion with his recent post about the use of CO.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-18 13:51:06)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-19 07:26:38

For SpaceNut ....

I'd like to start with a delayed thanks for news of your eventual recovery from the second Moderna vaccine. Yours is one of the more severe reactions I've heard about, but a relative did report a similar experience with the second Phizer.

This post is reserved for reports on (hoped for) progress with WBA ... Since this is being developed "in real time" with no antecedent, it is not surprising that command expressions have to evolve as work continues. Last night I discovered a problem due to the similarity of CompareClipboard and CompareClipboard:

I'm revising those to: CompareClipboardText and CompareSavedClipboard.

I'm still bogged down in Script processing and loading the command array, but hope to advance to reading the command array at run time today.

***
The NewMarsMember * gmail.com account was quiet this morning.

A category of assistance that is beginning to glimmer in my mind's eye is Human Resources ... the current recruiting effort could be greatly expanded.

Edit#1:

Here is a sorted list of the commands in the Level 1 script:

<esc>,combine,control,a
backspace
CompareClipboard:1
CompareClipboard:2
CompareClipboard:http://newmars.com/forums/admin_bans.php
CompareClipboardLeft:http://newmars.com/forums/userlist.php?username=
Ctrl/l
Date:yyyy/mm/dd
Date:yyyymmdd
Enter
Number:5
PasteClipboard:1
PasteClipboard:3
PerformFunction:1
ReportClipboard
ReportClipboard:1
ReportClipboard:2
ReportClipboard:3
StoreClipboard:1
StoreClipboard:2
StoreClipboard:3
StoreClipboard:4
Tab:1
Text:http://newmars.com/forums/admin_bans.php?find_ban
Wait:5000

There are 102 commands in all

Loading of script items into the run time command array appears to be complete.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-19 19:02:46)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-20 10:45:10

Time for a break .... Phase 3 (Pulling commands from the command array) ** seemed ** to go well, but I'm taking a break for chores.

Testing is tentatively planned for this afternoon.

This post is reserved for updates on advancement of WBA to Level 1 automation.

Edit#1 after several test runs in write-to-log mode ... an elusive error is showing up ...

The run-from-array procedure is set up to assume a command is defective. Each section of the procedure must confirm that the command is valid, or it will be reported as defective at the end of the procedure. I suspect I've missed adding a confirmation somewhere along the line.

***
Bogdannue was logged in today.

This is the kind of member we want to carefully avoid catching in the spammer ID snare we are creating.

The registration date and last visit date do not match, so even though Bogdannue has not yet posted a message, we want to preserve and protect the ID.

Edit#2: WBA Level 1 appears to be ready for live testing. That should start tomorrow if plans hold.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-20 15:28:35)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-20 18:30:58

I am following the coding developments that are posted even if I can only follow them a bit until I look through what needs to happen with them....

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-21 06:55:48

For SpaceNut ... this post is reserved for updates on initial live testing of WBA Level 1

However, I'd like to open this particular post with the observation that snow has fallen in some abundance in the local area, and it is ** still ** falling well after sunrise.

Since the bird bath had been rotated from winter to summer mode, this weather event, while certainly not unusual, is still (to me at least) surprising!

***

At 10:47 local time ....here goes nothin'

At 10:50 local time ... bummer .... it halted on step 3 of 120 ... will study the log

Edit#2: OK ... the bailout logic was inverted ... then it turned out the bailout logic was only working in the Posts-Dates subroutine.

At least it is working ** there **.

I'm calling it a day.

Edit#3: After supper I went back to the challenge and made a bit of progress.

The AACKeys program seemed to handle some control keys (like Ctrl/L) correctly, but it's now balking, so I've decided to convert everything to escape sequences and will try again tomorrow.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-21 20:43:44)

Calliban · 2021-04-21 07:29:06

tahanson43206 wrote:

In a current topic, Calliban made an observation that is at odds with work done previously. If we had a permanent repository, the statement made about the use of CO would be shown to have been refuted long ago by engineers on Earth.
As can be seen by searching the archive, it was duly reported in one of the posts about Internal Combustion engines that CO is a viable fuel. The only change from, Earth practice was GW Johnson's recommendation that Mars users substitute CO2 for Nitrogen as the buffer gas.
Calliban, having not read the previous work, has inadvertently created confusion with his recent post about the use of CO.
(th)

That's interesting. What was it exactly?

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-21 08:45:30

For Calliban re #1031

First, thank you for looking in on Housekeeping ... most of the time I'd expect it to be of interest to SpaceNut, and I'm not even ** sure ** about SpaceNut....

I'm here right now to begin some testing for Id recovery, but am glad to see your question ...

If this forum structure were suitable for information retrieval, I'd be able to invite you to just look for "xyz' and you'd have it.

As it is the memory resides in the random access banks of my memory,and it will take some digging to find the actual citation.

The essence of it is (as well as i can remember) that a team of Earth-based researchers tested the suitability of CO for internal combustion engine application and found it workable. It was around that time (in the archive) that GW Johnson advocated for use of CO2 as a buffer gas.

The topic would have been the one about Internal combustion engines. I could suggestion gw johnson as an "author" and the Index level to whereever the Ic topic resides.

to all... if ** anyone **finds the reference post, please post a link to it here!

SpaceNut is able to find most anything, but he is at work.

the matter is important (to me at least) because an entire line of business (potentially) depends upon the viability of CO as a repository of stored energy on Mars.

It is readily and always available, and the output is non-polluting, in the sense that the atmosphere is restored to what it was before combustion.

***
i'd like to take this opportunity to renew my invitation to you to think about the software/data structure that Noah needs to support development of a ** real ** settlement design plan. We've been talking about Wiki but that may not be the best choice.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-22 07:34:17

For SpaceNut re ID Recovery WBA Level 1

Now I think I'm hitting hardware issues ... The transition from Level 0 (brute force) to Level 1 (feedback) means that the processing has to be carried out on the same machine, or (if possible) on two machines tightly connected with communication.

What ** may ** be occurring is that data may be garbled if the processor cannot keep up with data flows on the single machine I am using. I can't be sure at this point, but ** something ** appears to be happening that cannot be explained by defects in software, of which there were a decent number. I ** think ** most of those have been retired, and the test output (to a log file) looks right. However, in ** real ** testing (with a live Internet feed to the NewMars server), I'm seeing dropouts. Since the same (older) CPU has to handle ** all ** the traffic it may drop a bit here or there, and all it takes is ** one ** lost bit to end a session.

I have all the parts assembled for a fast 64 bit machine to handle this task, but I'll try again today to get it all to work on an older Dell laptop.

edit#1; ,combine,control,l.

WBA halted at step 16 ... the clue is the report above ....

that is an escape sequence for AACKeys.exe. It should not be showing up.

I ** suspect ** that the cause may be my current practice of sending the escape character ahead of the text, because that is easier from logical point of view. however, it is ** possible ** that on this hardware, the delay between arrival of the escape and the text may be sufficient to cause AACKeys.exe to assume the two are not related.

I'll revise the program so the entire sequence is delivered intact.

Edit#2: OK ... back for another test in live mode, with NO delay between the escape character and it's parameter string.

Edit#3: ,combine,control,l.

Well, ** that ** didn't fix the problem .... perhaps AACKeys.exe just does not like Control L ... or maybe the command has to be capitalized?

In any case, the alternative is to find the full text command for Formfeed and try that.

here is a bit of the log ...

Escape sequence stored at Array line: 15 <>
15: <>,combine,control,l.
15 is identical to line 6 which worked earlier
06: <>,combine,control,l.

Oh well .... live testing << sigh >>

Edit#3 .... there **is** a bit of good news in the log

Test Mode: Dump Clipboard Array to Log
http://newmars.com/forums/admin_bans.ph … ername%5D=

This confirms that the crucial capability is working ... feedback from the browser is the whole point of upgrading to Level 1... However, at ** this ** point, the capability only seems to be working ONCE.

Edit#4:
snegirosxb was online today.
***
I'm thinking of running a test using the hardware configuration that worked for Level 0, to try to ferret out why Level 1 is failing.

The test would involve sending from the laptop to a Win 7 machine, using an adapter cable to handle the serial traffic.

WBA has a mode to ignore mismatches, so it can run in Step mode through an entire script.

The operator on the Win 7 can capture feedback manually and save it in a text file.

If there ** is ** problem with how AACKeys.exe handles sequential escape sequences, it should show up.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-22 12:35:42)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-22 07:53:27

For SpaceNut and all ....

Noah wrote to NewMarsMember this morning .... the topic we've been considering recently is enhancing data storage available to the forum for a project, such as Settlement Design ...

Noah suggested YouTube as a possible location/storage method for consideration.

That suggestion is view expanding, for sure!

I'd suggested Dropbox as a possible storage location.

GW Johnson has made excellent use of the Wordpress platform to create permanent blog entries that capture his insights, experience and knowledge.

If there is a member of this forum who is bold enough to make video's (or a series of videos) about the Mars Settlement topic, and it (somehow) reflects favorably back upon the Mars Society and this forum, then I would ** think ** that would be welcome.

The Society has already made extensive use of YouTube for Convention proceedings.

I don't think we (Noah and I) (and perhaps others who may be thinking about this problem) have arrived at a solution yet. In my mind, Wiki (or something like it ) remains the best bet for repository of knowledge that can be updated easily (by the owners/supervisors) and is easily searchable by readers/members/public.

The ** existing ** forum structure does provide an anchor capability, and that is post #1 of a topic ...

The issue with YouTube or Dropbox or Wordpress is that these services are all ** separate ** from the forum. Imgur.com is a particularly valuable companion for forum members, because it (rather generously in my opinion) provides a rock-solid repository for images that can be shown in forum posts, and relied upon for months or (possibly) years.

Noah has made a decision to go with 8 people for an expedition design. Now, this number may not be optimum, as Oldfart1939 has already pointed out, but the ** only ** place that decision has a home is in Noah's mind, and a copy in mine.

The record of the decision has already passed under the bridge is floating out in the Gulf of Forgotten Posts at NewMars.com.

We need a way to quickly and easily go to a place where the number of expedition members is fixed in stone until Noah changes it.

The consequences of the decision on number of expedition members generates countless downstream decisions, all of which must be similarly documented and available for review by critics, supporters and users alike.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-22 08:10:43

I'm still in Housekeeping for this item ...

I'm using a Chromebook to communicate via NewMarsMember ...

It likes to promote Google related products and services.... this one caught my eye ...

www.youtube.com
SpaceX Artificial Gravity Starship concept

This may be an old video .... but it is clear that Google has selected the video based upon the activity going on on that Chromebook.

Edit#1: It turns out this is a new video animation of a design I'd like to call to the attention of RobertDyck. It is a considerable distance from the Large Ship, but it might show a way forward.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-22 10:53:39)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-23 04:58:02

For SpaceNut ID Recovery status and report

Today is a volunteer day so work on the WBA is unlikely

The issue at hand is the failures observed in flow of data from WBA through AACKeys to Browser on the same machine.

The diagnostic procedure I'm planning is to run the program in step mode without error checking, using the successful hardware configuration of Level 0.

This is also an opportunity to take the time to experiment with some of the 100+ commands available through AACKeys, of which I have only used two or three.

Perhaps greater reliability is possible if other commands are chosen, but I'm unsure of what is happening at the hardware level.

Setting up the two machine configuration is helpful for step mode, which is quite difficult when attempted on the same machine, because the cursor has to be moved from the WBA Step button to the target browser window within a wait period, so the target is active when the command is delivered through the serial port.

(th)

NewMarsMember · 2021-04-23 05:37:29

Asked Google ... what software does NASA use to plan missions?

About 61,400,000 results (0.65 seconds)
General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), Version R2020a
The General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) is the world's only enterprise, multi-mission, open source software system for space mission design, optimization, and navigation.Mar 3, 2021
Space Mission Design Tools | NASAhttps://www.nasa.gov › smallsat-institute › space-mission-...

(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-23 15:27:31

https://sourceforge.net/projects/gmat/

Features
Spacecraft Mission Design and Navigation
Full Mission Lifecycle Support
High Fidelity NASA Open Source Software
Optimized Maneuver and Trajectory Design
Operational Orbit Determination with Measurement Simulation Capability
Extendable and Customizable
Impulsive DeltaV and Continuous (Low, Medium, High) Thrust Modeling

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-23 20:05:08

For SpaceNut re #1038

Thanks for picking up on the GMAT Open Source software!

I hope there is someone "out there" in the readership who can investigate this suite of software, to see if it might help with the Settlement Design topic.

Contact NewMarsMember * gmail.com if you are interested in sharing what you've learned.

***
The WBA Level 1 is turning into a real slog ... I'm trying to work with AACKeys.exe because (so far) I've not learned how to inject data into a browser window, although (obviously) it can be done, since AACKeys.exe does it. AACKeys.exe seems to be ** really ** picky about what I send it and in what order.

The command for Control/L works fine at the opening of the script, but it may (or may not) fail subsequently.

I am experimenting with alternate commands to try to get past whatever AACKeys.exe finds objectionable.

For example, <esc>return. seems to work at least once.

A picky detail I just learned (from the documentation) is that the comma after <esc> is not needed for a single key, such as return.

Fortunately this project does not have a deadline, as would certainly be the case in the ** real world **.

I'll keep chipping away at the 120 commands in the script to try to find the combination that AACKeys.exe will accept.

At this point, I've got this sequence working:

1) Go to address line
2) Deliver query text
3) Enter to "submit" the query
4) Highlight the result to copy it
5) Copy the address line
***

It's good to see discussion of various topics underway.

***

The weekend is at hand ... I hope you get a bit of shop time for the Subaru!

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-24 09:03:54

This post is reserved for updates on testing of WBA Level 1 ...

*** This ** could ** be Subaru day!

The interaction between hardware and software is leading to missed command attempts. I'm trying to discover where AACKeys.exe is having a problem, so as to avoid creating conditions where it has to give up and punt.

I'm also back looking at interprocess communication. In Windows, every active window gets its own handle. There is a function call that can find Notepad reliably, but Notepad is 'registered" in the System Registry so that it can be found when a FindWindow call is given. I've NOT been able to discover the handle assigned to windows created applications that are NOT registered in the way that Notepad is.

Today, I looked into whether a process can discover the handle of a window ** it ** created. I would think that would be possible, but it may not.

***
WBA is updated to show the exact command it is processing in Step mode. That will help to understand the behavior observed at the browser, which is at the tail end of a convoluted path from the Dell, through a serial cable to a USB port on Win 7, from there to AACKeys.exe, and from there via SendKeys to the browser window.

AACKeys.exe is unable to report on problems it encounters, so the operator has to deduce the nature of the problem by indirect means.

The "best" (if you can call it that) clue that AACKeys.exe provides is to show the text of a command it was unable to process.

*** Update at 12:47 local time ... testing is going better than previously ...

Stopped at step 45 to investigate ...

A complication is that the latest edition of Edge requires different tab counts due to the presence of new on-screen tab stops.

Changes to the format of escape sequences seems to have improved acceptability to AACKeys.exe.

*** Update at 14:49 local time ... A bit of progress seems solid ... a detail in the script needs to be addressed ...

In manual testing, tabbing to a field resulted in the field being highlighted to it could be captured.

In live testing with automated input, the destination field was NOT highlighted.

An experiment revealed that ** if ** the cursor is ** in ** a field, then Ctrl/A will capture the text in the field.

*** Update at 20:13 local time ... 4459 ** appears ** to have been processed in Step mode.

I had to manually simulate the feedback, and added a couple of commands along the way as the need became apparent.

I'll go back to "one machine" mode for the next test. The script appears to work in "two machine" mode, with lots and lots of delay built in.

Edit later on ... Well! ** This ** is interesting ... the 4459 ID is visible in the User ID query as banned.

That is different from what we saw with the Not Verified ID's

TestID04459 Banned 0 2017-05-01

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-24 18:26:56)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-24 19:22:44

Looks like the original list had AllisonZim as the next ID that was banned by me so that makes sense that it is now been converted to the next id 4459 which is now in the user table ready to use.....

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-24 19:38:05

For SpaceNut re #1041

Just FYI ... I'm working from the back of the query, because (right now) I don't have a way to deal with the empty ID's that were set up to block certain IP addresses. 4459 was one of those ZZZZ Id's.

I'm relieved to have gotten through one cycle of the script, but that was with "hands on" at every step. Tomorrow I'll try running with stops enabled. It will be astonishing (to me for sure!) if it works without further adjustment.

I'm also concerned/worried that hardware is an issue ... The test today was run on the "old reliable" two-machine configuration that processed all those Not Verified ID's. The Level 1 program ** has ** to run on one machine because feedback has to flow from the browser back to WBA, in order for it to be sure the action requested actually happened.

I've added more Waits, and may have to add more, if ACCKeys.exe can't keep up.

*** I think AllisonZim might have been used for an earlier manual walk-through.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-25 06:11:42

This post is reserved for updates on WBA Level 1 progress ...

A capability is needed to initiate stepping behavior of the program without taking focus away from the browser. That is why I moved back to the two-machine configuration. It ** appears ** that actuating the shift key does not (in itself) trigger a move of the focus from one window to another in Microsoft OS.

However, activation of a shift key ** is ** (apparently) noticed by the OS, so it ** should ** be possible to simulate actuation of the Step procedure by pressing the shift key, so I'll investigate that first.

If ** that ** succeeds, then it makes sense to try another live test.

Update at 15:49 local time ... the ** great ** idea of using the shift key as a signal won't work. The compiler documentation makes clear that the key sensor ONLY works if the window has focus, and in this case, the whole point is to keep focus on the browser.

Another alternative is to monitor a serial port, but at present, I have no way to control a serial port.

I'll let this one sit overnight.

Edit at 16:50 local time ... hope springs eternal! It turns out that there is such a thing as a Global Hot Key that can be registered by an application and then removed after use. It allows the application to monitor the keyboard without having the focus, which is the situation here.

I'll pursue that tomorrow .... once again Google (and StackExchange) have come to the rescue.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-25 14:52:30)

NewMarsMember · 2021-04-25 07:24:57

I've decided to put this into housekeeping ....

The nature of an optimum data structure for Noah's project, or for RobertDyck's large ship, or for ** any ** of the projects/visions posted by forum members over 20 years is unclear.

I get the impression not ** one ** of the existing members of this forum (who post) has a clue how to go about creating one.

In past centuries, ** everything ** was done on paper, and in much of the world that is ** still ** how projects are developed, supervised and evaluated. The Egyptians used (according to reports I've seen) papyrus scrolls to record their plans for organizing the labor of thousands and movement of megatons of material.

The Apollo project was carried out almost entirely on paper.

Paper is good! But an electronic system would be better in the special circumstances of the forum, which is a global network sustained by electron movements and the occasional photon, so that information/decisions are transferred between human brains.

Organizing large projects, such as the Large Ship or a Mars Settlement, requires the pinning of decisions ... The path to be followed cannot change from one day to the next based upon the arrival of a new alternative that may be marginally better.

Noah has suggested a crew of 8 people for an expedition. Another number may be better, and indeed, another number does indeed look better. But whatever the number is, it needs to be fixed in stone (chiseled into a block of granite) so that all the decisions that flow from that point can begin.

(th)

Last edited by NewMarsMember (2021-04-25 07:25:56)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-25 09:14:52

The start of Noah's project of a mars settlement was based on no supporting information on how we get to mars let along what it takes for man to do that out going leg of the mars journey.
It also did not take into account return of crews from the building cycles in which that by itself is going to take a toll on the human element of the building of the settlement.

The first page needs to have the elements in that first post....much like I pointed out the scale and time duration for getting to the crew to that point using what ships and limitations.
As much as I want a Louis starship its not there and will not be so for sometime still so plan with what you know can be used with small modifications.

Look to the human business plan for structure on what we have....

The rocket you chose to use is the limiting factor for each leg of the journey to and from mars as its the payload capablity that we are chosing to live within....

edit
from the Rapp document

The estimated requirements for consumables for a crew of six for round trip to the surface of Mars exceeds 100 metric tons (mT) and may be as much as ~200 mT.

So for 8 we are increasing by a 3rd these numbers....which puts even a starship out to its extreme and we have not moved a single piece of equipment, materials to build or anything else required to make a settlement with....

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-25 11:19:59

For SpaceNut re #1045

Thanks for providing feedback to Noah about what you would like to see.

It sounds (to me at least) as though your preference is that the means of getting to Mars should be known before any plans are made for what to do when an expedition arrives.

However, it seems to me the two items are distinct and separate.

Return of crews is also a separate subject.

The are all bound together if the topic is about an "expedition"

I think is is worth asking Noah if he is thinking about an "expedition" or the title of the topic

In addition, I see little need to re-invent a settlement concept, since many (more than six) thoroughly developed plans/visions are already available for study. These (or some of these) can be studied in the videos from the 2020 Mars Society convention.

The teams and their leaders are listed and they may be available to contribute to the Settlement Design topic.

Instead, after study of all proposals, the best elements can be chosen, and decisions made.

The problem ** I ** trying to address is how to document decisions that are made, ** within ** the framework of the Mars Society.

At present, so far as I can see, we do not have such a framework.

It would be helpful if forum members could contribute suggestions for software systems to consider.

Wiki remains a possibility, since the Society has experience with it.

There may be other systems that would meet Society needs above and beyond what the forum needs.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-25 11:21:05)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-25 17:13:40

For SpaceNut primarily and all who might be interested ...

The forum topics include only two that contain the word "expedition"

Neither is about planning an actual expedition to Mars, but the Arctic experiment comes pretty close ...

http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 84#p174184

Thanks again for providing the link to that Mars Society experiment.

Would you be receptive to someone creating a topic for planning an actual expedition?

There are groups around the world thinking about that challenge.

Is there any reason the forum could not have a topic dedicated to a realistic study of what would be involved.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-25 17:32:32

Most think that expedition is exploration for when it comes to the planning of what you will do once there.
In this case we are talking about a first mission plan.

This is the robotic mars exploration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Expl … ning_Group

Here is the space x plan
https://www.inverse.com/article/51291-s … g-a-colony

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ … p-to-mars/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mars_Project

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-26 08:34:48

For SpaceNut ...

Here is an option for you to consider as one of the missions of this forum: recording of knowledge

I am "advertising" this forum in Dr. Lewis Dartnell's Knowledge Forum, and I just added that phrase as something the forum is doing.

The forum accumulates a ** lot ** of practical advice based upon experience and study.

A distinct weakness of the forum architecture is lack of an index or table of contents, and while that remains the case, only well designed tags for use in conjunction with the Search tool can help readers to find content.

Edit#1: I'll use this post for updates on the WBA project ...

At the last update, I had been attempting to find a way to control a program running as a service, which is the technical description of what it is doing when it is controlling a web browser and taking feedback from the browser to determine what to do next.

The keyboard on a system is (normally) assigned 100% to the window that has focus. In this case, the browser has focus.

Happily, someone asked Microsoft's Social component of the MSDN support service how to control a service from a keyboard that is assigned to a process.

Equally happily, a person with an answer took the time to publish it.

I downloaded the example, compiled it and it (sort of) worked. I was expecting today's date to show up in the controlling program, and got a 5 instead.

I'll settle for a 5 at this point. 10 would have been a date, but **anything** showing up in the control program after operation of Global Hotkeys is a win!

Accordingly, I'm taking a break for local chores, and I'll pick up the ball later today to see if I can implement the HotKey feature in WBA Level 1.

Edit#2: I went back and looked at the sample code more closely ... the output was indeed pulling today's date from the system, but only showing the current second. As I repeated the key combination the count of seconds tracked with the system display on the screen.

I'm calling this one a 10! It appears the control needed for Step testing of WBA with a browser in the same machine is available.

I'll install the Hotkey code tomorrow, and (hopefully) give the system a test run in Live Step mode.

There are about 50 (or so) points of failure lurking in the new script, so I'm not expecting success on the first try.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-26 17:31:48)

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-27 05:34:15

For SpaceNut (and anyone else who might be interested) ...

This post is reserved for updates on the ID Recovery project, and specifically testing of WBA with the new Global Hotkey added.

I tested the program (with the modification) last night, and it worked as advertised. The Hotkey was picked up by WBA without disturbing focus on Notepad.

Through this mechanism, it is now possible to run WBA in Step mode, to monitor the performance of each script command.

This will be the first live test of the Level 1 concept with the NewMars FluxBB server.

Edit#1: well, the stop worked when the browser went astray.

that's definitely good! However, at this point I have no idea what happened to cause the browser to show active posts instead of looking at the query. One possibility is that the tab count is different from the count observed in the manual test.

Time to study the log.

Edit at 15:07 local time ... There ** was ** a command missing from the script.

The program updated TestID04460 but hit a snag in the Ban page phase. I finished it manually and will look at the log later. The Level 1 procedure has numerous checks built in. It depends upon successful retrieval of data from the clipboard, which depends upon successful copy of highlighted text in the browser.

One mini-milestone I was happy to see reached was the special function call to verify the user has no posts and that the two critical dates are identical. That worked!

***
Operating in Step mode requires a ** very ** reliable keyboard. The folding keyboard that is packed with the Dell laptop is NOT reliable enoug, so I found an unused USB desktop keyboard and the Alt-Numpad1 combination became a bit more reliable.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-04-27 13:12:41)

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