Foenix Marketplace – Frequently Asked Questions
Question not represented below? Ask a new question by contacting us at the bottom of this form.
Q: How much does it cost to subscribe to the Foenix Marketplace; how do publishers of content benefit?
Answer: There are no subscriptions, no fees, no cost. You may come and go as you please to browse, casually download, or hoard content. Our mission is to share publicly available code, information, and apps for Foenix Platforms and retro-compute without prejudice or paywalls. Developer and publishers benefit by enjoying recognition from their peers, by receiving feedback and by having their work shared in a way that helps others.
Q: What is easiest way to transfer or load downloaded content to my Foenix Platform or to the IDE (emulator)?
Answer: The most simple method, accessible on every platform, is to move content (whether .pgz or .spr type files) to a properly formatted SD card on your PC or Mac and then carefully insert the card into your Foenix System. At present this will not work with .hex files but it is expected that a native .hex loader will be written at some point. If you have a hard disk, you may wish to transfer the files onto the internal hard disk or even to floppy disk if your system supports one.
Loading apps into the IDE (emulator) is trivial since it runs on the same platform you downloaded content onto. In this case, it’s simply the matter of “File | Open Executable File”. There are also SD tools under the “Tools” menu.
A couple of serial protocol transfer options are in the works and may be released in the next few months; one uses a remote agent and leverages a 115,200 bps serial protocol, the other runs SLIP (IP over serial across WiFi).
Ultimately, it is envisioned that RJ45 CAT5 ethernet port which is present on many systems will have environment support for quick and easy transfer to/from Windows, Mac and Linux systems.
Q: How do I execute code; load or start programs?
Answer: Depending on the type of program, you will need to LOAD “{filename}.BAS” into BASIC816 and then type RUN or BRUN “{filename}.PGX” or BRUN “{filename}.PGZ” from BASIC if a binary Program file. PGX and PGZ files (see the “Explainer” link on the main page) are similar to Commodore format ‘PGM’ files to the extent that they contain the start address and embedded binary content. PGX and PGZ files, however, also provide a means for the system to start the application and in the case of PGZ files, may be composed of multi-segment binaries that load into different areas of memory (versus a contiguous block).
Q: Does the Foenix Marketplace retain old versions of applications and code?
Answer: Yes, until further notice, we intend on keeping all content unless the author notifies us of a reason not to (aka, serious bug or flaw that may result in data loss, as a fictitious example). Many of the apps have version numbers logged and in all cases, a filter or text search for a given set of apps will list all matching versions in chronological order with the newest version on top.
Q: How do I upload content/apps if I’m a developer or publisher of content that I think will be useful to other?
Answer: Reach out to Michael via the feedback form below or on Discord. At present there is no direct upload but we are considering adding this in future.
Q: What do I do if I have a bug report or a question about an app or want to reach out to a developer?
Answer: Some developers or authors are happy to provide support and bug fixes, others publish just once as a personal project and move onto the next endeavor. Despite the first name of my contact information, no commerce is carried out here and authors are not paid, therefore no expressed or implied warranty is provided; however, this is an open and accepting community that was built upon trust and helping one another so there is a good chance you will be able to get feedback via the Discord forum or by contacting me and I’ll see what I can do to help. Many of the apps here have documented github links in which case you can get your hands on the source code and potentially pull, merge and help others in kind (or see if somebody else is up for helping).
Q: How frequently is content added or updated?
Answer: Every two or three weeks, however we expect the frequency to increase as more systems make their way into the hands of users and additional content, code, and binaries becomes available.
Q: Why no https certificate?
Answer: We strive to keep an ‘open’ platform and part of this openness is embracing legacy platforms that do not possess https capabilities but do have prior generation web browsers or basic http capabilities. Foenix is one of these platforms and we intend on building a transfer agent for content directly-to-platform. IMPORTANT to note that we do not capture or store any information from users of the Foenix Marketplace therefore, you should feel confident that none of your personal information, email address, etc. will be compromised.