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DS development > Idea - Better wireless boot tool for developers

#66142 - bluescrn - Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:33 pm

After another weekend of many, many WifiMe downloads, I'm thinking it's about time for a better tool for developers, for quicker testing cycles - and now the WiFi lib is in a usable state, how about an improved method of running our code over the WiFi?

- Small client app boots from a flash cart, goes straight into 'listen' mode
- PC app sends the .nds over UDP (or TCP eventually)
- Client shuffles things around memory and boots the .NDS

Advantages
- Works with most wireless networks (won't require specific card)
- Will work with any DS that can be booted from a flash cart (if WiFiMe doesn't work with recent/future DSs?)
- Will boot with no button presses required!
- Should be faster - avoids the few seconds spent in the DS UI

Is anyone working on such a tool already? I've seen the 'DS Wifi Transfer' thread, which is a similar idea (http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=7794&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) But that requires specific hardware (am I in the minority still using a GBA flash cart?...), and doesn't seem focused towards developers (1-click testing...)

I can't imagine that it's a huge job (for someone that understands the .NDS format and DS initialisation process), if it was based on the existing WiFi test app? (with the network settings and loaded from SRAM, or even just hard-coded...)

#66164 - juhees - Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:55 pm

bluescrn wrote:

Advantages
- Works with most wireless networks (won't require specific card)


That would be nice

bluescrn wrote:

- Will work with any DS that can be booted from a flash cart (if WiFiMe doesn't work with recent/future DSs?)

WiFiMe doesn't work with all new DSes (Firmware v4), what you meant is wmb, which will allways work (multiplayer with one cartridge would be impossible otherwise!)

bluescrn wrote:

- Will boot with no button presses required!
- Should be faster - avoids the few seconds spent in the DS UI

Whohoo! 4 secounds saved!
I don't think, anyone is working on it yet, but you could try it if you like.

#66165 - pepsiman - Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:08 pm

bluescrn wrote:
Is anyone working on such a tool already?

Nintendo provide one with their SDK.
Unfortunately, we can't legally use it.

#66177 - bafio - Sun Jan 08, 2006 8:40 pm

bluescrn wrote:

[...]
Is anyone working on such a tool already? I've seen the 'DS Wifi Transfer' thread, which is a similar idea (http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=7794&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) But that requires specific hardware (am I in the minority still using a GBA flash cart?...), and doesn't seem focused towards developers (1-click testing...)
[...]


Hi,

I am developing the WiFI transfer program, and actually the idea of the program came to me after seeing how many times you have to insert and remove the card. The program is still in early development, and I have only a GBAMP, so it does not focus on Flashcards (I really wouldn't know where to start).
I am thinking about releasing the source code, so that could be a good base for somebody with expirience on flash cards to add that support.
As for direct execution of a specified application after downloading, that isn't hard to implement (mostly have to cut code) so I see if I can make a modified version for that (I saw some other people interested in that).

Bafio

#66246 - tepples - Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:47 am

Are you going to have it rely on a specific server program on the PC? Or are you going to make it use a well-known file transfer protocol such as HTTP/1.1 (RFC 2616)? In the latter case, server programs will be available for just about every platform.
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#66251 - HyperHacker - Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:08 am

I wonder if it's possible, by stealing interrupts or some such, for the 'listener' app to keep running in the background? (You could even design your code to allow it.) Then you could just send new code to the DS without having to restart anything unless it crashed. True one-click transfer! And once TCP is working, it might even be possible to have a program running on the PC, that the DS can talk to and download code from. So you could just boot up your DS anywhere in the house, and download whatever program from your PC.

#66270 - Sektor - Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:44 am

Bafio's UDP server is written in java so it already works on many platforms. HTTP and FTP will have to wait until TCP is supported by the lib.

It is a bit of a waste writing to the CF/SD card every time (even over wifi), so an option to just download to RAM and run, would be useful.