MAMEUI DAT file support

[mame-licious]

Hello

I try to make DAT files work in the history tab of MAMEUI but it's not working as expected.

I copy all the DAT files to "DATs" folder while the LUA scripts in "plugins/data" are all there.

I can't make existing DAT files (command.dat, gameinit.dat, ...) as own made DAT files (which work in official MAME because I tested them) work in MAMEUI.

Also the "history.db" is not written in the "data" folder (as MAME is doing).

 

Can you please inform what DAT files should work and if own made DAT files should also work (as in official MAME when you write the needed LUA scripts and put them in "plugins/data")?

I also don't understand why "history.db" is not written in the "data" folder.

 

In addition, I also don't find the "plugin.ini" file (as MAME has) for enabling the data plugins. Is MAMEUI not using plugin.ini or how to enable the data plugins?

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited yesterday at 08:41 AM by mame-licious

[mame-licious]

Note that this is NOT a negative comment! I just try to understand how MAMEUI handles DAT files and if there are similarities or differences with official MAME.

Until now I can't figure it out because what works in MAME does not work in MAMEUI here. That's why I ask for an explanation of the developer of MAMEUI.

Thanks

Edited yesterday at 08:44 AM by mame-licious

[Robert]

* MAMEUI's handling of DAT files has nothing to do with MAME, no code is shared.

* In the menu, Options -> Directories -> DAT files -> is where DAT files should be stored.

* The only DAT files supported are: gameinit.dat, history.xml, messinfo.dat, mameinfo.dat, command.dat

* The list is hard-coded and users cannot add more.

* There's no history.db, but there's an equivalent history.idx . There's no support of adding more DATs via LUA script or any other means.

* Plugin.ini is not used - the selected plugins are stored in mame.ini -> plugin (this idea is supported by MAME).

[mame-licious]

Thanks! Everything is clear except the last line.

What to put in the "plugin" variable exactly? Can you give an example for gameinit.dat ?

Is it this one you mean? Because I don't need to use this for MAME.

 

#
# SCRIPTING OPTIONS
#
autoboot_command          
autoboot_delay            0
autoboot_script           
console                   0
plugins                   1
plugin                    
noplugin   

 

Edited 20 hours ago by mame-licious

[Robert]

In MAMEUI, go to Options -> Default System Options -> LUA -> Enabled plugins -> Add whatever you want from the list.

.\mame.ini will be updated. However, for the display of DAT files in the History window, the plugins make no difference. You only need to place the DAT files into the folder you're using for them.

The settings that you would use in MAME only apply when you're running a game and use the Tab menu like you would in MAME.

[mame-licious]

Thanks!

Any chance you also have knowledge of the MAME way of reading DAT files?

I'm having big problems here (test files/code available there): https://github.com/mamedev/mame/issues/13965

[Robert]

Can't help you with that. I don't know how MAME works in that area, and I don't know LUA either.

Some things are a bit different, for example with gameinit.dat, if MAMEUI can't find the game, it will look for the parent and show that info instead, since it's usually the same. But, MAME won't do that.

[mame-licious]

A final question about MAMEUI: since there is no history.db, where do you read all data from? Is it ready directly from history.xml, gameinit.dat, ... when you click a game?

 

[Robert]

Yes, directly from each file. Due to the large size of history.xml, the history.idx has a list of games and offsets, so that MAMEUI can go directly to the info in history.xml .