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FASTLOAD CREATE DOCS.txt
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** DOCUMENTATION FOR **
*** FASTLOAD CREATE ***
WRITTEN BY THE STACK
COPYRIGHT 1982 CORRUPT COMPUTING
*** BACKGROUND ***
FASTLOAD CREATE IS, AS THE NAME
IMPLIES, A PROGRAM THAT CREATES
FASTLOAD FILES. WHAT IS A FASTLOAD
FILE? IT IS LIKE A QUICKLOAD FILE
(THE KIND USED FOR MANY CRACKED GAMES
THAT TAKE UP TOO MUCH ROOM TO FIT IN
WITH DOS) EXCEPT THAT A FASTLOAD FILE
CAN BE BIGGER THAN A QUICKLOAD FILE
SINCE A FASTLOAD FILE HAS ITS OWN
SHRUNK RWTS BUILT IN WHILE A QUICKLOAD
FILE USES NORMAL RWTS. THIS SHRUNKEN
RWTS IS LESS THAN $300 HEX BYTES LONG
AND THE ROUTINE THAT USES IT IS
SLIGHTLY LESS THAN $100 HEX BYTES LONG
MEANING THAT YOUR PROGRAM CAN TAKE UP
ALL OF MEMORY MINUS $400 BYTES FOR THE
FASTLOADER, $100 FOR PAGE ZERO, $100
FOR THE STACK, AND $100 FOR THE CURRENT
TRACK/SECTOR LIST BEING USED. THAT
MEANS THAT YOUR PROGRAM CAN BE UP TO
$B900 BYTES VERSUS ABOUT $A200 BYTES
WITH QUICKLOADER. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT
YOU DON'T NEED TO WRITE ANY MOVE
ROUTINES AT THE START OF YOUR CRACKED
PROGRAM BECAUSE THE FASTLOADER DOES ALL
OF THEM FOR YOU. SINCE FASTLOADER DOES
NOT USE NORMAL RWTS, YOUR PROGRAM CAN
BE LOADED DIRECTLY INTO LOCATIONS
$B800-BFFF WHERE NORMAL RWTS NORMALLY
IS. (FASTLOAD'S MINI-RWTS RESIDES AT
$500-$7FF WHERE THE TEXT SCREEN IS.)
THIS MEANS THAT THE ONLY MOVES THAT
NEED TO BE MADE ARE MOVES TO ADDRESSES
$0000-$02FF AND $0400-$07FF. NOTE THAT
THE PROGRAM MAY BE DIRECTLY LOADED INTO
PAGE 3 AS WELL AS ALL PAGES ABOVE AND
INCLUDING 8. YOU MAY ASK, HOW DOES THE
MOVE ROUTINE MOVE SOMETHING INTO THE
PAGE IT IS IN. WELL, THE MOVE ROUTINES
ARE IN PAGE 4 AND THE RWTS IS IN PAGES
5-7. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FASTLOADER
IS RUN, IS, THE PROGRAM IS LOADED INTO
PAGES 3, AND $08-$BF. AFTER LOADING IS
COMPLETE, THE MOVE ROUTINES TAKE OVER.
FIRST, ANYTHING THAT GOES INTO PAGES 0,
1, 2, 5, 6, OR 7 GETS MOVED THERE.
NOTE THAT NOTHING GETS MOVED TO PAGE 3.
IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT GOES IN PAGE
3 IT IS LOADED IN THERE. AFTER THOSE
MOVES ARE COMPLETE, PAGE 4 GETS MOVED
TO THE PAGE THAT WAS MOVED TO PAGE 6,
WHICH IS NO LONGER NEEDED. IF NOTHING
WAS MOVED TO PAGE 6, PAGE 4 GETS MOVED
THERE. THEN WHATEVER PAGE GOES INTO
PAGE 4 GETS MOVED TO PAGE 4. WHEN DONE
WITH ALL OF THESE MOVES, THE FASTLOADER
THEN JUMPS TO THE BEGINNING OF YOUR
PROGRAM.
*** USING FASTLOAD CREATE ***
NOW THAT YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THE
FASTLOADER, THIS SECTION WILL TELL YOU
HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM THAT CREATES
THESE FASTLOAD FILES. IT IS REALLY
VERY SIMPLE. JUST TYPE:
]BRUN FASTLOAD CREATE
AND WAIT FOR IT TO LOAD IN. THE SCREEN
WILL CLEAR AND THERE WILL BE A MESSAGE
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN TELLING YOU
THAT YOU MAY TYPE UP TO TWO LINES OF ID
TEXT FOR YOUR PROGRAM. THIS TEXT WILL
BE DISPLAYED WHILE THE FASTLOADER IS
LOADING YOU PROGRAM ON THE TOP TWO
LINES OF THE SCREEN. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU
COULD SAY:
XYZ PROGRAM COPYRIGHT 1982 BY XYZ CORP
CRACKED 1982 BY YOUR NAME
THEN WHENEVER SOMEONE SAYS:
]BRUN XYZ PROGRAM
THE FASTLOADER WILL LOAD IN, AND AT
THE TOP OF THE SCREEN IT WILL DISPLAY
YOUR MESSAGE. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE
SCREEN IT WILL DISPLAY THE WORD
"FASTLOADER" SO THAT EVERYBODY RUNNING
IT WILL KNOW THAT IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN AND ON PART
OF THE BOTTOM LINE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
SEE THE DATA AS IT IS READ IN. THIS IS
DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE RWTS IS STORED
IN THE TEXT PAGE OF MEMORY. OF COURSE,
THERE WILL ALSO BE A BUNCH OF GARBAGE
ON THE SCREEN THAT IS REALLY THE RWTS,
THE DRIVER, THE MOVER, AND THE TABLES.
NOW, BACK TO THE PROGRAM... AS YOU
HAVE PROBABLY NOTICED IF YOU ARE
RUNNING THE CREATE PROGRAM IT SAYS THAT
YOU MAY USE THE RETURN KEY TO SKIP TO
THE NEXT LINE AND THE <ESC> KEY WHEN
YOU ARE DONE. TRY IT! IF YOU TYPE THE
RETURN KEY WHILE ON THE TOP LINE YOU'LL
SKIP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BOTTOM
LINE AND IF YOU TYPE THE RETURN KEY
WHILE ON THE BOTTOM LINE YOU'LL SKIP TO
THE BEGINNING OF THE TOP LINE. ANOTHER
KEY NOT MENTIONED IS CTRL-Q. THIS CAN
BE USED ANY TIME THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM
WHENEVER IT IS EXPECTING INPUT TO STOP
THE PROGRAM. UPON RECEIPT OF A CTRL-Q,
THE PROGRAM WILL ASK WHETHER OR NOT YOU
REALLY WANT TO QUIT. IF YOU DID, TYPE
A "Y" AND IF YOU DIDN'T, TYPE AN "N".
IF YOU TYPE "Y", THE PROGRAM WILL TELL
YOU THAT IT IS DONE WITH YOUR FILE AND
WILL ASK IF YOU'D LIKE TO CREATE
ANOTHER FASTLOAD FILE. IF YOU WOULD,
JUST TYPE "Y", OTHERWISE, TYPE "N".
NOW BACK TO THE ID TEXT... REMEMBER,
JUST TYPE THE <ESC> KEY WHEN DONE.
THE NEXT THING THE PROGRAM WILL ASK
FOR IS THE NAME, STARTING PAGE, AND
NUMBER OF PAGES OF EACH OF THE FILES
YOU WISH TO LINK TOGETHER INTO ONE
FASTLOAD FILE. YOU SEE, THE CREATE
PROGRAM WILL TAKE YOUR FILES AND BUILD
A TABLE THAT WILL BE LOCATED NEAR THE
START OF THE FASTLOADER PREFIX. THIS
TABLE WILL TELL THE FASTLOADER DRIVER
WHERE TO LOAD EACH SECTOR. EXAMPLE:
SAY YOU HAVE FOUR FILES NAMED FILE #1,
FILE #2, FILE #3, AND FILE #4. LET'S
ALSO SAY THAT FILE #1 IS PAGES 0-7,
FILE #2 IS PAGES 8-$1D FILE #3 IS A
PICTURE THAT GOES FROM PAGES $20-$3F,
AND FILE #4 IS PAGES $47-$BF. SINCE
THE FILES HAVE LENGTHS OF 8, $16, $20,
AND $79, RESPECTIVELY, THE TOTAL LENGTH
IS $B7 PAGES WHICH MEANS THAT IT IS
WITHIN THE LIMITS OF FASTLOADER. (ANY
LENGTH OF $B9 OR LESS IS WITHIN THE
LIMITS.)
NOW, IF YOU ARE IN THE CREATE
PROGRAM, THE TOP OF YOUR SCREEN SHOULD
LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
FILE: _ ,D1
START PAGE: # OF PAGES: OK?
YOU MAY NOW TYPE IN THE FILENAME OF
THE FIRST FILE TO LINK. THE FIRST FILE
IN OUR EXAMPLE IS FILE #1, SO, YOU
WOULD TYPE "FILE #1" (WITHOUT THE
QUOTES). AFTER YOU TYPE THE FILENAME,
HIT THE RETURN KEY. THE UNDERSCORE
CURSOR WILL JUMP DOWN TO THE "START
PAGE" LINE AND YOU THEN TYPE IN THE
STARTING PAGE OF THAT FILE. IN OUR
EXAMPLE, THE START PAGE OF FILE #1 IS
ZERO. SINCE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TYPE
IT AS A 2-DIGIT HEX NUMBER, YOU WOULD
TYPE "00". IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE, YOU
MUST TYPE IN DUMMY INFORMATION UNTIL IT
GETS TO THE "OK?" LINE, WHERE YOU WOULD
TYPE "N" FOR NO, ALLOWING YOU TO START
THAT FILE OVER. WHEN YOU ARE DONE
TYPING THE STARTING PAGE NUMBER, THE
CURSOR WILL SKIP OVER TO THE "# OF
PAGES" LINE. HERE YOU TYPE THE NUMBER
OF PAGES YOUR FILE IS. AGAIN, IT MUST
BE A 2-DIGIT HEX NUMBER. IN OUR
EXAMPLE, FILE #1 HAS A LENGTH OF 8.
THIS, OF COURSE, MEANS THAT YOU WOULD
TYPE "08". THE CURSOR WILL NOW JUMP TO
THE "OK?" LINE. IF EVERYTHING IS OK,
TYPE "Y" AND THE TOP OF THE SCREEN WILL
CLEAR, THE HEADINGS WILL BE PUT UP
AGAIN, AND IT WILL WAIT FOR YOU TO TYPE
IN THE NEXT FILENAME. ON THE OTHER
HAND, IF YOU SAY "N" TO THE "OK?"
PROMPT, THE SPEAKER WILL BEEP AND IT
WILL WAIT FOR YOU TO RETYPE EVERYTHING
FOR THAT FILE.
YOU WOULD NOW TYPE IN THE FILENAME
FOR THE SECOND FILE. IN OUR EXAMPLE,
IT WOULD BE FILE #2 WITH A STARTING
PAGE OF $08 AND A LENGTH OF $16. YOU
WOULD CONTINUE TYPING IN THE FILENAMES
IN THIS MANNER UNTIL YOU ARE DONE.
WHEN THERE ARE NO MORE FILES, JUST HIT
THE <ESC> KEY. ANOTHER FEATURE IS THAT
NOT ALL OF THE FILES HAVE TO BE ON THE
SAME DISKETTE IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE
DISK DRIVE. IF A CERTAIN FILE IS NOT
ON THE DISK IN THE DRIVE SHOWN BY THE
",DX" (WHERE X IS THE DRIVE NUMBER) AT
THE TOP OF THE SCREEN, JUST TYPE CTRL-D
AND THAT FILE AND ALL OF THE FILES THAT
YOU TYPE IN AFTER THAT ONE WILL BE READ
OFF THE OTHER DRIVE. HOWEVER, THERE IS
ONE THING THAT YOU MUST REMEMBER. THE
DISK THAT THE FASTLOAD FILE IS TO BE
CREATED ON MUST BE IN DRIVE 1 AND MUST
STAY IN DRIVE 1 DURING THE WHOLE TIME
THE PROGRAM IS CREATING THE FASTLOAD
FILE. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THE PROGRAM
DECIDES TO WRITE ITS BUFFER OUT THE
FASTLOAD FILE, WHICH, OF COURSE, IS IN
DRIVE 1. PLACING A DIFFERENT DISK IN
THIS DRIVE WILL GET IT NICELY CLOBBERED
IF THE PROGRAM DECIDES TO EMPTY ITS
BUFFER WHILE YOUR OTHER DISK IS IN
THERE. THEREFORE, CERTAIN SAFETY
PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN IN THE PROGRAM TO
PREVENT THIS FORM HAPPENING. FOR
EXAMPLE, IF YOUR FILE WHICH YOU SAID
WAS ON DRIVE 1 IS NOT FOUND THERE, YOUR
ONLY TWO CHOICES ARE TO INSERT THE
CORRECT DISK CONTAINING THE FILE INTO
DRIVE 2, OR TO RETYPE ALL OF THE
FILENAMES WITH THEIR DRIVE NUMBERS AND
PAGE INFORMATION. THIS IS, OF COURSE,
BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT INSERTING THE
CORRECT DISK INTO DRIVE 1 WOULD MEAN
THAT THE FASTLOAD DISK WOULD BE OUT OF
DRIVE 1 MEANING THAT YOUR DISK WOULD BE
CLOBBERED.
ANYWAY, BACK TO BETTER THINGS...
WHEN YOU ARE DONE TYPING IN THE FILE
INFORMATION, AND YOU HAVE TYPED THE
<ESC> KEY, THE TOP OF THE SCREEN WILL
AGAIN CLEAR AND IT WILL ASK YOU FOR THE
NAME OF THE FASTLOAD FILE. YOU MAY
NAME IT ANY LEGAL FILE NAME THAT DOS
WILL EXCEPT. THIS, OF COURSE, MEANS
THAT THE FILENAME CAN'T BE OVER 30
CHARACTERS LONG AND MUST START WITH A
LETTER OR SOMETHING SIMILAR (SUCH AS
@,],[,^,_ OR \). WHEN DONE TYPING THE
FASTLOAD FILENAME, JUST HIT THE RETURN
KEY. THE TOP OF THE SCREEN WILL CLEAR
AGAIN AND IT WILL NOW ASK FOR THE
STARTING ADDRESS OF YOUR PROGRAM. THIS
IS THE ADDRESS THAT IT WILL JUMP TO
WHEN IT IS DONE WITH THE LOADING AND
MOVING. THIS ADDRESS IS STORED AT
LOCATIONS $8D8 (LOW) AND $8D9 (HIGH) OF
THE FASTLOADER PREFIX. THEREFORE, IF
YOU WANTED TO STOP THE FASTLOADER FROM
JUMPING TO THE START OF THE PROGRAM
AFTER IT WAS DONE LOADING AND MOVING
THE PROGRAM, YOU WOULD SAY:
]BLOAD MY FASTLOAD FILE
]CALL -151
*8D8:69 FF
(OR WHEREVER YOU WANT IT TO GO TO)
*7FDG
(START OF FASTLOAD PREFIX)
THE SCREEN WILL FILL WITH ALL OF THE
GARBAGE AND THE FILE WILL BE LOADED,
MOVED, AND YOUR ROUTINE WILL BE JUMPED
TO.
THE STARTING ADDRESS OF YOUR PROGRAM
MUST BE A 4-DIGIT HEX NUMBER. IF IT IS
SOMETHING LIKE $800, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU
WOULD SAY "0800". THE CURSOR WILL THEN
JUMP TO THE "OK?" LINE AND YOU WOULD
SAY EITHER "Y" OR "N".
AFTER TYPING THE STARTING ADDRESS,
YOU HAVE COMPLETED TYPING IN ALL OF THE
INFORMATION THAT THE CREATE PROGRAM
NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FASTLOAD FILE.
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, IT WILL
INSTRUCT YOU TO INSERT THE DISK THAT
YOU WISH TO CREATE THE FASTLOAD FILE ON
INTO DRIVE 1 AND TO THEN PRESS THE
<ESC> KEY. WHEN THIS IS DONE, THE
CREATE PROGRAM WILL BEGIN CREATION OF
YOUR FILE. WHEN DONE, IT WILL TELL YOU
SO AND WILL ASK IF YOU'D LIKE TO CREATE
ANOTHER FASTLOAD FILE. ANSWER WITH A
"Y" OR AN "N" AND IT WILL EITHER START
THE PROGRAM OVER OR EXIT INTO BASIC.
APPENDIX A: ERROR MESSAGES
THIS APPENDIX TELLS SOME OF THE
ERROR MESSAGES YOU MAY ENCOUNTER WHILE
ATTEMPTING TO CREATE A FASTLOAD FILE
AND THE CAUSES OF THEM.
1. SO MANY FILES THAT THE FASTLOADER
CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF THEM ALL.
THIS MEANS THAT YOUR FILES AMOUNT TO
MORE THAN 30 LOAD PAIRS (ALMOST LIKE
FILES). THIS IS THE MAXIMUM THAT THE
FASTLOADER PREFIX CAN HANDLE. TO SOLVE
THIS PROBLEM, USE FEWER FILES. THIS
CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY LINKING MORE
THAN ONE FILE TOGETHER INTO ONE FILE.
2. FASTLOAD FILE IS GREATER THAN 246
SECTORS TOTAL (OVER 244 DATA SECTORS).
THIS ERROR IS CAUSED BY LINKING FILES
TOGETHER THAT AMOUNT TO A TOTAL OF OVER
244 DATA SECTORS. YOU SHOULD NOT GET
THIS MESSAGE WITH VERSION 1.0 OF
FASTLOAD CREATE UNLESS YOU HAVE FILES
THAT OVERLAP EACH OTHER.
3. FASTLOAD FILE CANNOT FIT ON A DISK
THAT IS THIS FULL.
THIS ERROR IS CAUSED WHEN THE DISK IS
TOO FULL (OBVIOUSLY). JUST GET OUT A
DISK THAT ISN'T QUITE SO FULL AND USE
IT INSTEAD.
4. THE DISKETTE DIRECTORY IS TOO FULL.
YOU WILL GET THIS ERROR IF YOU HAVE
MORE FILES THAN WERE ALLOCATED FOR. ON
A NORMAL DISK, YOU HAVE ROOM FOR 105
FILES AND IT WILL TAKE A WHILE FOR YOU
TO GET THIS ERROR MESSAGE.
5. NO ROOM LEFT FOR THE FASTLOADER
WITH ALL OF THESE FILES.
YOU WILL GET THIS MESSAGE WHEN THE
TOTAL LENGTH OF YOUR DATA IS GREATER
THAN $B9 PAGES. REMEMBER THAT THAT IS
THE MAXIMUM LENGTH THAT THE FASTLOADER
IS ABLE TO HANDLE AT THIS POINT.
APPENDIX B: LOCATIONS USED IN THE
FASTLOADER PREFIX
THIS APPENDIX DESCRIBES IN DETAIL
THE LOCATIONS WITHIN THE FASTLOAD
PREFIX THAT ARE USED BY THE CREATE
PROGRAM AND THAT MAY BE CHANGED BY THE
USER. THIS APPENDIX, HOWEVER, DOES NOT
DESCRIBE HOW TO SAVE THESE CHANGES BACK
OUT THE DISK. THIS FASTLOAD PREFIX IS
PLACED AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY
FASTLOAD FILE AND MAY BE LOADED WITH
THE COMMAND:
]BLOAD MY FASTLOAD FILE
ALL ADDRESSES ARE IN HEXADECIMAL.
7FD: A JUMP TO THE ROUTINE THAT MOVES
THE FASTLOADER PREFIX DOWN INTO THE
TEXT PAGE OF MEMORY.
800-827: FIRST LINE OF ID TEXT
828-863: LOAD PAIRS. THERE IS ROOM FOR
30 LOAD PAIRS IN THIS AREA WHICH ARE
EACH 2 BYTES LONG. THE FIRST BYTE IS
THE PAGE TO START LOADING AND THE
SECOND BYTE IS THE NUMBER OF PAGES
(SECTORS) TO LOAD INTO CONSECUTIVE PAGE
NUMBERS. A ZERO AS THE FIRST BYTE
TERMINATES LOADING.
865-87F: THIS IS THE RWTS DRIVER
ROUTINE. IT LOADS THE DATA INTO THE
APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS ON THE DISK
ACCORDING TO THE LPT (LOAD PAIRS TABLE)
AT LOCATIONS $828-$863.
880-8A7: SECOND LINE OF ID TEXT
8A8-8D6: THIS IS THE MOVER ROUTINE.
WHEN THE DRIVER IS DONE LOADING IN THE
DATA FROM THE DISK, THIS ROUTINE MOVES
IT ALL INTO ITS APPROPRIATE PLACES IN
MEMORY.
8C7: THIS IS LOCATION MP6D1 (SEE $8E0).
8CD: THIS IS LOCATION MP6D2 (SEE $8E0).
8D0: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG4 AND HOLDS
THE NUMBER OF THE PAGE THAT WILL BE
MOVED INTO PAGE 4 AFTER LOADING.
8D7-8D9: THIS IS A JUMP TO THE START OF
THE PROGRAM. LOCATION $8D7 WILL ALWAYS
BE A $4C (JMP OP-CODE) AND LOCATIONS
$8D8 AND $8D9 WILL CONTAIN THE LOW AND
HIGH BYTES, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE
LOCATION TO JUMP TO.
8DA: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG0 AND HOLDS
THE NUMBER OF THE PAGE THAT WILL BE
MOVED INTO THE ZERO PAGE AFTER LOADING.
8DB: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG1 AND HOLDS
THE NUMBER OF THE PAGE THAT WILL BE
MOVED INTO PAGE 1 AFTER LOADING.
8DC: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG2 AND HOLDS
THE PAGE NUMBER TO BE MOVED TO PAGE 2.
8DD: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG3 AND SHOULD
ALWAYS CONTAIN A 3.
8DE: THIS LOCATION MUST CONTAIN A 4.
8DF: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG5 AND HOLDS
THE PAGE NUMBER TO BE MOVED TO PAGE 5.
8E0: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG6 AND HOLDS
THE PAGE NUMBER TO BE MOVED TO PAGE 6.
LOCATIONS $8C7 AND 8CD MUST BE THE SAME
AS THIS LOCATION AND ARE DUPLICATES.
8E1: THIS IS LOCATION MVPG7 AND HOLDS
THE PAGE NUMBER TO BE MOVED TO PAGE 7.
THE PAGE NUMBER TO BE MOVED TO PAGE 7.
APPENDIX C: FUTURE VERSIONS
SOME OPTIONS THAT MAY BE ADDED TO
THE FASTLOADER OR THE FASTLOAD CREATE
PROGRAM ARE LOADING INTO LANGUAGE CARD
AND DISPLAYING A HI-RES TITLE PAGE
DURING LOAD. IF THESE FEATURE GET
ENOUGH REQUESTS WE WILL IMPLEMENT THEM
IN FUTURE VERSIONS OF THIS PROGRAM. IF
YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A REQUEST OR IF
YOU CAN THINK OF ANY OTHER NEW FEATURES
TO BE ADDED TO ANY PART OF THIS PROGRAM
OR IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT
FASTLOADER PLEASE LEAVE E-MAIL.
<END>