[01/12/2000: Paul Globman has agreed to make XOS-C and his other M100/102/T200 software available without any license fee or registration requirements as long as it is not used for commerical purposes. Paul no longer provides support for any of this software. Please do not contact him with questions. I can provide some user experience. R. H. Pigford <profengr@delanet.com>.]
XOS - X-bank Operating System
(cross-bank)
XOS is a system of three programs that is designed to run in LOMEM of each of
the T200's 3 RAM banks. These three programs load/install as one program
interact with one another in such a way that you can have the software of all 3
banks available in any bank. XOS uses the first 768 bytes in each bank.
XOS runs in the location used by Disk Power 200. With XOS installed, Disk
Power cannot be used and any attempt to use it could have disastrous results.
Installing XOS is simply a matter of 1) loading XOSLDR.CO and XOSDAT.CO into
the same RAM bank, 2) HAVE AT LEAST 1K FREE RAM IN EACH BANK TO INSTALL XOS,
3) run XOSLDR.CO, and 4) run XOSLDR.CO again (the second execution of
XOSLDR.CO is sometimes needed in a cold started system... run it twice at all
times to insure proper installation).
After running XOSLDR.CO twice, you should move into each bank, enter BASIC
and then return to the menu by pressing F8. This step should be done before
moving any files from one bank to another. The purpose for this step is
to allow BASIC to recognize the new pointers installed into the Tandy 200's
operating system.
XOS was designed to offer cross-bank abilities (as well as other
enhancements) to the Tandy 200 at the MENU, with BASIC, TEXT, and TELCOM.
==================================
MENU and TEXT enhancements:
XOS will enhance the operation of Menu functions, also offering several TEXT
utilities like background printing and cross-bank cut/paste.
At the Menu, ADRESS and SCHEDL have been made invisible, and the LABEL line
will display up to 7 new functions in addition to the original 3. The new
LABEL line will look like this:
Cmd> Name File
Bank Back Roms Copy Kill Pste Prnt Menu
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
F2 - REVERSE BANK SWITCHING - press F2 to go to menu of previous bank.
F3 - ROMS - press F3 for ROM selection menu. Modify the use of F3(Roms) with
XOSUTL.BA (provided).
F3 - CMD> - press F3 with cursor over BASIC to run a BASIC program. If the
cursor is NOT over BASIC, then F3 will run a .CO file.
If CAPS LOCK is on, then the file to be executed will default to 3:CMD>.BA or
3:CMD>.CO, depending upon where the cursor was.
If CAPS LOCK is off, then you will be prompted "Cmd>". Just type in a
filename (no extension) and press enter. "3:" is the default bank and needs
no prefix. Filename may begin with "1:" or "2:" to indicate file location, if
not in bank #3.
F6 - PASTE BUFFER TRANSFER - move the paste buffer to another bank for
cross-bank CUT and PASTE operation.
F6 - RENAME - rename program or file under cursor. Allows illegal
characters and filenames, so use caution.
F7 - BACKGROUND PRINTING - press F7 with cursor over DO file. This duplicates
SAVE TO LPT: from text. Once begun, press F7 to abort. Beep announces
start and stop of print task. Printing will be suspended if you switch banks,
switch LOMEM code (F8), or edit a file that is in lower RAM than the file that
is printing. Background printing will resume when the conditions are restored
to normal. This is especially useful for sending printer setup codes such as
an ESC-E for emphasized printing.
F7 - FILES DISPLAY - press F7 to view the remaining two banks, displayed in
circular order (1,2,3,1,2), with current bank active for various MENU
functions. Shift-F7(File) will restore the normal Menu display.
F8 - ADDITIONAL MENU OPTIONS - this will offer the additional options listed
for F3, F6, and F7.
===================================
BASIC enhancements:
In BASIC, F8 has been re-defined to CALL 40961, which will re-install all XOS
hooks, should they become dis-engaged. This can also be accomplished from
BASIC with the following command...
KEY8,"Menu"+chr$(24)+"CALL40961"+chr$(13)
XOS will enhance BASIC and M/L capabilities by allowing programmers to
write programs that access other RAM banks. The BASIC enhancements will
allow a running program to RUN a BASIC program, LOADM a .CO file, or KILL a
TEXT.DO file in another bank.
The instruction, CALL 41179, will load XBAS-2 into the ALT LCD buffer of the
current bank. Once CALLed,
XBAS-2 is used by the BASIC programmer to access files in other banks. Data
files (.DO files) in other banks can be KILLed, and BASIC and M/L programs can
be brought in from other banks and executed in the current bank.
Once the BASIC program has executed the "CALL 41179" command, the routines can
be accessed with the following call:
CALL 63600,CMD,VARPTR(X$)
The commands are 7 - KILL FILE.DO
8 - LOADM FILE.CO
9 - RUN FILE.BA
XBAS-2 does internal error checking and will beep if there is a problem.
XBAS-2 will not execute the wrong instruction and offers the BASIC
programmer a result descriptor byte so the BASIC program can trap and handle
problems. The result descriptor (RD) byte is at 61302, and can be PEEKED
either before or after a CALL to XBAS-2.
KILL FILE
This command is: F$="2:FILE.DO"
:CALL63600,7,VARPTR(F$)
The RD byte is 0 if the file is found and killed. The RD byte will retain
the CMD if the CALL is not sucessful, and a beep will sound. During program
debugging, a non zero RD means the file was not specified as .DO, the CMD was
not a seven (7), or the file to be killed, was not found.
LOADM FILE.CO
This command is:
F$="2:FILE.CO":CALL 63600,8,VARPTR(F$)
If RD=0 then the .CO file was loaded into place and the execution address is
stored at 61303/61304.
The load address is stored at 61300/61301. If these two bytes are both 0
then the file was not found. Otherwise 61300/61301 has the load address of the
file and HIMEM has to be cleared for this file to LOADM.
RUN FILE.BA
This command is:
F$="2:FILE.BA":CALL 63600,9,VARPTR(F$)
Your program will load and run the BASIC program F$, so if the program making
the call continues, then F$ wasn't found. The RD would reflect the command 9.
For all XBAS-2 commands, the user must check RD and pointer addresses,
IMMEDIATELY after the CALL 63600.
The original XOS offered XBASIC. To retain the features of XBASIC you must
store XBASIC.CO in bank #3. Now the following code is the equivalent of
LOADM"XBASIC".
10 CALL 41179 'LOADM XBAS-2
20 X$="3:XBASIC.CO" 'SPECIFY FILE
30 CALL63600,8,VARPTR(X$) 'LOADM XBASIC
40 IFPEEK(61302)<>0THEN99 'TEST LOAD
Now XBASIC is loaded and CALL 63600 is available with commands 1 thru 6. A
simple CALL 41179 will reload XBAS-2 for commands 7,8, and 9.
BASIC programs are brought into the unsaved program buffer, and executed by
IPL of the unsaved buffer progradisast IC programs called in by the CMD>
key should begin with the IPL"" statement to prevent it from unwanted
execution.
Attempts to alter the POWER time setting must be followed by POKE 40962. Ex:
10 POWER 100:POKE40962,100
20 POWER CONT:POKE40962,0
=================================
TELCOM enhancements:
XOS adds the following to TELCOM's TERM mode...
F6 = display files and bytes
F6+SHIFT = direct access to TEXT
F7 = jump to TELCOM in next bank
F7+SHIFT = jmp TELCOM in prev. bank
XOS will allow you to jump from bank to bank while on-line with either
an external or internal modem. And whichever bank you jump to, the hooks
are active to allow you to switch banks again.
The TELCOM hook code runs in the last 15 file slots of the directory of each
bank. This means that you can have a maximum of 31 files per bank, instead
of 46. From the T200 users I have spoken to, this is not a problem.
In return for the 15 file sacrifice you get several excellent TELCOM
enhancements.
NOTE: The first time you enter TELCOM in another bank, you will enter the TERM
mode by pressing F4(Term). Should you exit this bank, and re-enter it, you
will have to type TERM<ENTER> if F4(Term) doesn't work.
Each time you press F3(Cmd>) at the Menu, the TELCOM hooks will be reset in
all three banks so the XOS features are active, in the same way F8 from BASIC
restores the XOS menu hook. Programs that alter the TELCOM hooks can now be
used without concern.
=================================
YOUR CUSTOM 200
I have given XOS the ability to be customized. F3 comes with "Roms" and
"Cmd>" as its default utilities. The "Roms" function key can be made to
offer direct access to your OPTION ROM(s).
The "Cmd>" function key can be made to load and run default programs that are
named CMD>.BA and CMD>.CO in Bank #3 by maintaining CAPS LOCKed. Unlocking
CAPS will allow user input to determine file to run.
XOSUTL.BA will allow the redefining of F3(Roms) for your individual use.
Note... UR-2 may disengage the XOS hook. BASIC F8 will restore the XOS hook as
it returns to the Menu. Use this to access the NODE ROM and keep XOS engaged.
If you run XOSSAV.CO (with XOSDAT.CO in RAM), the current modified F3(Roms)
will be saved to XOSDAT so future loads of XOSDAT will not require any further
modification.
=====================================
Acknowledgements:
James Yi [73327,1653] for part of the LOMEM adjustment code.
Randy Hess [73267,552] for beta testing and feedback.
