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Path: conch.aa.msen.com!not-for-mail From: brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.0 Part 6/9 (beta) Supersedes: <cbmmainfaq61295@msen.com> Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 10 Jan 1996 17:05:35 -0500 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Feb 1996 Message-ID: <cbmmainfaq60196@msen.com> Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This file should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to the group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.07.B1109 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p6 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part6 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part6 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part6 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/01/10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 7. Exchanging Data 7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines? 7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore? 7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore? 7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore? 7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore? 7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore? 7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers? 8. Operating Systems 8.1. What Operating Systems are available? 8.2. What is GEOS? 8.3. What is UNIX? 8.4. What is CP/M 9. Demonstrations 9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo? 9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean? 9.3. Where do I get demos? 9.4. What is a demo competition? 9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Exchanging Data At some point in time it becomes necessary to move data from one machine to another. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is not. This section will | help you decide which way of transferring files is best. For those who have + WWW access, additional information is at + http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/ 7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines? You can exchange data between Commodore machines in a number of ways, but each way requires an exchange medium, whether it be tape, disk, modem, or null modem. To transfer files between any Commodore machines besides the Plus/4 series that have datasette ports, the file can be save to tape and exchanged. The Plus/4 series tape drives read and write data in a format not compantible with any other CBM system. To transfer files between any Commodore computers with disk drives, you need to find a drive that can be connected to either computer, or two drives with compatible disk formats. Some examples of two drive setups: 2031 1541 4040 1541 (Read but not write compatible_ 8050 8250 (can't use back side of 8250 disk) 8050 SFD1001 (can't use back side of SFD1001 disk) 1551 1541 1571 1541 (can't use back of 1571 disk) Modems can be used to exchange the information, if both computers can use modems. Just perform a dowload on one end, and an upload on the other. Null modems can make this job simpler, by removing the data-> telephone line step performed in a modem. With all of these methods, data files should transmit fine, but program file written in ML will most likely not work, and BASIC programs will usually fail is loaded on a machine with a differing version of BASIC. 7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore? Commodore computers use a disk format which is not compatible with the disk formats of other computers. However, some programs exist which allow you to read foreign, specifically MS-DOS, disks. Note that in general to do this, you must have either a 1571 or 1581 disk drive. The 1541 cannot read MS-DOS disks without some hardware modifications. Big Blue Reader A commercial package, The Big Blue Reader, from SOGWAP software, runs on either a 64 or a 128, will read and write MS-DOS format 3.5" (with a 1581) and 5.25" (with a 1571) disks. Crosslink Other freely distributable programs exist to read and write 5.25" MS-DOS disks. One such program is Crosslink, (available on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca although it is limited to reading files 43K in size or smaller. Finally, there are a few CP/M MS-DOS reading utilities that work in the C128's CP/M mode. RUN Reader RUN magazine (4/89 to 6/89) published a series of programs that would use 1571/1581 drives to transfer MS-DOS files to and from a C= drive. It is also limited in file size handling ~43-44K. Little Red Reader Issues 4 and 5 of C= Hacking magazine presented a program called Little Red Reader for the 128 that will copy files to and from MS-DOS floppy disks. The menu-driven program requires two disk drives to work, where the one containing the MS-DOS disk must be a 1571 or 1581 (or compatible). The program does not buffer data internally, so the only size restriction on copying is the capacity of the target disk. The program provides PETSCII/ ASCII conversion but will work only with the root directories of MS-DOS disks. The program is also available via FTP and is FREE. 1541-dos To read and write to MS-DOS disks with 1541 disk drives you have to make a small hardware modification. The 1541-dos package contains instructions on how to modify Commodore 1541 and Oceanic OC-118/OC-118N disk drives, and programs to read disks in MS-DOS format and to write to disks in a format that can be read by MS-DOS computers. The newest version of the package is available via anonymous ftp on ftp.funet.fi in /pub/cbm/documents/1541-dos. x1541 To read CBM disks on an IBM, you can use the program x1541 available on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in /pub/cbm/emulation. This program uses the PC parallel port to emulate a C= serial port. You need to have a unique cable built to make the connection. The cable is connected to a 1541 drive. The documentation has a schematic for the cable. 22DSK If you own a Commodore 1581, there is a PC program which can read 1581 formatted disks. The latest version is 1.4.2 and is available at ftp://oak.oakland.edu/Simtel/msdos/diskutil/22dsk142.zip. Note that this program will only handle CP/M formatted disks. C64-Connect A very fast way of transferring one file programs between the Commodore and PC is C64-Connect. All you need is a simple cable between user port of C64 and PC's parallel printer port (LPT). Loading of a 50 KB program takes about 3.0 seconds and transferring the same program from C64 to PC takes 4.5 seconds. (Times were measured on a PAL-C64 and 486DX-40, NTSC units will see slighly faster times) This program is a boon for every C64 user that has only a cassette drive, as the loader program needed fori the C64 is shorter than most cassette turbos and aboyt 45 times faster. C64-Connect stores C64 programs on PC in the standard PRG format, so you can easily convert them to various file formats used by emulators. The latest version of C64-Connect is 0.99. You can get it from file://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/ Email Ville Muikkula at vmuikku@raahenet.ratol.fi for more information. PC2VIC This package enables you to send programs (and other data) to your VIC20. The data is sent from the PC:s printerport to the VIC20:s userport, which makes the transfer rather fast. adam.bergstrom@um.erisoft.se Adam Bergstrom Storgatan 92,2 903 33 Umea SWEDEN There are no programs that will read a 5.25" Commodore disk in a 5.25" PC drive. 7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore? TransNib The TransNib 1.00 package for Amiga allows transferring files C64<->Amiga at up to 60000 bps. It uses a parallel<->user port cable that currently transfers 4bits at a time. Uses 2-way handshaking. 2 versions of the 64software are in the archive. Requires a disk drive. 1541 fastloader compatible. The Amiga side software can be run from shell of WB, multitasks fine and has nice simple GUI. For more information, get the archive from ftp.wustl.edu, /systems/amiga/aminet/misc/emu/TransNib100.lha PData The PData 3.51 package for the Amiga allows transfer of both binary and text files between the C64/C128 and the Amiga. It's about 25 times faster than a null modem cable, and it even leaves your Amiga serial port free for other applications. You can transfer up to 255 files in both directions in multitransfer mode. The program works with an cable attached between the 64 user port and the Amiga parallel port. The Amiga software can be run from any Amiga, although Kickstart v37.175 (v2.04) is required to utilize all functions. for more information, get the archive at: ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/computing/systems/amiga/mods/chip/NemeSIDs-Extra.lzh prlink prlink is a program that uses the X1541 cable to transfer data from the Commodore to the Amiga It is at: ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.8.0a.lha 7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore? 7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore? Atari ST can read and write 3.5" DD disks formatted for PC. You need to use TOS 1.4 or higher to format. Using Big Blue Reader to write 3.5" PC format on CBM will permit transfer. ST also has RS-232 port, so one can transfer data by using RS-232 adaptor on the C64 and some terminal/handshaking programs to control the transfer. 7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore? One way is to use PC and then ftp to UNIX, unless the UNIX runs on a PC. Some Sparctations have drives with MSDOS filesystem emulation, but it has problems even with Atari/DOS disks. cbmfs cbmfs is a read-only filesystem driver which allows transparent reading of 1581 disks under Linux. It is installed as a loadable kernel module and allows mounting Commodore 1581 disks in a standard 3.5" floppy drive, and 1541 disk images (.D64 files) copied to any floppy disk. PETSCII to ASCII conversion can be automatically performed. Partitions on 1581 disks are accessed as subdirectories. The publically-released version will be available at <ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/linux/incoming/cbmfs-1.0.tar.gz> and at <ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Filesystems/cbmfs-1.0.tar.gz>. prlink prlink is a program that uses the X1541 cable to transfer data from the Commodore to Linux (or any UNIX). It is at: ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/ 7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers? If you are transferring data to another computer (e.g. a PC) in the same room, or if you are lucky enough to have a terminal server line near your 64/128(more and more colleges are putting such beasts in dorm rooms), you be able to connect your serial port directly to another computer. If you have a terminal server port, all you need is a C= RS232 to standard RS232 adapter (see 9.8). If you are connecting to another, PC, you will also need a null modem. A null modem is a simple device that you can buy for less than $10. It typically is a small box with a 25-pin (or 9-pin) RS232 connector on either side. Put it somewhere in the line between your C= and the other PC. 8. Operating Systems Most Commodore users aren't aware that each machine has an operating system. Since all Commodore systems come complete with a built in operating system and BASIC programming language, the need for an operating system is minimized. However, Commodore's internal OS is not always the right tool for the job, so alternate OS systems are available for the CBM. 8.1. What Operating Systems are available? Well, Commodore computers come with a standard operating system built in ROM. They also contain a built in BASIC interpreter which is normally activated after switching on or resetting the computer. If you want alternative options to replace the existing OS, there are a few that may suit your needs. GEOS is the best known, but a number of people have made UNIX-like operating system replacements for the Commodore 64 and 128. Also, on the 128, CP/M is available out-of-the-box. (see below for details on different OS types.) 8.2. What is GEOS? GEOS stands for Graphical Environment Operating System. It is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) style of OS, and it brings to the Commodore 64 and 128 integrated applications. The graphical nature of GEOS allows applications to use fonts of any size, bitmaps, and menus and mice. The system was Designed by Berkeley Softworks, now GEOWorks, and is supported now by CMD. There are a number of graphical style GEOS applications, like GEOWrite, GEOPaint, GEOPublish, GEOTerm, etc. The system is very easy to use, and is very fast, even when compared to other GUIs like Windows and OS/2. GEOS can make very effective use of a Ram Expansion Unit, a RAMDrive or RAMLink, or GEORam. GEOS allows you to configure your REU to appear just like another (very fast) disk drive, although it does not keep its contents when you turn your computer off. So, any GEOS software that works off of a disk will work out of your REU. Since GEOS is very disk-intensive, this greatly improves the performance of your system. Indeed, some firm GEOS adherents have said that they would not use GEOS without a RAM device of some sort. GEOS will not work with a stock 1700. To have a RAM drive, in GEOS, you must have at least 256K of expansion. Thanks to patches developed by Jim Collette(configure2.1), GEOS also supports 1 Meg, 1.5 Meg, and 2 Meg REUs. GEOS files are structured differently from standard Commodore files. They cannot be uploaded or downloaded directly. Before you upload a GEOS file, use the freeware GEOS application convert2.5 by W.C. Coleman to convert it to Commodore format. When you download a GEOS file, you must use the same program to convert it to GEOS format. By convention, GEOS format files converted to standard Commodore format have a .cvt on the end; however, many converted GEOS files just have the same name as the original GEOS file. As a rule of thumb, any GEOS file you download, regardless of the extension, must be converted to GEOS format with convert2.5. If you download an archive of GEOS files (e.g. a .arc or .sda file containing GEOS files), you must first dissolve the archive using your C64 or C128 in native mode. The constituents of the archive will be converted GEOS files, whether or not they have the .cvt extension. Each of these constituents (which are GEOS files) must be individually converted to GEOS format with convert2.5. If you need some help with GEOS or any aspect of it, I refer you to Myles Skinner at mskinner@julian.uwo.ca. He is one of many people who use GEOS every day and can be of help. 8.3. What is UNIX? UNIX is an OS that was developed by Bell Laboratories in the 1960's and is now used on many workstations. It is a multi-user, multi-process OS that has extensive support from the educational and commercial communities. Internet and Usenet are primarily a collection of UNIX workstations networked together. The UNIX-like OS replacements for Commodore computers mainly emulate the shell of UNIX, where programs are run by merely typing in their name. Other aspects of UNIX, such as multiple processes are supported by some of the offering, which are: Asterix. - A UNIX-Look-and-feel Shell replacement for 64 UNIX128. - A small implementation of UNIX for the 128. ACE 128/64.- A new offering which borrows the UNIX shell look for 64 and 128. It is available at ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/os/ace/ 8.4. What is CP/M CP/M stands for Control Program for Microcomputers and is available on every Commodore 128. There is also a CP/M cartridge available for the Commodore 64, but it cannot read CP/M disks, just 1541 formatted disks, and there are questions concerning its ability to work with all revisions of the Commodore 64. CP/M was very popular in the early eighties before MS-DOS became popular. It requires a Z-80 microprocessor, which the 128 has, or an 8080 processor, and a disk drive capable of reading CP/M disks, such as the 1571. If you don't need to read existing CP/M formatted disks, then a 1541 could also be used. This operating system is the one that MS-DOS was modeled after, so there are a lot of similarities. If you are interested in using CP/M as your primary OS, then please check out the newsgroup comp.os.cpm, as they have more info on the current events concerning CP/M. The version of CP/M used on the 128 is 3.0, commonly called CP/M Plus. It is compatible with earlier versions of CP/M but adds some new features. The copy of CP/M 3.0 that ships with the 128 was specially modified to allow use of the features of the 128, such as the Ram Expansion Unit as a RAM disk, the SID chip, and the extra RAM of the 128. In the March 1994 issue of dieHard, Mike Gordillo gave an overview of the CP/M operating system. It is one of many such articles that should be read by anyone new to CP/M. 9. Demonstrations Very few Commodore enthusiasts have never seen a demonstration, yet many aren't really sure what one is. Well, since these programs are still alive and strong in the 1990's, we need to answer some of their mysteries (but not all of them, as their job is to amaze). 9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo? A demonstration, or "demo" as they are known, is a piece of software that is designed to provoke a visually and aurally pleasing effect from the computer. This usually involves large amounts of multi-colored graphics, complex synthesized or digitized sounds, and orchestrated movement of shapes or color schemes on the screen. Demos originated as introductions to "cracked" games, games in which the copy protection had been rendered useless. As time wore on, the standard abilities of the computer were all used in demos, and rival "cracker" teams raced to bring out the best demo. In the search for the "best demo", demo authors, or "coders", tried to maximize the use of the computer in a demo program. Also, they exploited any undocumanted feature the computer could provide. Since most of the circuits in the Commodore computers were multi-purpose, experienced coders could use some of their features in non-standard ways. Some examples: Removing the top and bottom border. Removing the side borders. Placing text (text mapped sprites) in the open borders. More than 8 sprites on screen at once. pseudo interlacing to create illusion of up to 640*400 resolution. Since the commercial game market has shrunk significantly over the past few years, and since demos are sometimes too involved to be classified as a game into, many demos are packaged so they can "stand-on-their-own". Users can download a demo, load it up, and run it like any other program. As demos got more involved, some coders produced cutting-edge technology demos intended to "one-up" their rival coders, while others made artistic, but less technically challenging demos for arts sake. Either way, it is important to note that demos are not usually interactive. They are meant to be viewed and listened to. Demos are mostly passive entertainment, and appreciation for the effects generated in a demo increases as one realizes the normal limitations of the Commodore line of computers. So, sit back, load up a demo, run it, and enjoy. 9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean? These two acronyms refer to the type of TV broadcasting signals used to create the video picture on your TV or monitor. American, Japanese, and Canadians use NTSC, while a good part of Europe uses PAL. This usually makes no difference to programs, as the C64 and C128 in C64 mode always present 200 lines of pixels to the video display. However, since the PAL standard allows more lines to be displayed on the screen and has a slower screen refresh time, the PAL computer has more time before screen refreshes to perform other operations, and also can put more information on the screen in some cases, since there are more lines in a PAL dislpay. Since demos use highly optimized timing and complex routines to perform the effects, some demos can only be written for PAL machines. Sometimes, a demo is written for a PAL machine, but it can be made to run on an NTSC machine. Demos that can run on both machines without any code modification are called regular demos, those that can only run on PAL machines are PAL demos, PAL demos that have been modified to run on NTSC machines are called NTSC-fixed demos, and NTSC demos that have been modified to run on PAL machines (rare) are called PAL-fixed demos. The mean difference between NTSC and PAL is that the mathematical description of NTSC will fit on one page while PAL takes a phone-book style book full of integral/Fourier/Laplace equations. From a demo coder's point of view, the difference lies in how many cycles you get per scan line and how many scanlines there are: VIC type cycles per line lines per screen frame rate old NTSC-M 64 262 60 Hz new NTSC-M 65 263 60 Hz all PAL-B 63 312 50 Hz 9.3. Where do I get demos? There is a whole site full of demos. They are located in the /pub/cbm/c64/demos directory of nic.funet.fi. See section 5.4 for directions on how to transfer files from this site. 9.4. What is a demo competition? This is a "convention" where people from the demo "scene" get together. They are usually held in Europe, although other countries do have them. Coders get together and exhibit previously unreleased demos in a competition where the best ones are ranked according to a subjective scoring system. At the end of the competition, the demos are released to the public. To make things somewhat fair, demos are judged according to computer type, so Amiga demos do not get judged alongside 64 demos. These competitions are usually held in conjunction with music or art competitions. Most demo competitions are held within Europe due to copyright laws and stuff. Previous pardies (demos parties, or competitions) held were:- Event Location Date ----- -------- ---- Radwar Pardy Germany January 1994 Pardy III Denmark Decemeber 1993 Chormance & Faces Pardy Hungary December 1993 Elysium Pardy Poland Decemeber 1993 Entropy Pardy Holland June 1993 Assembley '93 Pardy Finland May 1993 The Computer Crossroads Sweden April 1993 Radwar Pardy Germany January 1993 Duration 1993-1994 (March 1994) Most pardies are held when all the schools are on hoildays. The point of a copy pardy is to go there with your computer, meet other computer friends from other groups and swap different warez, meet other members of your group and using the combined skills from the members (graphics/coding/musix/spreading), write a demo before the closing time for the pardy so it can get voted on. The winner comes away with about 300 Kronar or similar. 9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean? Writing a successful demo often means tweaking routines and hardware to reach beyond the normal capabilities of a computer system. Such is partially why such programs are called "demos". To tweak the system and hardware, programmers utilize undefined routines, use hardware in non- standard ways, and create tming loops that force events to happen at certain intervals. When these components are composed together, they create an effect, either via video or sound. The effect is known by a name or phrase. Some phrases are known by their acronyms, as the two in the heading are known. FLI is Flexible Line Interpretation, while DYCP is Different Y Character Position. It is beyond the scope of the FAQ to discuss all the effect names, but a somewhat complete list can be found at http://www.msen.com/~brain/pub/demo-acronyms.txt on WWW or as file demo-acronyms.txt on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server (See Section for more information on mailservers.) -- Jim Brain, Embedded Systems Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII) brain@mail.msen.com "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me- <a href=http://www.msen.com/~brain/>BII, VR, CBM, and personal info</a>