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macwdg.doc
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1995-04-22
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7KB
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284 lines
MACWDG IS A MACHINE LANGUAGE UTILITY
DESIGNED FOR USE WITH THE MAC/65
ASSEMBLER FROM OSS. IT IS FUNCTIONALLY
EQUIVALENT TO MY EARLIER BASWDG
PROGRAM, PROVIDING ACCESS TO SIMPLE
DOS FUNCTIONS WITHOUT EXIT TO
DUP.SYS.
If you already have BASWDG, you don't
need this whole DOC file..the
functions are pretty much the same.
However READ THE NEXT 4 PARAGRAPHS!!!
THERE IS A 'DOCUMENTED FEATURE' (I.E.
WEIRD BUG)
DO NOT PRESS <RESET> WHILE YOU ARE IN
THE MACWDG MENU.
IF, FOR SOME REASON YOU DO, YOUR
COMPUTER WILL GET HINKY. FORTUNATELY,
IT WON'T CRASH IMMEDIATELY. SAVE ANY
WORK YOU NEED, AND THEN DO A COMPLETE
COLD-START. IF YOU DON'T, MAC <WILL>
COLD-START <ITSELF> ON THE NEXT
RESET!! AAARGH!!!!
I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TRACK THIS DOWN
FOR A YEAR, WITH NO LUCK. BUT I
HONESTLY THINK THAT THE PROGRAM IS
USEFUL ENOUGH THAT, AS LONG AS YOU
DON'T DO THAT <BAD THING> ...
WHAT IT DOES
Once MACWDG is installed, it takes
over the computer's DOS vector. When
you issue a DOS command, instead of
loading DUP.SYS, you'll run MACWDG. It
presents a Quick Menu for the most
commonly used disk functions without
disturbing your code in EDIT or TEXT
(so you can save those 45 sectors for
MEM.SAV on D8.) Trust me. This is a
lot faster, and less hassle than
constantly going to DUP.
This is an Old Idea. I've tailored
MACWDG to match my own programming
needs and quirks. You can do the same
thing. See MACWDG.M65 for Source
Code.
NUMBERS
Check the title screen for Critical
Values.
The RESET defaults are MACWDG
shadows. You can change them with a D
command in DDT. TEXT and BACK set
MAC's internal color registers (info
from the ubiquitous Bill Wilkinson).
Poke them as you would 709 and 710 in
Basic. The keyboard is speeded up.
These shadow 729,730.
ABSOLUTELY RESERVED MEMORY
Starting at $1CFC, this block is
QUITE SMALL. It should NEVER, EVER, be
overwritten.
MACWDG lives mostly in 'SHADOW RAM',
UNDER the OSS cartridge (another thank
you to OSS for info!) When you call it
by typing DOS, MAC is disabled, and
MACWDG runs. Exit and MAC is back.
What that means is that you have a 1K+
program that steals less than a page
from free memory. Handy, no?
MACWDG MENU FUNCTIONS
DIRECTORY
Type the drive number. If RAMDISK.COM
hasn't loaded, or if you're using DOS
2.0, only 1 or 2 are allowed.
Otherwise you have D8: to play
with...hoo-hah.
DEFAULT DRIVE
That's the drive that doesn't need a
Device Spec (eg. D1:) when typing in
file names. In DUP.SYS, the Default is
always D1: In the MACWDG menu, things
are more flexible.
THE MACWDG DEFAULT DRIVE IS THE LAST
DRIVE FROM WHICH YOU READ A
DIRECTORY.
The intent is to default to the drive
whose files are currently listed on
the screen. This can be confusing
until you get used to it. So there are
a couple of helps:
D: is ALWAYS translated to D1:
The FULL FILESPEC, as translated, is
printed on the screen before any
action is taken. LOOK AT IT! If it's
not what you intended, you can bail
out.
CHANGED YOUR MIND?
The All Purpose Quit Key is BREAK. At
ANY prompt, pressing it will exit to
the menu.
BREAK disabled? There are a couple of
alternatives:
AT FILE NAME 'INPUT' PROMPTS: use a
'Null Input.' Press RETURN ONLY with
no name.
AT ANY OTHER PROMPT: hit ESCAPE.
CONFIRM
Before MACWDG acts, it will ask
'OK?', just to make sure that you
really want to do what you said.
1) Want to quit? Hit BREAK,ESCape, or
N (for NO, of course.)
2) Go ahead? Any other key.
FILE COMMANDS
These are E (Erase), R (Rename), and
M (Move File) At the command prompts,
INPUT the filename (remember, no
device spec needed if you're using the
DEFAULT.) Abort by pressing RETURN
only, or BREAK.
ERASE zaps the selected file.
RENAME works in the normal fashion.
Type the old name, a comma, and the
new name. Sorry, you STILL have to
watch out for duplicate names (don't
blame me..I'm just using XIO 32!) Use
RENAME with the target directory on
the screen to make sure you're not
doing something nasty. Make sure you
complete INPUT, providing the comma
and new name. Otherwise, you're liable
to find your file renamed to SECTORS
(what?)
MOVE IT!
This is my favorite. The MOVE command
combines the functions of COPY FILE
(C) and DUPLICATE FILE (O) in the
DUP.SYS menu. It's especially useful
with D8.
MOVE uses 'Free RAM', starting at the
top of your program, for its buffer
(do you have data up there? Careful.)
The smaller your program the bigger
the buffer. (Error 2 means your RAM is
full!)
MOVE COMMANDS
There are SEPARATE PROMPTS for FROM
and TO filenames. Remember to use the
Default to cut down on typing.
Any legal device (E:, P:, C:, D:) can
be used. Please remember the colon!
THE LEYENBERGER OPTION
If you want to use the SAME FILE NAME
for a disk MOVE, you can type ONLY the
Device Spec (INCLUDING THE COLON!) at
the TO prompt. The FROM file name will
be appended.
COPY or DUPLICATE?
COPY FILE (no swaps) is automatically
assumed with files that don't go TO
disk. Handy for dumping text files to
P: or screen (E:) Likewise if you use
2 different drives (like MOVEing a
file to D8 from D1)
If the SAME D:num is used for FROM
and TO, MACWDG invokes DUPLICATE FILE,
and prompts for swaps.
These work like 'OK?' BREAK/ESC/N to
exit, or RETURN to continue. Depending
on exactly where you are in the
process, an exit may leave you with a
partial file on the TO disk. Erase as
necessary. For severe problems,
(inserted the wrong disk?) use
DISKFIX.COM.
EXITING MACWDG
Cart returns you to EDIT or TEXT.
To go all the way and exit to
DUP.SYS, type @ (SHIFT-8.) That's
intentionally a two-finger combo, to
avoid accidents.
DUP.SYS??
I try to avoid DUP.SYS, but sometimes
it's necessary (DISKFIX!)
IF MEM.SAV IS ACTIVE WHEN YOU EXIT
DUP.SYS WITH THE B COMMAND, MACWDG is
still there. However, it has been
unhooked (safety first) To rehook it,
go to DDT,*$0C, then DFC1C to
reinstall the DOSINI hook.
Exit DDT, and RESET. MACWDG is back.
Do this BEFORE any drastic action like
a RESET, LOAD, or NEW.
DO make sure that MEM.SAV has
restored the RAM. LIST if you're not
sure. Remember that using options C
and O in DUP can zap MEM.SAV (That's
why I wrote MOVE)
IF MEM.SAV IS NOT ACTIVE, you can
usually Reload MACWDG with the L
command. If in doubt, Reboot.
Running DUP.SYS on D8 with no
MEM.SAV, alters the sector count for
that file(??) Beats me. Even if it
says DUP.SYS is taking up 156 sectors,
it's really only using 42, as
confirmed by FREE SECTORS. So far,
this seems harmless.
have fun....
>>don
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