Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation ————————————————————————————————— File Type Notes —————————————————————————————————
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APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation ————————————————————————————————— File Type Notes ————————————————————————————————— Apple Computer -- Developer CD -- March 1993 Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation Human Interface Notes -- Developer CD March 1993 -- 1 of 36 APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION ##################################################################### ### FILE: FT.Assign.Form ##################################################################### Request for File Type and Auxiliary Type Assignment Apple Developer Technical Support Before you ship your application, you must request file type and auxiliary type assignments for files you create from Apple Developer Technical Support. File type and auxiliary type combinations are used to identify files and their contents. The limited supply of file types requires that file types be defined generically and that specific auxiliary types be assigned by Apple for application use. If you use a file type or auxiliary type which is not assigned to you, future versions of the Apple II or IIGS system software may identify your files with the wrong application, resulting in unpredictable results. For example, you might accidentally use a type for your data files that future system software will identify as code. Apple assigns as many auxiliary types as you need in the appropriate file types. We also try to direct you towards file format standards that increase your application's ability to work with other applications. Assigned file type and auxiliary type combinations are used by the Finder(TM) to identify files on machines with sufficient memory. For more information, please see "About File Type Notes" and the letter that comes with this form, or contact Developer Technical Support if you have any further questions. If you are requesting more than one assignment, please copy this form and send us one copy for each assignment. You do not have to fill in the entire address if the forms are attached to each other. Thank you. Send the completed form to: Apple Developer Technical Support Attn: Apple II File Type Assignment 20525 Mariani Ave. M/S 75-3T Cupertino, CA 95014 AppleLink: AIIDTS Internet: [email protected] MCI Mail: AIIDTS (264-0103) Developer Name:______________________________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Technical Contact:___________________________________________________________ Telephone (daytime):_________________________________________________________ Product Name (required):_____________________________________________________ Generic type of data in file:________________________________________________ (Use "About File Type Notes" Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation Human Interface Notes -- Developer CD March 1993 -- 2 of 36 APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION as a guide) ________________________________________________ Kind of file as you wish it to appear in the Finder(TM):____________________________________________________ (30 characters maximum) ____________________________________________________ ### END OF FILE FT.Assign.Form Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation Human Interface Notes -- Developer CD March 1993 -- 3 of 36 APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION ##################################################################### ### FILE: FT.Letter ##################################################################### Dear Apple II Developer: Please find enclosed the form for a requested File Type and Auxiliary Type assignment for Apple II computers. Because the number of file types is severely limited (256 total), Apple Computer defines file types as generic descriptions of file contents and assigns specific auxiliary types to individual developers for specific file formats. These combinations must be assigned by Apple, not solely arbitrated, due to the specialized assignment nature of generic file type descriptions. Please copy the form and use it to request all file type and auxiliary type assignments. The following pointers may assist you and prevent delays when requesting an assignment: o You may use previously documented file formats without obtaining an assignment for them (for example, you do not have to request an assignment for text files, Apple Preferred graphics files or Audio IFF sound files). o You may use file types $F1 through $F8 at your convenience. Apple does not and will not arbitrate or document the use of these files. o You should request an assignment if you create new file formats that you wish to identify from a directory entry. For example, text files are identified by a file type of $04. If you wish to be able to identify your files similarly, you should request an assignment. o Many programs identify files only by file type and not by auxiliary type. These programs only identify your files by the general category of the file type, so it is important that we assign the best-suited type to your files. Please be as specific as possible in the "Generic type of data in file" field so we don't have to ask you for more information. o All fields on the form are required and must not be left blank. If you cannot fill out a field (for example, your program doesn't have a final name yet), please use temporary file types and auxiliary types in file types $F1 through $F8 until all the information is available. If requesting multiple assignments, you may leave the address, technical contact and telephone number lines blank as long as the forms are attached to each other and one of them has all the fields completed. o We can accommodate multiple requests (several combinations for one program), but we cannot accommodate requests where the auxiliary type field has been used as a field of flags. Only Apple Computer, Inc. can make such assignments, and then only for files that are system-wide and not specific to a particular application. o When your application ships using your assignment, tell us. Otherwise we do not publish or acknowledge the assignment in any way to the world at large, and it is not included in the system software. We do not wish to pre-announce anyone's software. Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation Human Interface Notes -- Developer CD March 1993 -- 4 of 36 APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION o Please use a separate form for each requested file type and auxiliary type assignment. If you can, we would appreciate the file format so we can publish it in an Apple II File Type Note. More information can be found in "About File Type Notes". If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us at the address on the registration form. Thank you, Apple Computer, Inc. Developer Technical Support ### END OF FILE FT.Letter Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation Human Interface Notes -- Developer CD March 1993 -- 5 of 36 APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION ##################################################################### ### FILE: FTN.00.xxxx ##################################################################### Apple II File Type Notes _____________________________________________________________________________ Developer Technical Support File Type: $00 (0) Auxiliary Type: All Full Name: Typeless file Short Name: Unknown Written by: Matt Deatherage March 1990 Files of this type and auxiliary type contain data that is unknown to the file's creator. _____________________________________________________________________________ Files of type $00 contain data that is unknown to the program that creates the file. There are instances where programs, especially utilities, have to create files before they know the eventual file type and auxiliary type of the file. A good example of this is a telecommunications program that downloads a file without a Binary II or other header to preserve the file's attributes. Not knowing the file type, the program has little choice but to assign the file as an "unknown" type until such time as the real file type can be determined or assigned. Files should be given type $00 when the creating program cannot determine the real file type. Reasonable guesses can be made (to continue the above example, a telecommunications program might assign file type $04 for all files transferred without protocol, guessing that ASCII transfers are probably for ASCII Text files). File type $00 is not to be used for files regularly used by applications simply because the application programmer didn't wish to obtain a file type and auxiliary type assignment. The auxiliary types for this file type are reserved; any files created of type $00 should be created with auxiliary type $0000. ### END OF FILE FTN.00.xxxx Apple ][ Computer Family Technical Documentation Human Interface Notes -- Developer CD March 1993 -- 6 of 36 APPLE ][ COMPUTER FAMILY TECHNICAL INFORMATION ##################################################################### ### FILE: FTN.01.xxxx ##################################################################### Apple II File Type Notes _____________________________________________________________________________ Developer Technical Support File Type: $01 (1) Auxiliary Type: All Full Name: Bad Blocks file Short Name: Bad blocks Written by: Matt Deatherage March 1990 Files of this type and auxiliary type contain blocks that should not be used by the file system. _____________________________________________________________________________