SpartaDOS Construction Set Advanced Disk Operating Systems With Utilities for Atari a-Bit Computers OWNER'S MANUAL The SpartaDOS Construction Set Advanced Disk Operating Systems with Utilities for Atari Computers bylCD Note-throughout this manual: SpartaDOS, Sparta DOS Construction Set, UltraSpeed, US Doubler, and R-Time 8, are trademarks of lCD, Inc. Atari 130 XE, 800XL, 400/800, 810, 850, 1050, AtariWriter, and AtariArtist, are trademarks of Atari, Corp. OSS version 4 is a trademark of OSS, Inc. ATR8000 is a trademark of SWp, Inc. Percom is a trademark of Percom Data Corp. Axlon RAMPOWER 128 is a trademark of Axlon, Inc. R:Unk is a trademark of Quantum Microsystems, Inc. Published by lCD, Inc. 1220 Rock Street, Suite 310 Rockford, IL 61101-1437 U.S.A. © 1985 lCD, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Reproduction or translation of any part of this work (beyond that permitted by sections 107 and 108 of the United States Copyright Act) without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. PREFACE The SpartaDOS Construction Set What is a DOS? To some people a DOS is just for loading games. For others it is the framework for programming. Some even believe it is a silent manager that should never be seen. All of these are probably true. Different people want different things from a DOS just as they have different reasons for owning a computer. If you own an Atari 8 bit computer you are in luck! ICD has created the SpartaDOS Construction Set. This is one system, complete with useful utilities, choice of menu or command operation, even special memory efficient XLIXE versions with provisions for Ramdisk on the 130XE. Spar!aDOS is the DOS for the future with support for any Atari compatible disk drive including future add on hard disks. It is the only DOS for 8 bit Atari computers that: as of this writing, supports single, dual and double density. SpartaDOS won't become obsolete just because a new drive comes out. Learn to use SpartaDOS now because it will last a long, long time. What this Set will do for You The SpartaDOS Construction Set is the cumulation of two major versions and several SpartaDOS types with many powerful utilities. This provides you, the computer user, with the building blocks for creating your own DOS diskettes. By working through this manual, you will learn the uses and requirements for: each DOS type, the commands, and the utility files. This should leave you with the fundamental knowledge needed to decide which DOS, if any, to use and which utilities are needed on which diskettes. After mastering the easy sections, you are invited to move on to the more technical chapters. There is enough meaty information in these sections to satisfy even the most voracious appetite. To the more experienced, we invite you to attempt writing some of your own SpartaDOS commands or utilities. This manual contains an abundance of new, useful information for everyone, from the beginner, to the most experienced programmer. Iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................. iii 1-INTRODUCTION ..................................... What Is A DOS? . .. 1 Where Is The DOS? . .. 1 Power Up Sequence And Why . .. 1 Different Uses Of A DOS . .. 2 Storage. .. 2 File Management . .. 2 Binary File Loader. .. 2 Install Handlers. .. 2 General Utilities ...................................... 3 Miscellaneous Functions ... .. 3 What All This Means To You . .. 3 2-AN OVERVIEW OF SPARTADOS ......................... 5 General Terms Used Throughout. .. 5 SpartaDOS Terms ...................................... 7 Volume Names . .. 7 Directories. .. 7 The Current Directory . .. 8 The MAIN Directory. .. 8 Subdirectories. .. 8 Command Processor. .. 8 Menus ................................................ 9 Handlers And Drivers. .. 9 On Formatting Options. .. 9 3-THE SYNTAX OF SPARTADOS . .. 11 Files. .. 11 Filenames (fname.ext). .. 11 Wild Carding ......................................... 12 Directory Names. .. 14 Path(s) . .. 14 Command Types. .. 16 Default Drive. .. 17 Major SpartaDOS Version Differences. .. 17 Directory Display Formats ................................ 17 v 4-GETTING STARTED ................................... 19 The Master Diskettes . .. 19 Beginning Diskette Initialization And Duplication. .. 19 Brief Overview Of A Few Commonly Used Commands . .. 20 Primary Commands . .. 22 DIR & DIRS Commands . .. 22 CAR Command. .. 23 BASIC Command ...................................... 23 5-DISKETTE INITIALIZATION . .. 25 INIT & XINIT Commands . .. 25 SpartaDOS 1.x Versions. .. 27 NOCP.DOS . .. 27 NOWRITE.DOS ...................................... 27 STANDARD.DOS ..................................... 27 SPEED.DOS ......................................... 28 SpartaDOS 2.x Versions .................................. 28 XD23B. DOS . .. 28 XC23B. DOS . .. 28 AINIT Command. .. 29 FORMAT Command . .. 29 BOOT Command .. .. 30 Ramdisk Commands . .. 31 6-SUBDIRECTORIES . .. 35 ?DIR Command . .. 35 CREDIR Command ..................................... 35 DELDIR Command. .. 36 CWO Command . .. 36 TREE Command ....................................... 37 7-DUPLICATION . .. 39 COpy Command . .. 39 SPCOPY Command. .. 42 XCOPY Command . .. 43 DUPDSK Command. .. 44 a-MAINTENANCE. .. 47 ERASE Command ...................................... 47 UNERASE Command ................................... 47 RENAME Command .................................... 48 CHVOL Command . .. 49 vi 9-PROTECTION ........................................ 51 File Protection ......................................... 51 PROTECT Command .................................. 51 UNPROTECT Command ............................... 51 Diskette Protection . .. 52 LOCK Command ..................................... 52 UNLOCK Command. .. 53 10-LOGOMENU-STEP BY STEP .......................... 55 How To Create A Special Binary File Loader . .. 55 Construction (for non-XLIXE Computers) . .. 56 Construction (for XLIXE Computers Only) . .. 58 11-MENU OPERATION ... .. 59 MENU Command. .. 59 The MENU Operation. .. 59 Other Notes About The MENU Program ..................... 63 12-TIME AND DATE SUPPORT. .. 65 To Activate Time/Date Clock. .. 65 To Set Time/Date Clock .................................. 65 TIME Command. .. 66 SET Command. .. 66 TD Command. .. 67 XTD Command. .. 68 TSET Command. .. 69 CHTD Command . .. 70 13-COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT ......................... 71 MODEM Or Terminal Program . .. 71 Communicating Through Phone Lines ...................... 71 Two Modes Of RS232 Handler Operation .................... 72 RS232 Commands. .. 72 PORT Command ....................................... 73 vii 14-INPUT/OUTPUT REDIRECTION . .. 75 Input Redirection ... .. 75 Batch Files . .. 75 PAUSE Command .................................... 77 TYPE Command. .. 78 Output Redirection . .. 78 PRINT Command . .. 78 How 1/0 Redirection Works ............................... 80 Disabling 1/0 Redirection . ..