Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!mcgill-vision!quiche!calvin!depeche
From: depeche@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca (Sam Alan EZUST)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: format program
Message-ID: <3357@calvin.cs.mcgill.ca>
Date: 7 May 90 23:40:55 GMT
Reply-To: depeche@calvin.cs.mcgill.ca (Sam Alan EZUST)
Organization: SOCS, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Lines: 30


I use Pcommand and gulam frequently, and hate having to leave
the shells to go to the desktop whenever I want to format.
So I decided to start writing a program which works like the
pc formatter, i.e.

format a: /s2  will format a: for double-sided disks.

I am using the example from Laser C which formats disks (pg451 of the
manual) Here is my problem:
 
I also want to be able to format 10 sectors/track. Unfortunately, the
procedure which writes boot sectors, Protobt, has 4 possible disk
types, none of which are 10sectors/track.
 
Also, how come the procedure which writes bootsectors to the disk
first writes 0'd buffer to track 0, if presumably, the procedure
is being called right after a format??

And for double-sided disks, isn't it necessary to zero the second
side of track 0 as well [if it is necessary to do the first side].

Oh well. Also, if I am re-inventing the wheel, and you happen to have
done it already, could you send it to me?

-- 
|S. Alan Ezust                                |  depeche@calvin.cs.mcgill.ca|
|McGill University School of Computer Science |  Montreal, Quebec, Canada   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                     "The mind is a terrible thing...."                    |