Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!uc!cs.umn.edu!simvax.labmed.umn.edu!davidli From: davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: welcome to comp.sys.atari.st Message-ID: <1990Aug20.135323.1@simvax.labmed.umn.edu> Date: 20 Aug 90 13:53:22 GMT Sender: iacovou@cs.umn.edu (Danny Iacovou) Organization: Flying Taoist Graphics Lines: 409 Last update: 20 August 1990 Author: David Paschall-Zimbel (davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu) Comments and suggestions welcome. Directory (new articles and articles with changes are marked with an '*'): Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st What sort of articles would interest people reading comp.sys.atari.st? * Where can I get Public Domain/Shareware software? How do I deal with Archived files (.ZOO, .ARC, .LZH)? What does TOS ERROR nn mean? What do the bombs on my screen mean? What is the format for [x] paint program data? What is GDOS, and where can I get it? Is TeX/LaTeX available on the Atari ST? Public Domain/Shareware languages... * Is GNU C available on the Atari ST? Where can I get copies of ZNET? ST Pen Pals list TIPS AND HINTS from other users Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st ============================ This newsgroup is devoted to discussion about 16 bit Atari micros. At present that includes the Atari 520ST, 1040ST, Mega ST, STe, and STacy. There are also emulators for the Apple Macintosh and IBM XT available. Finally, there is the Lynx (a game machine) and the Atari TT and ATW. Most of the people who read this newsgroup are technically oriented. The newsgroup serves as a resource for Atari users ... feel free to contribute to the discussions. Associated newsgroups include: comp.binaries.atari.st comp.sys.atari.st.tech comp.sources.atari.st What sort of articles would interest people reading comp.sys.atari.st? ====================================================================== The most interesting articles are technical articles, impressions of software/hardware, information on Atari user-groups and shows, or helpful hints on how to make better use of the machine and its software. The least interesting articles are in the form of 'my computer is better than...', especially when cross-posted outside of comp.sys.atari.st. If you don't know how to eliminate other newsgroups from a reply to an article which is cross-posted, ask your systems administrator. 'FOR-SALE' articles should be posted to misc.forsale, and ONLY local distribution of comp.sys.atari.st. Those outside the United States have little desire to read about that neat bit of [hard/soft]ware you're selling when you live in the U.S.A. If you don't know how to restrict distribution of a posting, ask your systems administrator. Many articles are in the form of "How do I...?" or "Where do I...?" In this article, I will try to answer some of the most-often asked questions. Where can I get Public Domain/Shareware software? ========================================================== There is an FTP source and a comp.sources.atari.st/comp.binaries.atari.st mail server. You can also try the commercial on-line services such as GEnie, CompuServe, Delphi and Bix. For anonymous FTP: atari.archive.umich.edu [35.1.33.8] User anonymous cd /atari The atari.archive server is now available via e-mail as well. To find out more about bart (the mail server), send a message to atari@atari.archive.umich.edu with a body of "help". You will get a message back with the help file. For anonymous FTP: dsrgsun.ces.cwru.edu [129.22.16.2] User anonymous cd pub/atari The dsrgsun server gave me the following message when accessed today [20 July]: pub/atari contains atariST Tos files pub/minix contains atariST Minix files pub/Composers is the Prolog Composers archive pub/plink is the Prolog "lint" checker pub/promix is the Prolog MetaInterpreter NEW: (updated Apr 9, 90) in pub/atari: gcc V 1.37.1 for Tos PatchLevel 56 of the gcc-tos library microRtx bindings for gcc updates for all utilities in util.zoo emacs V18.55 for Tos. New version gprof and profiling support for gcc tos V1 of GnuSmalltalk for TOS - 4M machine req NEW: pub/atari/UPDATES contains diffs for updating the tos library. Most files should be retrieved in BINARY format (at least those ending with the suffix of .ARC, .LZH, .ZOO, .PRG, .TTP, .TOS) For the panarthea mail server, see Steven Grimm's monthly posting. Panarthea holds all of the comp.sources.atari.st/comp.binaries.atari.st postings. If you aren't reading these two newsgroups, you should consider doing so. How do I deal with Archived files (.ZOO, .ARC, .LZH)? ===================================================== Files ending with suffixes .ZOO, .ARC and .LZH are archive files. They are binary files which may contain one or more other files in a compressed format. Archive files usually take up less disk space, and for this reason have become quite popular for transferring large files via modem. In order to extract the files from an archive file, one must use an archive program. Here are the correspondences: ARC Use ARC.TTP LZH Use LHARC.TTP ZOO Use ZOO.TTP These programs are all available via FTP from the atari.archive server, in the /atari/archivers directory. Recommended files are: arc.ttp - needed to extract the other archivers, once. arc_602.arc - latest version of ARC, with the most fancy features and quite a lot of documentation lharc.arc zoo_bin.arc There are also several GEM programs which act as 'shells' for the archive programs. The most popular are Shareware offerings, also available on atari.archive server in the /atari/archivers directory. They are: arcgsh21.arc - European in origin arcsh197.arc - US in origin The GEM shells are recommended for inexperienced users (and appear to be quite handy for the experienced user as well!) They require a copy of the archive program -- in other words you need BOTH the GEM shell *AND* the archive program in order to use the GEM shell. Documentation on the use of the archive programs should accompany the archive files mentioned above. To use ARC.TTP in order to extract these files, use the command line: xh xxxx.ARC *.* where 'xxxx' is replaced by 'arc_602', 'zoo_bin', etc. For example xh arc_602.arc *.* will place all files within the arc_602.arc into the current directory. It assumes you've clicked on the ARC.TTP program from the Desktop and have the parameter dialogue box on your screen. In many cases, simply typing a '?h' will provide an extensive list of available options. Source and binary code for archive programs have also been posted to comp.sources.atari.st and comp.binaries.atari.st. They are available via e-mail through the panarthea archive server. See Steven Grimm's posting for more information on how to obtain files from panarthea. What does TOS ERROR nn mean? What do the bombs on my screen mean? ==================================== Below is a letter, originally written by Darryl May, that John Townsend of Atari posted on GEnie in January to provide some answers. This letter also appeared in the June 1988 issue of _Current Notes_ (122 N. Johnson Rd., Sterling, VA 22170). Dear ATARI customer, The following is an official list of the errors that can appear while you are operating your ST computer. This first list gives you the GEM error messages: Error description GEM Error code ========================================= OK (no error)....................0 Fundamental error................1 Drive not ready..................2 Unknown command..................3 CRC error........................4 Bad request......................5 Seek error.......................6 Unknown media....................7 Sector not found.................8 No paper.........................9 Write fault.....................10 Read fault......................11 General error...................12 Write protect...................13 Media change....................14 Unknown device..................15 Bad sectors on format...........16 Insert other disk...............17 Invalid function number.........32 File not found..................33 Path not found..................34 No handles left.................35 Access denied...................36 Invalid handle..................37 Insufficient memory.............39 Invalid memory block address....40 Invalid drive specified.........46 No more files...................49 Range error.....................64 Internal error..................65 Invalid program load format.....66 Those bombs that appear on your screen are error messages from the 68000 micro-processor. Number Description of bombs =========================================== Reset: Initial PC2...............1 Bus Error........................2 Address Error....................3 Illegal Instruction..............4 Zero Divide......................5 CHK Instruction..................6 TRAPV Instruction................7 Privilege Violation..............8 Trace............................9 Line 1010 Emulator..............10 Line 1111 Emulator..............11 [unassigned, reserved]..........12 [unassigned, reserved]..........13 Format Error....................14 Uninitialized Interrupt Vector..15 [unassigned, reserved].......16-23 Spurious Interrupt..............24 Level 1 Interrupt Autovector....25 Level 2 Interrupt Autovector....26 Level 3 Interrupt Autovector....27 Level 4 Interrupt Autovector....28 Level 5 Interrupt Autovector....29 Level 6 Interrupt Autovector....30 Level 7 Interrupt Autovector....31 Trap Instruction Vectors.....32-47 [unassigned, reserved].......48-63 User Interrupt Vectors......64-255 Darryl May Tech Specialist What is the format for [x] paint program data? ============================================== There is a periodic posting of ST Picture Formats, edited by David Baggett. The file is on the atari.archive server under /atari/graphics/picfmts.doc. What is GDOS, and where can I get it? ===================================== GDOS stands for Graphic Device Output System (at least that's what my copy of STart, volume 1 number 1 said...) You can get a copy of "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About GDOS (and more)" by Douglas N. Wheeler from the atari.archive server. The file is /atari/programming/gdos.arc. There is a German version of GDOS available from the atari.archive server. The file is /atari/utilities/amcgdos.arc. Currently, there are no truly public domain sources for the GDOS system files or font files (at least those supplied by Atari). You can get these files with many commercial programs, such as Degas Elite, WordUp!, etc. You might also want to check your local user group to see if they received a copy of the WordFlair demo program (also available on GEnie). The demo program appears to have the GDOS system and font files. Is TeX/LaTeX available on the Atari ST? ======================================= The TeX/LaTeX typesetting programs are available on the Atari ST. Check the atari.archive server under /atari/tex, or the dsrgsun server under pub/atari/StTeX. Fonts and device drivers (including one for the Epson 9-pin printers) are available on the atari.archive server. Public Domain/Shareware languages... ==================================== Check the atari.archive server under /atari/languages. Currently included: abc recently posted to comp.binaries.atari.st apl demo version forth Don't know which one. I recommend Bradley FORTH icon modula-2 From Germany Sozobon C Most excellant Elan xlisp xprolog xscheme You can also get the GNU C program, which runs on 1 megabyte Atari ST systems. For more than minor programming, you may need to upgrade to 2 or more megabytes, as the GNU programs generally assume you've got plenty memory. Is GNU C available on the Atari ST? =================================== GNU C for TOS is available via anonymous FTP on dsrgsun.ces.cwru.edu [129.22.16.2] in the pub/atari directory. Be sure to check the README file before going further. Version 1 of GNUSmalltalk is also available on dsrgsun.ces.cwru.edu. It requires a minimum of 4 megabytes of memory. It is also in the pub/atari directory. Where can I get copies of ZNET? =============================== ZNET on-line magazine is available on CompuServe and GEnie. You can also get copies mailed to you by sending an e-mail message to stzmagazine-request@virginia.edu indicating you wish to subscribe. They won't get to you on Friday (which is when they're posted), but Greg Lindahl provides an excellent service to the networking community by sending these out. ZNET and some information from the Current Notes user magazine are also available from the atari.archive server under /atari/magazines. ST Pen Pals list ================ Simon Chappell is compiling a list of people interested in exchanging paper-based mail "of interested parties who could then keep in touch and prevent themselves losing touch with the ST community at large (this would be especially easy if someone who still had net access could summarise current topics or forward news and advice!)" He is accepting entries in this format: eg Simon Chappell. s61304@uk.ac.psw.pa (NOTE: NO LONGER VALID ADDRESS...) 51 Amherst Road, Penny-Come-Quick, Plymouth, Devon, PL3 4HJ. UK. C, operating systems (UNIX, VMS) & relational databases. Contact Simon at his paper mail address if you are interested. TIPS AND HINTS from other users =============================== Any 'multisync' monitor which handles 70 video fields a second can be used with the ST; the custom cable involves no tricks, or commercial ones are available. The original NEC multisync does NOT handle 70 fields a sec. More than 3 bombs often means more than 1 error, so interpretations are tricky. An ST-formatted disk which is not readable by a PC can be made readable by putting the 3 bytes EB 34 90 (those were 3 bytes of hex) at the beginning of the boot sector (sector 1 of track 0, I believe). This can be done with either an ST or PC absolute sector editor. When using disks formatted on a PC in an ST, make sure to insert and access a disk with a different serial number in between disk changes. =========================================================================== I would like to thank those who sent messages with suggestions and comments. I would appreciate feedback, comments, suggestions for more TIPS AND HINTS, etc. E-mail can reach me at the following: davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu Internet davidli@simvax BITnet -- David Paschall-Zimbel