Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!haven!udel!freezer!gdtltr
From: gdtltr@freezer.it.udel.edu (Gary Duzan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: 8 bit clocks
Message-ID: <29864@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 8 Sep 90 18:48:30 GMT
References: <1990Sep6.092043.23702@hayes.fai.alaska.edu> <29623@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <33658@cup.portal.com>
Sender: usenet@ee.udel.edu
Reply-To: gdtltr@freezer.it.udel.edu (Gary Duzan)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Brain Dead Innovations (BDI)
Lines: 49

In article <33658@cup.portal.com> Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com writes:
=>> Gary Duzan recently wrote,
=>> 
=>> In article <1990Sep6.092043.23702@hayes.fai.alaska.edu> ftjlh@acad3.fai.
=>> alaska.edu writes:
=>> =>    I don't see that atari BASIC has a provision for clock.... does the
=>> =>ICD cart come with some extended language? I also need info on the ports
=>> =>of the 800XL and 130XE lines... any help appreciated. Thanks.. j
=>> 
=>>    I believe there is a Z: handler for the clock. You can send XIO calls to
=>> the Z: device to read the time. [...]
=>
=>Tell me more about this Z: handler -- is this something specific to the ICD
=>R-Time 8 cartridge, or will it read the software clock (memory locations 
=>18,19,20) on a stock Atari?  Does it come with the R-Ttime 8, or is it avail-
=>able as a separate itemn?  From ICD?  Public domain?  I'd be interested in an
=>easily-pollable-from-BASIC clock, myself.
=>
   ZHAND.COM comes with the SpartaDOS Construction Set, and probably with
R-Time 8 as well (I don't own it). SpartaDOS maintains its own jiffy clock
independant of the 18-20 clock. I believe there are a couple PEEKs to read
the SpartaDOS time. If you have the R-Time 8, it is used instead of the jiffy
clock, so the SpartaDOS clock will be more accurate. This usage doesn't
require ZHAND.
   However, if you are using another DOS, you can access the R-Time 8 with
ZHAND, which creates the Z: handler. I believe that you can also use ZHAND to
read the SpartaDOS jiffy clock if you don't have the R-Time 8.
   If you are seriously interested, you should probably call ICD. I don't have
my Atari books with me, and I don't even know if ICD still makes the thing.

=>Thanks in advance, Gary. (Tell Sunita B. I sent mail to her "new" username,
=>but haven't heard back...)
=>
   Ok, I'll remind her.

=>Chris Chiesa
=>  Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com

                                        Gary Duzan
                                        Time  Lord
                                    Third Regeneration



--
                          gdtltr@freezer.it.udel.edu
   _o_                    --------------------------                      _o_
 [|o o|] If you can square, round, or cube a number, why not sphere it? [|o o|]
  |_O_|         "Don't listen to me; I never do." -- Doctor Who          |_O_|