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From: jh4o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jeffrey T. Hutzelman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: ProDos versions and some general Apple ][e questions
Message-ID: <4bNgtgK00Vo9QFowI_@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: 13 Dec 90 00:42:20 GMT
References: <1990Dec12.182649.14336@uncecs.edu>
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Lines: 82
In-Reply-To: <1990Dec12.182649.14336@uncecs.edu>

OK, here goes...

	1. No problem.  I know of no program which will run under
ProDOS 1.1.1 which will not run under P8 (ProDOS 8) v1.9, which is the
most current version.

	2. The P8 kernel has undergone many improvements and bug fixes
since version 1.1.1.  The latest improvement is the replacement of the
old P8 quit code with a somewhat user-friendly program selector.

	3. Yes.  Go to your local Apple dealer, or find a friend who
has ProDOS 8 v1.9, and get a copy.  This is a FREE upgrade from the
dealer; don't let them push you around.

	Now, a little bit about ProDOS.  What you, and most users, see
of ProDOS is AppleSoft BASIC with some extra commands for handling
disk-related things.  What is really there, however, is very similar
to MS-DOS.  ProDOS 8 has a kernel that loads itself in at boot time,
and stays there until either the memory it occupies is trashed (highly
unlikely) or you reboot.  Specifically, it occupies the space
"underneath" the monitor ROM, which most programs can't make use of
anyway.  Once the kernel finishes loading, it looks on the boot disk
for the first application (type SYS) whose name ends in ".SYSTEM".  On
most disks, this is the program BASIC.SYSTEM, but it doesn't have to
be.  For instance, in the case of AppleWorks, it is the program
APLWORKS.SYSTEM, which loads and executes AppleWorks.
	The second part of what you see is BASIC.SYSTEM, which is a
command shell that corresponds to COMMAND.COM on an MS-DOS system.
Its job is to accept commands from the user and execute them.  It only
handles the new, disk-related commands.  Any other BASIC commands are
passed on to the AppleSoft BASIC interpreter in ROM.  This is
essentially an application program, and it must be re-loaded each time
it is used.  Unlike most applications, however, it is capable of
launching another application.
	Unfortunately, ProDOS does not provide the capability to
automatically RETURN to such a program, unless you boot GS/OS on an
Apple IIgs.  What happens instead when you quit a program is that you
get a really annoying program selector that first prompts you for a
prefix to use, and then for the name of the program to launch.
Unfortunately, it doesn't provide you with any way to find out the
name of a volume or what applications are on a disk.  However, any
disk that got you to BASIC when you booted has a program called
BASIC.SYSTEM on it, which will get you back to BASIC again if you run
it.
	In P8 v1.9, Apple has replaced this code with a more
user-friendly program selector that makes it easier to find and
execute the application you want.  So, having the latest version of P8
is definitely a plus.

	Finally, you asked about a term program.  First, I'll
reccommend two REALLY GOOD commercial programs.  ProTERM is THE BEST
Apple // communications program that I've ever seen.  There are a few
people on the net who will disagree with this, but most put it within
the top three.  Unfortunately, it is rather expensive.  ProTERM is
currently published by InSync software; you can get it through most
mail-order houses.
	The other program is TIC (Talk Is Cheap), which used to be
shareware but has now gone commercial.  It has been the most used
Apple // terminal program for a long time now, and is definitely worth
geting.  It doesn't cost a lot, and has lots of powerful features.
Other people here can tell you where to get it; I can't remember
offhand.
	Now, on to shareware/freeware stuff.  Apple Kermit will do
both Xmodem and Kermit file transfers and is capable of emulating a
VT100, but it's not very user-friendly.  It should be available for
anonymous FTP from tybalt.caltech.edu or one of the other Apple II ftp
sites.
	There is also ACT (Apple Conference Terminal), which does a
reasonably decent job of terminal emulation and file transfers,
including batch transfer.  It alos supports a special protocol that
allows things like online 2-player games, and an othello game is
included.  The documentation is rather poor, but it does seem to be a
useful program.  Unfortunately, I don't know where to get a copy, and
I don't think I even have mine anymore.  If anyone here on the net
knows where to get the latest version, or even if anyone's still
working on it, please let me know.
	Well, other than that, there isn't much else I can say.  Good
luck, and welcome to the Apple //.
--------------------
Jeffrey Hutzelman			America Online: JeffreyH11
Internet: jh4o+@andrew.cmu.edu		BITNET: JHUTZ@DRYCAS
>> Apple // Forever!!! <<