Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!mcsun!ukc!strath-cs!nott-cs!dpg
From: dpg@cs.nott.ac.uk (Dave Gymer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: TOS filing system for MiNT
Keywords: mint, msdos, tos
Message-ID: <1991May20.083049.29534@cs.nott.ac.uk>
Date: 20 May 91 08:30:49 GMT
References: <1991May14.085938.23232@cs.nott.ac.uk> <2940@atari.UUCP>
Organization: Nottingham University
Lines: 53

In article <2940@atari.UUCP> apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt) writes:
>dpg@cs.nott.ac.uk (Dave Gymer) writes:
>>I'm about to start work on an MeSsy-DOS filing system for MiNT, and would
>>appreciate some advice about the way it should handle filenames.
>
>Before you "start work" please check to see if TOS's and MiNT's own
>filesystem isn't what you need.  They *are* MSDOS compatible.  You can
>take TOS disks and use them on PC's.

Yes, but ultimately the aim of MiNT is surely to completely replace TOS. And,
by the way, the ST cannot cope with disks with a number of FATs other than 2,
or floppies with sector sizes >1024 bytes (unusual, I admit :-), and doesn't
handle disks with FATs of size != 5 sectors correctly.

>Well, that's not quite true.  They have to be formatted by a program which
>does an MS-DOS compatible format.  The difference is a couple of bytes at
>the beginning of the boot sector.  Original TOS didn't set that up the way
>MSDOS needed.  New TOSes (1.4 and greater) do.  Other people's formatters,
>like DoubleClick, let you select this as an option.  There is no difference
>at all in the data part of the disk, only a couple of bytes in the first
>sector which we ignore and they use.

I have an STe, and this does the correct formatting.

>Sometimes you can format a disk on a PC and use it on an ST.  You can
>certainly READ the disk on the ST.  You can't WRITE it unless the disk was
>formatted with two FATs.  Some newer MSDOSes think they're doing you a
>favor by writing just one FAT.  If you have one of those, use the option to
>FORMAT which says, "Put two FATs on the disk."

I often use disk formatted on an Amiga under MSH: - if I give them only
one FAT, or FATs not of 5 sectors, my ST CANNOT read them (I have to use 
DiskEdit to get the files back). Of course, if I format the disks on my STe,
I have no problems.

>Aside from these details of formatting (which are not minor), the TOS
>and MSDOS filesystems are identical, files, subdirectories, and all.

I notice that some versions of MS-DOS (DOS 4.0 on a PS2 I know) save a mixed
case filename on the disk (at least on the hard drive). But the ST doesnt' mind
too much if I take a sector editor to a disk and change the case of the
directory entries.

I hope this has helped clarify my reasons for attempting this project. But
please, nobody hold their breath: it won't even be ready for testing until
late this year (October of November at the earliest) as I'm going to be away
from my STe over the summer (woe is me :-( ).

-- 
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