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From: ACB.TYM@OFFICE-2.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm
Subject: BIOS buffer flush
Message-ID: <486@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-May-84 23:40:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.486
Posted: Mon May  7 23:40:00 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 13-May-84 07:11:40 EDT
Lines: 17

A small contribution.  Most well behaved programs close output files before 
asking for a disk change or before returning via either warm boot or to the CCP.
 As a result the last operation on a disk is usually a directory write (type 1).
 If a directory write is treated as an immediate operation, the write buffer is 
always flushed when a file is closed.  There are a very small number of 
exceptions (programs that "patch" a sector and then don't close the file, 
utilities that use the BIOS directly (copy, format)) and these are best

Changed to make their last write a type 1  write.  I have a BIOS that manages 
the buffers this way and I have never fouled a directory because of failing to 
write the directory or last sector.  Further there is no unneeded disk io at 
console read time.

For those awaiting a summary of the results of my 5 inch disk controller 
question... there were no responses.  I am thinking of the "Little Board" as my 
solution. It seems cheaper than most s100 disk controller boards and will serve 
as a disk copy machine quite nicely.  Anyone with experience?