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From: schumann@puff.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Tech help on Prodos Needed
Message-ID: <514@puff.WISC.EDU>
Date: Sat, 21-Feb-87 23:30:33 EST
Article-I.D.: puff.514
Posted: Sat Feb 21 23:30:33 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Feb-87 10:37:59 EST
References: <1150@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 36

god3@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Peter Godwin) writes:
> I am looking for technical info on the Prodos operating system.
> Manuals (I already have Apple's Tech man and Beneath Apple Prodos)
> and utility software suggestions appreciated.
Both manuals are excellent sources of information.  Also look in past and
present issues of _Nibble_.  They have a column in which the author is
dissassembling ProDOS piece by piece.  Actually, he is dissassembling the
BASIC interpreter.  Read on.
 
> The reason I am in need of this info is that I am attempting
> to program some modifications to the operating system to make
> it more user-friendly and powerful,...
Not too hard: ProDOS itself has NO user interface, that's what BASIC.SYSTEM
is for.  It takes commands like CAT, LOAD, etc into ProDOS calls (like
GET_FILE_INFO).

> One thing about Prodos which I detest is the fact that upon exiting
> software you are forced to specify a pathname for a new application.
> I would prefer being dumped into BASIC...
with no user interface to DOS!  If you want BASIC, run BASIC.SYSTEM
One can get (or make) a program to replace ProDOS' QUIT code (the ENTER
PREFIX stuff) with a nice menu selection scheme, to choose the next SYS
file to execute.

> such limitations of Prodos are what I am attempting to modify
> via re-programming the system.  Any recommendations of Dos-Boss
> like software for Prodos welcome.
If am almost sure _Nibble_ has a DOS BOSS simile in it for B.SYS somewhere,
If not, it's easy to find the commands, however, the error messages are
stored in coded strings (four bits/char with char lookup).
Also get ProDOS Examples disk from Apple, and the ProDOS Applesoft
Programmers Assistant (adds renumber, merge and cross ref).
If you want a MON command (no, it's not there), I wrote one, and
might be convinced to part with it.

Chris Schumann				schumann@puff.wisc.edu