Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!mailrus!iuvax!bsu-cs!cfchiesa
From: cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher Chiesa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: Using Kermit/65 with DOS 3.0
Summary: Converting from DOS 3.0 to DOS 2.5 (well, 2.0, but close enough)
	 file formats...
Message-ID: <4155@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: 30 Sep 88 19:20:27 GMT
References: <8809301304.AA03617@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 45

In article <8809301304.AA03617@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, PARSONS@KSUVM.BITNET (Scott Parish) writes:
> Although Dos 3.0 is perhaps the worst in the world, 

Too true!  :-)

> Problem: I have programs saved on Dos 3.0 disks that I would like to switch
> over to Dos 2.5 using Kermit/65 under Dos 3.0 to transfer programs to the
> mainframe at school and then using Kermit/65 under Dos 2.5 to get them back.

If you can get Kermit to work under DOS 3.0 this is a perfectly acceptable 
technique;  however, I thought you might be interested in the fact that I 
once accomplished the DOS 3.0 - to - DOS 2.0 conversion using nothing more
elaborate than Atari BASIC!  Now if I can just remember HOW I did it...

As I recall, the program simply read the file-to-be-converted into a huge 
string buffer (I used repeated GETs, but a direct CIO call in ML would be
cool too), under DOS 3.0; I was then able to soft-boot DOS 2.0 into memory
without losing the BASIC environment, and write the string buffer back out 
using repeated PUTs.  I was limited to the size of the string buffer, which
ment a few COPY/APPEND's once I had the pieces on DOS 2.0, but it did work
and I was able to get rid of DOS 3.0 for good.

Of course, I now find myself racking my brains to figure out how the &**&^(!*&^&
I managed to boot 2.0 without turning off the machine or losing the BASIC 
environment.  As I recall, it was very simple -- just a USR call to some
system vector, given manually at the READY prompt -- and it did NOT work the
"other way around" -- once in DOS 2.0 I could NOT similarly soft-boot into
DOS 3.0 again.  Had to turn the machine off and reboot with 3.0 every time
I needed to get a new piece of file-to-transfer.

Anyway, if anybody here can deduce how I booted into 2.0 from 3.0, in BASIC,
without losing anything, that might be the way to go as I'm sure with CIO
calls it would be much faster than Kermit transfer!  Plus you won't tie up
your telephone line!  :-)  I *can* offer you my support that it DOES WORK;
unfortunately for this instance I literally did GET RID OF my DOS 3.0 disk
and cannot repeat my experiment on your behalf.  I'll see if I can find it
(borrow from friends) but in the meantime, Netters, what can we come up with?

Enjoy...

  Chris Chiesa
 
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