[Coco] Disk EDTASM & text files

[Ward Griffiths]

On Saturday 27 December 2003 02:59 am, Willard Goosey wrote:
> >Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 05:15:46 -0500
>
> From: Robert Gault <robert.gault at worldnet.att.net>
>
> >In my experience, DECB always sets the second 16 bytes of a
> > directory entry to $00s. The DOS that comes with Disk EDTASM+ adds
> > record lengths.
>
> Yeah, I'd noticed that the unused half of the directory entry was
> usually zeroed out.  It wasn't until I was testing my program to set
> the record length that I noticed Simply Better left the bytes as $FF.
> Then I said, "Oh, that's what the problem is." :-)
>
> >The only time I have consistently had problems with "bad" record
> > lengths is when PORT.EXE is used to move files from the PC to a
> > .dsk image. This program never changes the second 16 bytes but
> > leaves them as found. In most cases, that means all $FFs.
>
> Besides Color TRS-DOS (ha!) what else cares?  I can't think of
> anything else having problems with my text files.

I've long wished that Logical Systems had been given a go at the Color 
Computer.  LDOS (later LS-DOS) is still in my arrogant opinion the best 
single-user OS ever made, and it would have been so nice on a 6809 
instead of a Z-80.  (OS-9 is also great, but it's not single-user).  
Well, I've got The Source (to LS-DOS).  I guess I should study Z-80 and 
6809 assembly again (I promised not to do that, but I have a different 
wife now).
-- 
Ward Griffiths				wdg3rd at comcast.net

The Yen Buddhists are the richest religious sect in the universe.  They
hold that the accumulation of money is a great evil and burden to the
soul.  They therefore, regardless of personal hazard, see it as their
unpleasant duty to acquire as much as possible in order to reduce the
risk to innocent people.           -- Terry Pratchett, _Witches Abroad_