KrNews #11 31 декабря 1999

Софт     IS-DOS

IS-DOS - Operating System for the Spectrum.

   OS: is-dos' etc.


 (C) VTS'99



   Greetings to all our disassembly
axes. So, over the articles in KrNews,
send me a note with as much of Ukraine from Looker / DigiTech, 
who now works in OSestroeniya area. Quoting a letter I

I will not, but in the course of Article postarachs
answer the questions raised. I will be based on other 
materials, such as Articles "CP / M rulez" in the Voyager # 3, 
etc. 



   So, to start, I'll walk to the famous I-axis.


   TR-DOS must die-everybody knows it, but have and continue to 
write under her software, juzat him and remain in a

to some degree, satisfied, for lack of
best (with so many software).
Its only disadvantage, which is quite simply
can not do (although, if you think
You can get around, but it is not rational) -
troubles with compatibility. Ie of the most
the fact of survival TR-DOS has to be something
that all there operating systems have features
not of paramount importance, above all -
that it was the standard, ie would
have all worked at all complex, and it was
a lot of software.

   So, on the number of users followed by IS-DOS and CP / M (it 
is in that order). By itself, this suggests

thinking in favor of is-dos.

   But look at the CP / M. First, I note that any advantages in 
terms of those characteristics most CP / M does not have 
(before IS-DOS), and in some places is seen Voyager'e

just plain ignorance of the author's subject, or simply pouring 
IS-DOS mud. I would put in their characteristics both axes are 
approximately one and the same level, so as not to bump into 
flame. But CP / M, there is one little "but". Case

that it yuzayut owners only
Profi. Of the other components can be called
there are different ATM, and a bunch of small unknown clones. 
And I suspect that part of the software CP / M under the Profi 
is not always go to the left CP / M, and certainly not

go to the base tsp/m_8080 ... But I digress, the problem is 
that in the other Spectrum clones of CP / M had never seen.

However, for the Scorpion and Kaev there is some
CP / M v2.2 (c) MOA (naturally, not
80-character ...). Nevertheless, the bulk of cases its use is 
not science known. Call the same system that works only on a 
part of Spectrum clones, mainly for the Spectrum, IMPOSSIBLE! 
Personally, I nn / m seems quite good, and someone useful 
makeweight software to Profi. 


   Now, take Pink Floyd aka Domen
OS. I personally system seemed quite interesting. Although it 
has no basis in as users, but much has been done, and its 
concept were put enough interesting things. AND

now all is to go to someone under
tail, because the author did not have enough
forces to finish the job. And it is not surprising, since for 
the implementation of the claimed need to expend enormous 
effort than takes only one person ... And

was not provided with any documentation on the system, which 
did not develop initiated from the outside. In general, at this 
point I think PF unsold good idea (it features multitask'a and 
GUI, for example). 


   Micro Windows. GUI-shell with elements of the system 
restarts, and even with their descriptions. Future, it has not, 
however, the address of the author should take note.



   Much the same can be said
still a few things such as X-OS, etc.


   NeOS. Round it raised a big fuss, therefore, many think its 
not bad position in comparison with the above.

Do not argue, it is a healthy idea, but the firmware in ROM 
crosses all! There are other moments, but they are no longer

important after the binding ROMs.


   Yes, and somewhere else I came across
simply brilliant suggestion to put in
basis Circle and tape emulation. That's really
until then did not think bourgeois TR Ltd
for Beta Disk'a. Only here the Germans had
have such feature-MB-02 ...

   But to think of such in Russia,
need to have an unhealthy imagination.
Try to begin to imagine
process of adaptation TR-DOS -> tape. A
next I do not want to continue, and so clear the absurdity of 
this idea. 

   But emulating TR-DOS-level # 3D13
already exists. This is the same SMUC Zonova,
KAY-1024 Nemo, firmware DOS 5.04em
(Scorpio and Kai 256), DOS 5.12 (The Pentagon
512/1024). Moreover, this emulation - not
part of the axis, but only a means of adaptation
TR-DOS programs.


   Now I will quote all the same piece of
letters Looker / DigiTech:

   "Like I said, I decided to do
OS. It will be placed in the cache: 8K -
Shell, 8k-BIOS (?) and DOS. As an experienced systems analyst, 
advise something especially about the fact that there must be

(BIOS, DOS, etc). I look forward to further
co ...

   p.s. It will be called XZ-SYS "


   Also think about the rest of initiators OSestroeniya.


   By the way, I'm not an experienced system designer
I never wrote a real system
bend. Moreover, I am not a coder, and encoding only for their 
needs. I-zhelezyachnik. 


   Slip the first-placed there
will be in the cache ... And who is this cache?
Although the Scorpion / Kaev can imprint 0 / 8
Bank under the ROM (and it yuzaet is-dos chic),
but it does not mean "all the Spectrum.
A natural cache, for example, in Krasnodar, there's no sort of 
no one. And, say, St. Petersburg or Moscow, he has only a few 
lunatics zhelezyachnikov ... 

   Hereinafter referred to shows that XZ-SYS is understood by 
the author simply as Shell, with makeweight BIOS / DOS from 
OS'i, not vice versa. Ie it's actually much complicated. But 
more on that later. 

   And, finally, hope for cooperation "was adopted as a desire 
to work in OSestroeniya area.



   So now consider isdos, and then speculate about the future.


   All terribly like brakes,
Text square menus and the absence of even a mouse ...

   Well, let's start with a comparison.


   TR-DOS - fast loading from the tape. What all you can say?
Ie just download some isolated problems - toys in the majority
cases. In this light, even # 3D13 can
represented as a side effect,
technology being an element of communication and computer 
programmers iron logic. Which is lower than # 3D13-driver VG93,

which is higher than - the boot loader. (You can, however,
suggest that in T.R. Ltd were
brightest minds (and )...).

   Well, worse than ever? Nevertheless,
no one is cursed, not resented, but
just started writing software ...


   Next, take the MS-DOS, the same weight
category with the IS-DOS.

   Yeah, the command line, the screen like a sheet
Paper ... Look restarts. Nothing
remarkable. You do not have any sound
cards, no graphics support (except for print
pixels), and the more mice in Norton.
Hmmm ... And why, for example, the concept of shared FDD and 
HDD? Although this is a question for BIOS, which also hardcoded 
addresses standard drives. And All MS-DOS, in fact, add-on 
BIOS. In general, for the time excused. 

   And what happened? But all that does not
it was tricky programmer dolepleno, and still holds good, and
many people like a little more advanced than W9x ...


   About Ping separately. Someone
tried to work in MS-DOS with a floppy drive
(For God's sake, not one!) On 286/386
or XT? Try it, and then say -
who brake;)

   About Windows, I generally keep quiet, which is
manages to slow down the supersonic
Winchester.


   Moral of the story is - it's time to
stop and deny poprobavat do something yourself, for example, 
correct that do not like. Personally, in my

opinion, virtually the entire look and feel
In fact, all the basic kit can be rewritten from scratch, a new 
qualitative level, leaving the core intact. Not to mention the 
two free levels, where You can experiment with GUI ... AND

All this can be done gradually, in a workable system, not to 
suffer days and nights with its axis.



   Ie dissatisfied with the slogan should be
the phrase "If I do not like something in isdos, to blame only 
me." After all, so done, when there was some

bend in the hole Doce, why isdos felled
on the shoulders of Leontief, who may,
all this your leym / flame fed up?
If you did something for isdos, he would
surely went to meet him. And the assaults respond accordingly.


   And another important point-production components. They need 
to put nid some axis. Well, let's standard configuration gets 
back in the tr-dos, but demands for a screw axis. So,

screw on the date guaranteed
leads only is-dos. Waiting for us once,
need right here and now. Imagine
themselves in a situation where you sell a piece of
iron, and they say, they say, software is still being written. 
In short, buying this piece of metal, you pay more, and for the 
software, and it should be understood, must be soft! 


   And so it turns out, no axles, no
Development of iron ... A look poorly Axis
solely the fault of those who did
under it has not. Problem-at least the authors is-dos done: 
there is debugged the kernel and the minimum work programs. In 
addition, there is support for producers of iron and popularity 
among users. 

   What else is needed? After all, much easier and
realistic working to refine Axle
course, than to suffer from its regular
cover, bound with the acronym OS
in the title ...


   And finally, documentation isdos.
First - the drive IS-ASM with source
book "Programming in IS-DOS",
and this very book. Little, but Coy then useful experienced 
programmer to fish. The second series of articles in the 
ZX-Format'e. Maybe not as complete as we would like, but

addition to the first can not hurt. Third
- Disasm ... The first bend of the system were written without 
any steep misrepresent, and their study may shed some light on

dark places ...


   Solution to the problem of hunger can become an information 
gathering, for example, directly here on the pages KrNews, 
interested programmers. If we start to do something under the 
is-dos, I'm sure will consult with the parties Leontiev, and 
all together better. (Place the meeting does not bother me at 
all. This can be any other magazine / newspaper. But

place in KrNews I guarantee).


   Well, on isdosu like everything.



   Now a few words about what I hinted at last time for a new 
axis. 

   You know, it reminded me of responses to
Nemo article about Transformer'e;). In fact, I think the new 
axis of the necessary five years at least. You have it.

And I am against the implementation of such an axis
now. For several reasons.

   Firstly, there is-dos. Poor or
good, but it is the axis and the base (there is
not so much because of software, how many users, support to 
producers of iron, age, etc.). It can be a minimum of effort 
and work out a little blood all the basic concepts of axes,

clarify ambiguities that need to
Spectrum (!) And what is not. And most importantly -
It will introduce the standards required for further 
development. 

   Because to is-dos on the Spectrum in fact there was no line, 
then no one knows what it should be. Thus, is-dos can

become a sort of testing ground for new ideas, a kind of a 
bridge between darkness and bright future with _prosto_

_idealnoy_OSyu_;)


   Secondly, nobody in the finish alone
such a project fails. It is not only
in the code, you must do a lot of non-coding things.


   In fact, I still wanted to pobredit
about the new axes, but presenting a possible flame, I will not 
do this, because the main task of this article - persuade 
people to write under isdos. And all the rest is not so 
important. Discuss the new will only be possible, when we learn 
to work with what we have. 


   In the meantime, I personally do not see hot
desire to do something really works
in Osei virtually none.
All just nod: that the axis is needed, yes.
But nobody does anything. Some collect some nid shell, and now 
begins to develop a snowball in the flaming ehah, newspapers, 
etc. After a time all subsides, and for the clod remains

trail of destroyed hopes that some sort of uncle to write to us 
wind, so that their fachit then (and again do nothing). This 
approach pts'shnyh psevdodemomeykerov hackers and their ilk. 
They have an uncle, and for this he was with them regularly

has the money. We should have their
head on your shoulders. And the first thing to
understand - to move forward may be
only the result of work
the whole platform. Sitting on the spot or
isolated attempts to develop not lead. And unite we can only
common sense.



   And finally, commercial side
is-dos'a. Some people think that the axis
should be free. However, the authors
want to earn money for their work. So
Now, with increasing numbers of users, this problem is removed 
automatically. Because the price of software decreases in 
proportion to the number of users then at some point it becomes

comparable to the price freeware products.
It is also clear that quite a significant role in that price 
plays accompaniment is-dos, ie, directly Work with users, 
consultations etc. The establishment of such structures

field (which has meaning only in the propagation is-dos) will 
also contribute to lower prices, as well as their 
differentiation between regions. 


_
 TMr.Linker


  Greetings to you dear druzya.Segodnya I will speak in a 
somewhat different role, namely the role of the programmer, 
although the truth of my programmers' ability to lie mainly in 
the small procedures.  So about two years ago, I purchased a 
VTS fee KAY-256, collected, configured, started it and all been 
good, but except IS-DOS'a nothing like print

standard KAY ie by AY-3-8910.
 And since it was necessary to print, I decided
write a driver. Since the above
aforesaid VTS has plans for widespread dissemination KAY'ev
on the territory of Krasnodar and its immediate vicinity, I 
decided to share with you my findings. Ask a strictly

do not judge if obnaruzhatsya any
omissions, and if that is not so easy
correct.

 So:

; Printer driver AY3-8910
; In standard KAY-256, KAY-1024
; For the ZX-WORD, MicroEditor
;
BEGIN JR INIT; initialization

   NOP;
PRINT JR PRINTCH; print
INIT LD A, # 07; setting AY

   LD BC, # FFFD; A-output

   OUT (C), A; B-input

   LD A, # 40;

   LD BC, # BFFD;

   OUT (C), A;

   RET;
PRINTCH LD BC, # FFFD;

   LD D, A; store A in D

   LD A, # 0E; choice of port # E

   OUT (C), A;

   LD A, D;

   CP # 0A; check

   JR Z, TRANSL; LF da TRANSL

   JR OUTPRN; no OUTPRN
TRANSL LD A, # 0A; replace # 0A to

   CALL OUTPRN; # 0A + # 0D (LF + CR)

   LD A, # 0D;
OUTPRN LD BC, # BFFD; output to

   OUT (C), A; printer

   LD A, # 0F;

   LD BC, # FFFD;

   OUT (C), A;
BUSY CALL # 1F54; check BREAK

   JR NC, ERROR; clicked on ERROR

   LD BC, # FFFD; check BUSY

   IN A, (C);

   BIT 2, A;

   JR NZ, BUSY; repeat

   DI; ban prairie.

   LD B, # 1F; in # 1FFD

   LD A, # 20; STROBE

   OUT (C), A; 0

   NOP;

   XOR A; 1

   OUT (C), A;

   EI; allow prairie.

   CALL PRINT;

   SCF; expose

   CCF; flags on OK

   RET; output
ERROR SCF; output by

   RET; error

 Well, such a driver, he is placed in
printer buffer in any of the above editors.
 At this point I say goodbye to you, and the next two years we 
will not see each other, the state decided that I had stayed at 
citizen and need a little bit this State to serve. Estimated 
time of my return in November 2001. Such are the cases. Bye.



     13.10.1999

  IS-DOS EDITOR