REAL_COM.ZIP [0/6]

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From M.M.A / SPEED CO. / EXTREME

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The archive contains REAL COMMANDER 1.4 and a modified version of the FUT utility.

Reading the help on commander, I came across an interesting fragment........

------Cut from rc1_4help---------------

Before starting the programs, the 48th memory is cleared, the 128th BASIC is disabled and saving COMMANDER in the 7th
memory bank. So, do, PLEASE,
in your programs a similar output:

RESET LD A,#17 ;testing
LD BC,#7FFD ;7th bank on
OUT (BC),A ;presence in it
LD HL,(#C000);COMMANDER.
LD DE,#FF31
XOR A
SBC HL,DE ;if found,
JP Z,#C000 ;then start
LD A,#10
OUT (BC),A
AND A
SBC HL,HL
PUSH HL ;otherwise restart
JP 15649 ;TR-DOS

But you should also take into account one nuance:
memory testing occurs only
at the first start of the program, and if If your program changes the computer configuration, COMMANDER will not perform the copy and compaction functions correctly. In case your program uses the 7th bank, but you still want to
make a return toCOMMANDER, then before
using the 7th bank, transfer it
to any other unused one. In this
case, you should change the first mnemonic
in the above procedure by writing the desired memory bank into it. Before returning,
if necessary, you need to run the below
program.

DI
LD HL,10072
EXX
LD IY,23610
LD A,63
LD I,A
IM 1
EI

At the moment, access to RC is carried out by the following programs: SGEN 4.8, TEXT
PRINT 1.4, PPF 1.0, SB_INST+, FUTi,
HEAVY!.

>------End of cut-----------------------

It is a little unclear what the author meant by the command OUT (BC),A (
you need OUT(C),A), but the general idea, in my opinion, is not bad. I have
almost all the programs listed above that support a similar output
in TR-DOS and I will report this to you rulez! You launch, for example, FUTi from RC, format the disk, and then calmly return back.

Something similar has already happened, for example, CONSUL COMMANDER comes with a bunch of utilities with the .O extension that are launched in a similar way. But these are utilities, and here it’s enough to make a correct exit from
the program and you’re in COMMANDER.

The most important thing is that you don’t have to use this notorious RC.
You can use similar technologies in anyagain writing to boot or COMMANDER. After selecting the file, we save the body of the program into one of the 128 pages, and then run the selected file.
If the running program is the 48th, or does not spoil our page, then
it doesn’t cost anything to make the “Exit to DOS” option in it, which will work in the manner described above.

You just need to develop a certain standard:

1) Use It is not the 7th bank that is needed, but some other one, since the
seventh contains the second screen, and the program being launched may need it.

2) Instead of the two check bytes that RC checks, write
two bytes of the checksum of the entire page. The called program, when
selecting the "Exit to DOS" option, will read the checksum of the page
and if it matches the bytes at addresses #C000/1 - run the code located in the page for execution.

This increases the likelihood that the page contains
really a COMMANDER or BOOT, and not just two bytes that match.

Where all this can be used and why is all this needed???

You can use a similar “DOS output” in any utilities that do not consume
128 memory, in electronic newspapers (not cool ones, but 48kb!) and in general
everywhere possible.

Why? Not everyone has the RESET key close to the keyboard. Many people have to stretch almostinside the computer. Such comrades constantly use the "outputs to DOS" built into their programs. Well, if at the same time they also end up in boot/comm, then it’s completely wrong!

Well, and multitasking in the end...):

All that remains is to select a page, write a standard CRC calculation, and understand that this is a thing that people need. And to make it easier to understand, launch from RC1.4 Foot and go back by selecting “QUIT”.

With the best car!
Alex Rybinskiy AKA DR.DEATH / SPEED CO. / EXTREME
[Team AMD - Amiga Must Die]