[Coco] CoCo TALK #18 an introduction to OS9

Dave Philipsen dave at davebiz.com
Tue Jul 25 13:47:38 EDT 2017


Actually, in my opinion if you write a program that requires an external 
program (OS9 command) then you should probably be prepared for the fact 
that that external program could change in which case it would behoove 
you to include the external program with your distribution. And, if you 
find that you really do have a problem with such a program that calls an 
external program (like tmode and dir) then just use the older version of 
the program which behaves correctly with your program.


Dave

On 7/25/2017 11:27 AM, Wayne Campbell wrote:
> I was unable to attend the talk, but I watched the archived video. I found
> it interesting that no one really detailed the differences between OS-9
> L1/L2 and NitrOS-9 where command options is concerned. Specifically, dir e
> works  in the original OS-9, but in NitrOS-9 the command is dir -e. Another
> example is tmode. Turning page pause on or off in the original OS-9 uses
> the option pause (turn it on) or -pause (turn it off). In NitrOS-9, the
> same options are pau=1 (turn it on) and pau=0 (turn it off). These
> differences can make or break a program that uses any of the command
> modules. I realize that most commercial programs use system calls, not
> command modules, but there are some that use some of the commands. Many
> Basic09 programs are in this category, since it is easy to use them via the
> SHELL command. This may be considered minor to most OS-9 users, but I don't
> think it is at all trivial.
>
> I laughed when Steve wrote his little Basic09 program. It works, and the
> code is "legal" and "valid" BASIC code, even in Basic09. However, no one
> told Steve that line numbers are only required in Basic09 if you are using
> a GOSUB, or a GOTO. I would like to discuss this in the next CoCo Talk, as
> I think a short course in Basic09 would be useful.
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 25, 2017 at 12:18 AM, Arthur Flexser <flexser at fiu.edu> wrote:
>
>> Actually, "prototype case" is probably a more generous term than it
>> deserved.  It was a one-of-a-kind mock-up of what might have resembled a
>> case for a CoCo 4 if they ever seriously considered producing one.
>>
>> Art
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 10:31 PM, Gregory Law <glaw at live.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, you're right. I was thinking of the prototype case with the
>>> built-in floppy drive.
>>>
>>> On 7/24/2017 1:10:24 PM, "Arthur Flexser" <flexser at fiu.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 8:01 AM, Gregory Law <glaw at live.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>    In some ways I'm glad Radio Shack brought out the more
>>>>>   capable Color Computer 3 instead of the Deluxe Color Computer,
>>>>> although
>>>>>   I think it would have been nice to have a more business-like case
>>>>> like
>>>>>   the Deluxe Color Computer.
>>>>>
>>>> First I've heard that the aborted Deluxe Color Computer had a case that
>>>> was
>>>> any different than that of the CoCo 3.  As I recall, there were several
>>>> tiny pictures of it in RS catalogs that looked no different than a CoCo
>>>> 3.
>>>> And the keyboard of it was identical to a CoCo 3, and sold for a time
>>>> for
>>>> $4.95 in the stores as a separate item, prior to the CoCo 3's advent.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe you are confusing it with the prototype case, never produced,
>>>> that
>>>> was pictured in Bill and Boisy's book, with the built-in floppy drive?
>>>>
>>>> Art
>>>>
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>>>
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>
>



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