Re: A2 FAQ addition/update req.

[pausch@saaf.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <1ezh9ax.3yqhd71voa6jqN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz>,
David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
>Paul Schlyter <pausch@saaf.se> wrote:
>
>> Wayne Stewart <waynes@intergate.bc.ca> wrote:
>> >However for a II, II+ or IIe there isn't much useable stuff on commercial
>> >CDs with the exception of some of the ones Joe Kohn sells. Best option is
>> >to burn your own CDs, preferably in ProDOS format.
>> 
>> In "ProDOS format"?  Doesn't a CD equipped Apple II read a CD in normal
>> ISO format?
>
>(Assuming we are talking about an 8-bit Apple II.)  Not unless you run
>an application which does block-level access to the CD-ROM and
>interprets the ISO 9660 file system itself.
>
>The ProDOS-8 operating system supports the ProDOS file system, and has
>no support for plug-in file system translation.  Any support for other
>file systems under ProDOS-8 must be provided by an application, and is
>limited to being available within that application.

So the claim "CD's are readable on all 8-bit Apple II systems except
the IIc" was a clear overstatement....

>GS/OS is much more flexible, as it has a "file system translator"
>mechanism which allows many file systems to be supported from all GS/OS
>applications, with varying levels of capability.
>
>Unfortnately, the FST mechanism kept changing with each release of GS/OS
>and Apple never published specifications for it, which means that the
>only FSTs available are those written by Apple: ProDOS, HFS, AppleShare,
>Pascal, DOS 3.3, High Sierra/ISO 9660 and MS-DOS.  Of these, only
>ProDOS, HFS and AppleShare support read/write access to the file system.

OTOH write access to read/only CD-ROM's aren't that useful..... :-)))

>There have been third-party applications and desk accessories which
>provide support for other file systems but limited to the scope of that
>application (Peter Watson's MS-DOS tools is the best example of this).


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