Re: Hardware gadget for tape loading

[niallt@dai.ed.ac.uk (Niall Tracey)]

Ernest R. Schreurs (ernest@wxs.nl) wrote:
: On Sat, 18 Sep 1999 12:55:19 GMT, greenaum@BOLLOCKSyahoo.co.uk wrote:

: >It would be better to use the sound card, since these outnumber little
: >parallel port gadgets by a hundred to one.

The sound card is the best method, but as I state elsewhere, the
additional parallel port interface is an extra that provides further
flexibility and additional compatibilty. Using both methods makes
sense to me.

: >Can TZX have meta data put in it, so you can store what computer it's
: >for and who sampled it etc? I know I could just go look it up but it
: >needs bringing up anyway.

: I think this is possible.  But I do not know why anyone would want
: this.  Tapes for one system cannot be loaded on another system.
: I think it is very confusing to store all sorts of tape files for
: different machines in the same format.  Like, I have a ton of
: diskettes.  Some are for the PC.  Some for the Atari ST.  Some for the
: Atari 8-bit machines.  Some for macintosh.  Some for Wang Classic,
: some for Wang VS.  And then some for emulator use.  Sometimes it is
: hard to tell what is what.
: The same problem would arise with these emulated cassettes.
: If searching for a tape file, you might get confused.  The only
: advantage is the one you mention, we can share knowledge
: and technology, and thus improve the tools.  I think we can
: accomplish this easily if the developers get in touch with each other.
: We do not need to bother the users with this, making life harder for
: them.

Then I'd like to suggest a slight alteration to the implementation of
TZX files. Provide alternative filename extensions for different
machines. The actual encoding could be identical, but the extensions
would allow the user to distinguish between files for different
machines. Say:
 TII for Apple II
 T80 for ZX80
 T81 for ZX81
 TBC or TAC for BBC Micro/Acorn Electron
 TAM or TPC for Amstrad CPC
etc
(It's a shame some OSes only support 3-letter extensions. It makes
 this far too complicated. .T64, for example, already exists for a C64
 tape archive.)

Then the emulator/archive program could have the 'files of which type'
options:
 TZX for [computer being used] - that would show only files with the
                                 relevant extension.
 All TZX files                 - that would show all files with an
                                 extension accepted by the TZX
                                 standards body.

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