Re: How to write to DOS 3.3 from IIGS

[dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Dave Althoff)]

Of course, my personal favorite tactic is to just operate in DOS 3.3...

But this does bring up an important point.

I have a 128k ][e with a DuoDisk that I tend to take with me when
traveling.  And I have a IIgs at home.  While GS/OS runs quite nicely on
the GS, I have found ProDOS to be a thoroughly unacceptable OS on any of
my machines.  P8 applications running under GS/OS cannot make use of the
FST's.  P8 running on the ][e requires so much disk space for the OS that
a database application I was writing required a seperate boot disk (I
already needed two data disks...under DOS 3.3, I was able to fit half of
the data AND the application on a pair of disks, while P8 needs more disk
space).  P8 is also slower than Pronto-DOS.  So for my applications, DOS
3.3 makes a lot more sense than ProDOS on the ][e.  And it works fine...I
can run my custom applications, Apple Writer ][e, and Kermit-65 under 3.3.

(my custom application chokes on P8, though...has to do with BASIC.SYSTEM
trying to outsmart the input handler and screwing up file access)

But I have the same problem...on the IIgs, I'm running GS/OS 6.0.1.  And
the DOS 3.3 FST *stinks*.

a.  It is read-only.
b.  It is intolerably slow.

Why couldn't a good DOS FST be written?  Ideally, it could even make use
of a Pronto-DOS style RWTS routine when accessing a 5.25" volume, and save
that messy block translation stuff for other storage media.  The only real
problem I can think of is the existence of arbitrary filetypes and forked
files under GS/OS.  My solution is to write all arbitrary filetypes as
type B (it isn't brain surgery to change them again...), and possibly
provide an option for forked files.  Since the primary application I can
see for such a program is to move TXT, BAS, and BIN files around, the
easiest solution would be to ignore any attached resources.  Or save them
in a second file (perhaps append a ".R" to the filename) of type S.

Just a thought.  Heck, if I knew what I was doing under GS/OS and had the
time, I might try it myself...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
-- 
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