Re: apple IIC and appletalk

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

<wshek@ibm.net> wrote:

> I guess what I'm saying is that the system software was 
> probably considered failure because it tred to do too much.
> Certain things can only be done adequately in multi programming
> environment.

Well, consider that AppleTalk works fine on a IIe (with a workstation
card, which has its own processor), or on a IIgs (using the main
processor).  In both cases, ProDOS-8 can be the active operating system,
as it would be on the IIc (the IIgs also supports AppleTalk under GS/OS,
of course).

I very much doubt that the reason for incomplete AppleTalk support on
the IIc was any attempt to "do too much" on the part of the operating
system or firmware.

The operating system support required for the IIc implementation of
AppleTalk would have been almost identical to that used in the IIe and
IIgs.

> The rom in slot 7 most likely works or it wouldn't be there. 

Sure, it works - it just doesn't have anything to talk to (the external
box which actually implements the AppleTalk protocols is missing).

> Finding system software to use it is the unknown. If it were 
> to turn up somehow, using it in a minimal mode (ie. share
> just a printer) would probably work just fine.

Not possible without external hardware.  The IIc's serial hardware is
not able to support LocalTalk communication, and there is no way that
AppleTalk support could be implemented directly by the built-in firmware
or operating system, because there is no extra memory space, and the CPU
isn't fast enough.

(The IIe workstation card has its own processor, memory and the correct
serial interface hardware, which gets around all these problems.)

> My bet is they tried to implement a rich mac like interface
> and that would be too much. Sharing a printer or 
> accessing a mac folder as drive across connection would
> be the max you could hope for.

That is exactly what you get on the IIe with a workstation card.  It is
also all you get on a IIgs, as far as the network is concerned.  In both
cases, applications also have direct access to the AppleTalk protocol
stack, so they may implement additional protocols as needed.

A "rich mac-like interface" doesn't make much sense - are you talking
about the user interface (which has nothing to do with AppleTalk
support) or the application programming interface to the AppleTalk
protocols?  The latter is fully functional on the IIe and IIgs (though
probably not quite as flexible as on the Mac).

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand