Re: Mac fork stipper program MIA (needed for A2s)

[shack@onyx.southwind.net (Randy Shackelford)]

pubpc1@library.ucla.edu wrote:
: nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates) wrote:
: >In article <5fd2rj$21nq@uni.library.ucla.edu>,
: > <pubpc1@library.ucla.edu> wrote:
: >>Nate, I've heard (but do not know for sure) that there was an
: >>Applesoft BASIC program (with ML routines) that ran on an 8-bit A2
: >>under ProDOS and stripped resource forks.  Maybe Rubywand can help
: >>because it was supposedly in an issue of II Alive a few years ago.
: >
: >   As I note in the FAQ in that section on removing Mac rforks, the
: >problem occurs most in getting their first copy of Binscii running on
: >an Apple II. These fork removers are packed in .BSQ archives. Can you
: >spot the problem that arises? [Tip: they can't deal with binscii or
: >shrinkit, and you hand them a binscii'd file. Might as well hand them
: >a copy of Binscii recorded to an 8-track tape and tell them to use the
: >cassette port while they're at it :]
: >
: >   Sorry, already know about that 'solution', but if the problem's
: >created on the mac end of downloading, it'll need to be solved on the
: >mac end. I want solutions that work as close as possible to 100% of
: >the time for the FAQ.

: Nate, the fork remover I am thinking about (and Rubywand or another
: II Alive subscriber really has to help me out on this) is a BASIC
: listing / ML listing combination.  The user would not have a problem
: at all with the binscii catch-22 because they would have a printed
: copy of the BASIC and ML listings that they got from a web site or
: ftp site, maybe.

: IF I am right about this program being in II Alive, then the II Alive
: people and the author of the program needs to be contacted so that
: we can make the listings available.  At your FAQ site, perhaps, or
: even at the regular FTP sites.

: Then they could:

: 1) Read the listing and download it.
: 2) Print it out on a Mac
: 3) Type it in on the II
: 4) Download binscii on the Mac and put on a ProDOS disk
: 5) Run the program they had entered from the listing on their II
: 6) Strip the resource fork on the binscii archive on the floppy
: 7) Set file type to TXT
: 8) Type "-BINSCII.EXE" from BASIC prompt to EXEC the archive

: * Steps number 4, 6, and 8 would also be applicable for other
: programs downloaded on the Mac and moved to the II.

Good grief, sure seems like it'd be easier to find an existing Mac app to do
the work for you. When it comes to that, asking for help from your typical
Mac hating csa2 reader seems to make about as much sense as asking the Pope
for advice in picking up women. I set up the preferences in my copy of Fetch
so that a handy app I got from a reader who does some Mac programming is the
post processor for unknown type binary files. This helper app sets the file
type to the proper ProDOS type/aux type and strips any resource fork too.
So as soon as a file downloads, it's converted and ready to go. Real slick.
--
Randy Shackelford
shack@southwind.net