Re: COMMAND.COM for ProDOS 8

[wbaguhn@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Will Baguhn)]

In article <gd63485@pro-palmtree.cts.com>,
Richard Der <rder@pro-palmtree.cts.com> wrote:
> 
>jmaes@sonycsce.com (Jan A. J. Maes) wrote:
>>> Does anyone know where COMMAND.COM for P8 can be found? This was a
>>> neat little shareware shell that replaced BASIC.SYSTEM and works
>>> exactly like MS-DOS. It was later released by the authors as
>>> freeware.
>>
>>Command.com wasn't a shareware program but a commercial product
>>published by Pinpoint Publishing.  Exactly what happened to Pinpoint
>>I can't remember but I am pretty sure they are no longer around.
>>Whether Command.com turned into a shaware or freeware/public domain
>>program I really do not know but I doubt it.  None of the other
>>Pinpoint products have, as far as I know. I could be wrong of course.
>>
>>Anyway, if the status of Command.com does indeed turn out to be freeware,
>>I can send it to you.
> 
>According to Joe Kohn and Larry Woodard, in the article "Shareware
>Bargains You've Never Dreamed Of" in the June 1991 issue of Incider/A+
>magazine (the issue with the "Friends or Foes? Apple IIGS and Mac LC"
>cover), COMMAND.COM's status at that time was shareware:
> 
>        "...Command.Com, a $45 shareware program by David Sugar
>        and Les Kay. Command.Com is an MS-DOS work-alike...that
>        insulates users from the ProDOS interface, and replaces
>        it with an environment that works just like MS-DOS."
> 
>Probably after Pinpoint's demise, the authors released the program
>as shareware. I read somewhere that it later became freeware, but
>I can't be sure. Perhaps Joe Kohn could shed some light?
> 
>It would be much appreciated if, after the program's freeware status
>is determined, you could post a copy to comp.binaries.apple2. Thanks!
> 
> 
>dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Dave Althoff) wrote:
>>Why would you want to do a thing like that?!  Yeesh!  I'd rather
>>take BASIC.SYSTEM and add in the DOS 3.3 commands that got left
>>out (INIT, MON, NOMON all come to mind...) and change the PREFIX
>>syntax to emulate the 'cd..' command found in MS-DOS, UNIX,
>>AmigaDOS, OS/2, etc.
> 
>I have increasingly found myself typing "dir" instead of "catalog"
>and BONK, SYNTAX ERROR?. Then after I use it for a while and
>return to the PC, I end up trying to use "/" instead of "\".
>An MS-DOS clone for ProDOS 8 would make everything consistent.
>An integrated Applesoft interpreter for the PC side would be nice
>also, but that is just a dream. ;-)
>
>
>-----
>The Palmtree BBS  310-453-8726 v.32
>Inet: rder@pro-palmtree.cts.com
>

As a simpler workaround, there is a BASIC.SYSTEM addon called "MessyDos".
It's on the FTP sites.  adds "cd", "dir", "cd ..", and a few other
little things to make Basic/P8 tolerable.

Upside is since it's a B.S addon, you can even use it in basic programs.
Downside is that it eats a bit of memory (i don't remember how much, but
i do remember that running TPCE and MessyDos at the same time made things
tight, and i did need to quit both to run RENUMBER).

-- 
                                      --- SPQR (wbaguhn@nyx.net)