Date   : Mon, 02 Sep 1996 10:25:25 +0200
From   : Robert Schmidt <rsc@...>
Subject: Re: Changing file attributes

A.Burton wrote:
> How did I achieve this - well the file BEEBDOS
> in the nvg utils archive isn't mentioned much but it is a fantastic
> programme. I fitted an old 51/4 floppy off an atari to my 486, and the
> beebdos programme no allows me to read, format, copy, anything 40 track,
> double density floppies using the Solidisk 1770 filing sytstem!!! 

A question that comes to my mind: is FDC or Anadisk able to read the
same diskettes on your 486??  If not, I might have been wrong in my
assumption that *all* those programs required an antique floppy
controller!  Maybe Beebdos will save us all... :)

> how do you change
> the attributes of a file on a bbc disk - i.e. load exec addresses?

The only way I'm aware of is to *LOAD it, then *SAVE it with new
attributes.  I don't remember if you *have* to relocate it in memory to
be able to change the *SAVE attributes, though.

> I never figured this out when I was a full time BBC user and I've
> forgotten most of what I knew now.
> It would be good to have games like Trafalgar on disk.

I don't have a solution that would work on a BBC, but on a related
topic:  Wouter Scholten catered for such tape programs when designing
the "archive format".  The field "NEXT=xxx" in an *.inf file means that
the *next* file is the BBC file with the BBC file name "xxx".  In the
future emulators might support this notion, making it unneccessary to
modify tape programs to work in disk images.
 
> And if anyone is interested in copies of Disk User disks, programmes from
> Micro User and the Acorn User and various other BASIC crappy programmes
> then check the archive at nvg - I'll be uploading them next week, and I
> guess they will appear somewhere if the gods that be deem them
> sufficiently worthy of archive space.

We - the Gods (i.e. me) are certainly interested!  Our (i.e. my) goal is
to be able to satisfy *any* file request... :)

--
Robert Schmidt <rsc@...       > 
Software Developer / Vingmed Sound tel +47 67124237 fax +47 67124355
Private tel +47 22352293 WWW http://www.nvg.unit.no/~rsc

The law forbids both rich and poor to beg, steal and sleep under
bridges.