colorForth DOS reader V3.1
The cfdos3v0 distribution includes only two blk files, the new colorForth system cfdos3.blk and a PCI test program as a bootable floppy image.
New
features in cfdos.com V3.1 ( from V1.0 ) :
CtrlU and ctrlD now upload and download 36 blocks ( 2 cylinders ). This is to keep the system source in blocks 18 to 35 in sync with the binary in blocks 0 to 17.
CtrlP and ctrlO added. These uPload and dOwnload 1440 blocks, an entire floppy disk. Use this to create a bootable PCItest floppy disk – see below.
Directory listing uses R/W access ( instead of R/O ) to
avoid upsetting WinXP/NT/2000 systems… ( New in V3.x )
File information now includes file and kernel checksums. ( New in V3.1 )
New
features in cfdos3.blk 2004 Oct 05 ( from V1.0 ) :
Changes to the colorForth system are to make it closer to the ANS Forth standard.
Name changes to several system words to avoid clashes with ANS standard names :
Was is
now called. function .
?dup /dup compiler – decides whether a dup
is needed
- invert
-1 XOR
stop /flop turns off the floppy disk drive
motor
or xor bitwise XOR ( New in V3 )
-- or bitwise OR ( New in V3 )
Note that erase and copy are not ANS compliant:
b n erase erases n blocks starting at block b
b copy copies the currently edited block ( in variable blk ) to block b
Dump now displays the ASCII text and colorForth token names.
Type ver dump to see the CFDOS ASCII version information at 0x11c0. This is 256 bytes ( 64 32 bit cells ) before block 18.
Icons has a complete set of printable ASCII characters from 0x20 to 0x7F, and the ASCII conversion tables have been updated to include them all.
Slime : a simple game
Sound : controls the PC’s speaker
Ed : the colorForth editor mostly ( New in V3 ) ported to colorForth. Type ed then 206 edd to replace 206 edit .
: toggles “colourblind” mode on/off
o displays the Other ( last edited by edd ) block
L loads the currently displayed block
The midnight-blue background is to show that different code is being run…
New
blk file :
PCItest.blk is a 1440 block file containing the image of a disk. On the disk you will find PCI.exe , a PCI display program written by Craig Hart – suplied with thanks from : http://members.datafast.net.au/dft0802/downloads.htm
The file : PCIdevs.txt lists the names of PCI cards and manufacturers.
Use ctrlO to dOwnload PCItest.blk to a blank floppy, then reboot your PC from the floppy. The program will auto-run and display your PC’s PCI information.
The video card is class 3. Further documentation on what to do with this information will follow ASAP…
New CHK.com progam :
CHK.com <filename> displays the 16 bit hexadecimal sum of 512 bytes starting at byte 1152 in “filename”. This is an area in the colorForth kernel which does not appear to contain any variables, and so gives a good indication of which colorForth binary is in the file. If no filename is given it defaults to “cfdos3.blk” . The source for CHK.com is in blocks 661 to 663 in cfdos.src. ( ctrlF 661 LIST N N )
Howerd Oakford www.inventio.co.uk