Date   : Fri, 03 Jan 1997 14:59:43 +0000
From   : deweger <deweger@...>
Subject: Re: Archive format expansion

Robert Schmidt wrote:

> Agreed.  See this from a machine independent view:  whether the file is
> named !BOOT or !STARTUP is totally irrelevant.  Now in a BBC view: The
> BBC micro DFS already has support for booting - i.e. automatic execution
> of a certain file upon start-up.  This file is called !BOOT, and any
> emulator claiming 100% compatability should also emulate this operation.
> Choosing another name (e.g. !STARTUP) for a purpose which is virtually
> identical to the existing functionality, does not make sense to me.

Basically I agree. That's why Tom may consider to call the !STARTUP
files
simply !BOOT and build a menu of !BOOT files in the game archives.
There's
however one advantage of using !STARTUP files: they do not exist yet and
therefore we are free to standardize their format. This would e.g. be
handy if you want the name of the game in the menu the menu builder
puts on screen. That could be done by e.g. requiring the name of the
game in the first line of the !STARTUP file. (This is not possible with
!BOOT files that should be *RUN.)

> *OPT 4 is *not* emulator-specific.  It is BBC specific, just as the load
> and execution addresses of each file.

Hmm, that depends on what exactly you call BBC-specific. Currently the 
archive format contains only information that is on BBC *disks*. What
I meant by emulator-specific is that the information is not on original
BBC disks. On a real Beeb you have to type in the *OPT4 option yourself
before !BOOTing, as this parameter is not on BBC disks. (Or am I
completely
mistaken?)

> Whether one or all or none of the
> emulators *support* the "OPT4" option is irrelevant - the option is
> required to provide 100% emulation of a BBC micro, which *all* emulators
> (should) strive towards.

But 100% emulation of a Beeb doesn't require the *OPT4 parameter to be
in the emulator's disk images, as it is not on real BBC disks. It's just
an extra that makes it convenient to start !BOOT files.

> Next, I am in general opposed to adding new "standard file names" (e.g.
> !STARTUP or !OPTIONS) to the archives.  If the *OPT 4 value is stored in
> !BOOT.INF, it is much easier to make sure that the value is kept with
> the correct !BOOT file - in the case where several games are copied into
> the same directory. Note that several !BOOT file can exist in one
> directory because the DOS/UNIX file name is virtually independent of the
> BBC file name.

The last point you make is true, but unpractical. Currently every zipped
game
archive with an !BOOT file contains the !BOOT file stored under its real
BBC name, !BOOT. So if you unzip two ZIP files both with !BOOT files in
them,
the first !BOOT file will be overwritten. But this is a point I went
into
more deeply in my last mail.

Mark.