06.004 What commands are available in DOS 3.3?
Description
This article is from the Apple II Csa2 FAQ, by Jeff Hurlburt with numerous contributions by others.
06.004 What commands are available in DOS 3.3?
To get very far with "DOS 3.3" you will need the DOS Manual. This is
especially true when it comes to using TEXT files. Other good sources of DOS
3.3 info include Beneath Apple DOS and Apple II User's Guide. For now, the
following is a quickie guide to most Apple II DOS 3.3 commands:
LOAD NARF- loads a BASIC file named NARF.
SAVE NARF- saves current BASIC program in memory as file named NARF.
DELETE NARF - deletes file named NARF
CATALOG - lists contents of diskette to screen
RENAME NARF, NEWNARF - renames file NARF to NEWNARF
RUN NARF- loads and starts a BASIC file named NARF.
BLOAD NARF.PICTURE, A$2000 - loads in a binary file named NARF.PICTURE starting
at address $2000.
note: $2000 is a hexadecimal number ($2000 = 8192 in decimal). DOS commands can
use hex or decimal numbers.
BSAVE NARF, A$300, L$7F - saves $7F bytes of memory starting at address $300 as
a binary file named NARF. (BSAVE NARF, A768, L127 uses decimal numbers to do
the same thing.)
note: The above command statement illustrates typical DOS syntax ...
BSAVE-- the DOS command
NARF-- the file name (the space between the command and file name
is not a requirement; BSAVENARF is okay)
,-- a comma to separate file name from parms which follow
A-- means an Address follows
$300-- the address from which you want to start saving bytes (the $
indicates a hex value; $300= 768). Again, spaces do not matter;
A768, A 768, A $ 300 are all okay
,-- a comma to separate one parm from another
L-- means a Length follows
$7F-- the length in hex (= 127); this is the number of bytes to be saved
The command statement says Save $7F bytes, starting at address $300, to a file
named "NARF". NARF will have the bytes found at addresses $300 through $37E.
note: The order of parms following a file name does not matter.
BRUN NARF.DISP, A$1000 - loads in a binary file named NARF.DISP starting at
address $1000 and starts executing machine instructions at address $1000
LOCK NARF- locks file NARF (indicated by * in a CATALOG). LOCKed files cannot
be deleted, over-written, etc.
UNLOCK NARF - cancels LOCKed status of NARF.
VERIFY NARF - uses checksums to verify that NARF is not a damaged file
MON C, I, O - tells DOS to display Commands, Inputs from disk, Outputs to disk.
You can specify one, two, or all three (e.g. MON C, O etc.).
NOMON C, I, O - cancels all MON requests. NOMON I cancels just the "I" request.
MAXFILES 7 - sets the number of file buffers to 7. (Upon booting DOS, the
default for the MAXFILES value is 3.)
PR#1 - sets the destination for Apple outputs to the device in Slot 1 (usually
a printer). PR 3 sets it to Slot 3, etc.. PR 0 sets the destination back to
the display screen.
PR#6 - normally, boots the diskette in Drive 1, Slot 6.
IN# 6 - sets the source for Apple inputs to the device in Slot 6.
IN# 0 - sets the source for Apple inputs to the keyboard (default).
INT - (integer) puts system into Integer BASIC if it is present.
FP - (floating point) puts system into standard Applesoft BASIC.
OPEN NARFOO - prepares to read or write a TEXT file named NARFOO.
READ NARFOO - tells DOS that INPUT and GET statements will obtain characters
from a TEXT file named NARFOO.
WRITE NARFOO - tells DOS that PRINTed characters will go to a TEXT file named
NARFOO.
CLOSE NARFOO - used to terminate access to a TEXT file named NARFOO. Just CLOSE
terminates access to all OPENed TEXT files.
EXEC NARFGO - tells DOS to execute the BASIC and DOS commands found in a TEXT
file named NARFGO
The above TEXT file commands handle 'normal' sequential TEXT files. DOS can
also OPEN, READ, WRITE, ... random access TEXT files. (See DOS manual.)
Most DOS commands also let you specify Drive and/or Slot. For example CATALOG,
D2 lists the contents of the diskette in Drive 2 to screen. SAVE NARF,S5,D2
saves NARF to Drive 2 in Slot 5.
NOTE --> Using Drive or Slot parms in a DOS command sets the default Drive or
Slot. So, after CATALOG, D2, a plain LOAD or SAVE will access Drive 2.
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