Best methods to aggregate software by OS

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Best methods to aggregate software by OS

Postby te36 » Fri Dec 27, 2013 8:42 am

What is the best method to coalesce software into fewer images on the CFFA3000, depending on OS ? Here is what i think to understand (is it correct - and what not:

"Games" in a single 32MByte ProDOS 8 image: I guess this works whenever a game is a single file image that can be (B)RUN (for binary or A/I). There are some 32 MByte images like this on the Internet. I wonder if folks have actually modified those games to be a single file.

Supposedly, this approach should also work for Applesoft/Integer programs that read/write files as ProDOS should be compatible enough with that, but i am no sure whether the filenames that these programs use need to be mutually unique or whether it would be possible to install different A/I programs into different ProDOS subdirectories.

The next more complicated approach is to use DOS.MASTER to partition a Smartdrive volume. I guess the outcome would be that one can have a lot 140kByte DOS 3.3 virtual floppy drives in one Smartdrive volume, but it's not clear to me what level of compatibility this will get. I guess that the program/app on each floppy needs to be pretty DOS 3.3 API compliant, aka: any programs that leverage extensions of some modified DOS 3.3 would likely not run, right ? So i am not quite sure what the sweet spot for DOS.MASTER is when using CFFA3000 - instead of having one CFFA 3000 level directory with a lot of 140KBYte .dsk images. Maybe the ability to have a nicer menu to select which images to activate ?

How about simply >> 140kbyte floppy drives ? I have a third-party 5.25" floppy drives+controller with 160 tracks and a self-modifying DOS3.3 firmware. I wonder how to copy software from those floppies. Has anybody managed to modify DOS 3.3 to support disk-emulation access to CFFA3000 but with more than 140KByte ? I guess otherwise i would have to try to see if the application works with ProDOS by copying it to a ProDOS volume ?

Worst yet: How about UCSD system and CP/M floppies ? Any way to have them use anything alrger than virtual 140kbyte floppy drives via disk emulation ?
te36
 
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