Enhanced DragonDOS

A place to discuss everything Dragon related that doesn't fall into the other categories.
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

I have added a superdos-like directory display to DragonDOS 1.0. The ROM also has some patching to fix some critical and a few not so critical bugs. The patches are the work of Philip G Scott. The superdos-like directory display is my own work.

The idea behind this enhanced version of DragonDOS is to fix some of the more serious bugs whilst still retaining a very high degree of compatibility with the original. Unfortunately, due to the lack of unused space there is no longer a 'DRAGONDOS 1.x' sign on message. The best I could do for the moment is an inverse 'd' to indicate that the DOS cartridge is active.

A copy of the ROM is attached for all to enjoy.

Regards,
Steve

Edit: Attachment 'ddos11a.zip' removed.
Last edited by zephyr on Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 409
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:22 pm

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by admin »

Hi Zephyr!

I just tested your rom with XRoar 0.19 and 0.22 and seems to work pretty ok. I've tested the Dragon Graphics Studio image.

Great work!
Simon Hardy
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

Thanks Robcfg! :)

I've written a small routing that sets up the enhanced DOS in RAM on a 64K Dragon. Anyone with a real Dragon 64 or expanded Dragon 32 can use this to get some idea of how DragonDOS 1.1a would perform if it were used as a replacement for the original.

You can easily switch between the two DOS versions from BASIC or M/C at any time. Poke 65502,0 selects the original DOS in 32K (MAP0) mode. Poke 65503,0 selects the enhanced DOS in 64K (MAP1) mode. As long as the contents of RAM remain free from corruption, it is still possible to return to the enhanced DragonDOS 1.1a with poke 65503,0 even after pressing the reset button.

A copy of the program is attached for all to enjoy.

Regards,
Steve

Edit: Attachment 'ddos11a64k.zip' removed.
Last edited by zephyr on Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:36 pm, edited 3 times in total.
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

Here's an updated version which is faster, changes the cursor so you can tell at a glance whether you are in ROM or RAM mode, and patches the reset routine so that the machine always returns to 64K RAM (MAP1) mode after pressing the reset button. If you don't like the idea of a hardware reset returning to 64K RAM mode, the feature can easily be disabled with POKE20461,0 before the EXEC.

The routine itself is compatible with all of the currently available DOS ROMs. Simply load the 'DDOS11B' from disk or tape, copy the required DOS from $C000-$DFFF to $5100-$70FF ($5100-$7C10 for CumanaDOS 2.0) using the included 'DOSMOVE' program, and save to disk or tape. e.g. To tape: 'CSAVEM"Filename",&H4FB4,&H70FF,&H4FB4' To disk: 'SAVE"Filename",&H4FB4,&H70FF+1,&H4FB4' or for CumanaDOS... To tape: 'CSAVEM"Filename",&H4FB4,&H7C10,&H4FB4' To disk: 'SAVE"Filename",&H4FB4,&H7C10+1,&H4FB4'. This operation can be repeated for all DOS versions and the resulting files later transfered to your real dragon via virtual disk or .wav file audio. I highly recommend Ciaran Anscomb's XROAR http://www.6809.org.uk/dragon/xroar.shtml for this task.

This update also includes a further modified version of DragonDOS 1.1 (v1.1B) which fixes a rather serious bug in the CHAIN command. The bug causes the BASIC ROM and other memory areas to be overwritten. As you can imagine, when ROM is running in 64K RAM mode, overwriting the BASIC or Disk operating systems can result in some really serious crashes. :shock: The bug is present even in latest versions of SuperDOS and DOSplus. If you would like to test for this bug, try running the 'Interplanetary Trader' game from the 'Games_01.vdk' disk at http://www.dragon-it.co.uk/ when any of the DOS ROMs are running in 64K RAM mode. This bug can cause some of the later versions of DOS to crash the machine even when they are running in native ROM mode.


The update is attached for all to enjoy.

Regards,
Steve

Edit: Attachment 'ddos11b64k.zip' removed.
Last edited by zephyr on Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
sixxie
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Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:36 am
Location: Hertfordshire
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Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by sixxie »

Cool that you fixed this - what was it trying to do? Copy the BASIC program around but getting source and dest mixed up?

I do wonder why CHAIN needs to keep the original program anywhere in memory at all - isn't the point of it to replace the currently running one while keeping the environment?

Maybe it's so if it fails for some reason the original is still there and it can usefully report "?XX ERROR IN <somewhere>".

Ponder, ponder.
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

The latest update (v1.1c) further improves the superdos-like directory display, and restores the DragonDOS sign on message.

The update is attached for all to enjoy.

Regards,
Steve
Attachments
ddos11c64k.zip
(67.14 KiB) Downloaded 399 times
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

This version of DragonDOS (v1.2a) is a patched version of DragonDOS v1.0 that fixes most of the known bugs. I have also added the superdos-like directory display and the bug fix for the chain command. The original patches are the work of Philip G Scott. The superdos-like directory display, and the bug fix for the chain command are my own work.

I have also attached copies of the original DragonDOS versions 1.1 and 1.2, featuring bug fixes and enhancements by Philip G Scott. Please read the article "Correcting the faults and problems with Dragondos" in the May 1985 issue of Dragon User if you would like to learn more. DragonDOS versions 1.2 and 1.2a include all of the bug fixes and enhancements from that article. Some of the more important fixes are included in versions 1.1, 1.1a, 1.1b, and 1.1c. There is also a letter by Philip G Scott on page 2 (Letters) of the August 1988 issue of Dragon User which mentions SuperDOS E6 and his work from the article in the May 1985 issue.

I hope Simon will add the DragonDOS versions 1.1, 1.1c, 1.2, and 1.2a ROM (.rom) files to the downloads section of the archive.


Regards,
Steve


EDIT: Please read this post.
Attachments
ddos12a64k.zip
(67.24 KiB) Downloaded 375 times
original.zip
(13.74 KiB) Downloaded 403 times
Last edited by zephyr on Sun Mar 30, 2014 1:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 409
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:22 pm

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by admin »

Excellent - and yes I will get those listed....... I'm working on a new, simple download system as I want to move away from Joomla (but keep phpBB)....will be live soon...
Simon Hardy
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

Thanks Simon! 8-)
zephyr
Posts: 1474
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:18 am

Re: Enhanced DragonDOS

Post by zephyr »

Here's a copy of DragonDOS 4.0 to which I have added a superdos-like directory display, the chain command bug fix, and some modifications to make it feel more like DragonDOS 1.0. I have changed the version number to 4.1 to avoid confusion.

EDIT: Archive updated on the 15th October, 2012, at 7:48 pm. Changed the version number to 4.2 due to the recent discovery of a (possibly official) DragonDOS v4.1 ROM image.


Regards,
Steve
Attachments
ddos42.zip
DragonDOS v4.2
(6.92 KiB) Downloaded 357 times
Last edited by zephyr on Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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