(* this is the README.TEXT file from RAMdrivers.dsk *) Apple Pascal Ramdrive Copyright (c) by Applied Engineering 1985, 1986 Written by Steven Malechek Supports Apple Pascal version 1.1, 1.2, & 1.3 (64k and 128k sizes) The Pascal Ramdrive program on this disk will enable the Apple Pascal system to access the Applied Engineering memory cards (either Ramworks or Z-RAM cards) as a very large and fast disk drive. This new disk drive can be accessed in exactly the same way that any of your other regular disk drives, but with a speed equal to or faster than a hard disk. This speed will immediately be seen in compiling, linking, assembling, filer operations, and any programs that are disk usage- intensive. Reducing the time required for all of these operation will translate directly into greater productivity and less time waiting for your program to finish compiling. In order to install the Ramdrive program onto your bootup disk, several files will need to be transfered from the Pascal Ramdrive disk to your bootup disk. The files that you will need to transfer over will depend upon the version of the Apple Pascal system you are using. All the files that have a '1.1' suffix on the end of the filename are only for version 1.1, '1.2' suffix is for version 1.2, and '1.3' for 1.3 users. Any files that do not have either of these two suffixes are for all versions of Apple Pascal. After these files have been moved to your boot disk, some of the files will need to be renamed before they can be used. A list of all the files on the Ramdrive disk are listed below, with their new name after they have been transferred to your boot disk. Pascal 1.1 File Name Rename to SYSTEM.ATTA.1.1 SYSTEM.ATTACH ATTACH.DATA.1.1 ATTACH.DATA ATTACH.DRIV.1.1 ATTACH.DRIVERS SYSTEM.STAR.1.1 SYSTEM.STARTUP BOOTRAM.1.1 BOOTRAM.CODE RAMDRI.1.1 RAMDRI.CODE RAMDSR.1.1 RAMDSR.CODE Pascal 1.2 SYSTEM.ATTA.1.2 SYSTEM.ATTACH ATTACH.DATA.1.2 ATTACH.DATA ATTACH.DRIV.1.2 ATTACH.DRIVERS SYSTEM.STAR.1.2 SYSTEM.STARTUP BOOTRAM.1.2 BOOTRAM.CODE RAMDRI.1.2 RAMDRI.CODE RAMDSR.1.2 RAMDSR.CODE Pascal 1.3 SYSTEM.ATTA.1.3 SYSTEM.ATTACH ATTACH.DATA.1.3 ATTACH.DATA ATTACH.DRIV.1.3 ATTACH.DRIVERS SYSTEM.STAR.1.3 SYSTEM.STARTUP BOOTRAM.1.3 BOOTRAM.CODE RAMDRI.1.3 RAMDRI.CODE RAMDSR.1.3 RAMDSR.CODE All Versions STARTUP.TEXT SAME COPYFILES.TEXT SAME README.TEXT SAME When you have finished transfering all of the files to the boot disk it should contain the following files: SYSTEM.ATTACH ATTACH.DATA ATTACH.DRIVERS SYSTEM.STARTUP BOOTRAM.CODE STARTUP.TEXT COPYFILES.TEXT README.TEXT These are all the files of the Ramdrive program that pertain to your version of the Apple Pascal system. Only some of these files are needed to use the Ramdrive, where the rest are for user configuration of the Ramdrive. The files that are needed to use the Ramdrive are: SYSTEM.ATTACH ATTACH.DATA ATTACH.DRIVERS SYSTEM.STARTUP COPYFILES.TEXT BOOTRAM.CODE This configuration of files, when the disk is booted, will install the Ramdrive as volume 'RAM', copy all system files from volume number #4 and #5, and configure the volume 'RAM' as the boot volume. If this default configuration does not meet your needs refer below to 'USER CONFIGURATION' for more information on custom installation. To aid you in installing the Ramdrive on your startup disk there is a program on the disk that will do it for you. The program will move and rename only the files that are required for the Ramdrive to run. To use this program you must have two disk drives, if not you will have to transfer the files listed above using the Pascal filer. Begin by booting up on the startup disk that you want the Ramdrive installed on. Next place the Ramdrive disk supplied into disk drive #2. From the main system command level type the letter 'X' and respond to the prompt with EXEC/RAMDRV:COPY.1.1 for Pascal 1.1 or 'COPY.1.2' or 'COPY.1.3' for the version you are using. When the program is finished turn off the computer and use the new startup disk with the Ramdrive installed. When the Pascal Ramdrive is first executed it will install itself into the operating system and create a Pascal volume 'RAM' in the memory card with an empty directory. If the Ramdrive program is executed another time it will reinstall itself into the operating system, but if it detects a valid Pascal directory in the memory card it will not change the directory and return to the calling program. This is very important if the Pascal system should run into an error and need to be rebooted. It is even posible to quit from Pascal totally and run other software on the computer, returning later to pick up where you left off. This will not work, of course, if any of the other programs that you run use the memory card. Also, if the computer is turned off, everything will be lost in the Ramdrive. It is very important to save all work your work to a diskette before the computer is turned off! There may be times when you may not wish to save the Ramdrive directory when the Ramdrive program is re-executed. For this, a special feature has been incorporated into the Ramdrive program that will allow that directory to be erased just as if the computer had been turned off and then on again. This can be done when the Ramdrive program is installing itself into the operating system by holding down the solid-Apple key ( the key to the right of the space bar) on the keyboard. Built into the Pascal Ramdrive program are two indicators that show when the Ramdrive is being used. The first one is a visual indicator and is always active. It will be seen in the lower right hand portion of the screen when data is being transfered to or from the Ramdrive. An inverse 'R' will be displayed when data is being read from the Ramdrive, and an inverse 'W' is used for writes. The second is an audio indicator that makes different tones though the Apple speaker depending upon whether the operation is a read or a write. This audio indicator can be optionally enabled by holding the open-Apple key ( the key to the left of the space bar) while the Ramdrive is being installed. To turn off the audio indicator just re-run the Ramdrive program without holding down the open-Apple key. If this standard configuration is satifactory, then no further reading is necessary. However, if you need a different configuration or are interested in more information about the Pascal Ramdrive program, read on. USER CONFIGURATION There are several parts to the Pascal Ramdrive program, each serving an important function in making the Ramdrive very versatile and useful. The hub of all these parts is the Ramdisk driver, that is installed into the operating system by the 'SYSTEM.ATTACH' program. This program uses the files 'ATTACH.DATA' and 'ATTACH.DRIVERS' to supply and direct how the Ramdrive program is installed into the Pascal system. When the first part of the Ramdrive is 'attached' to the operating system it will use the device driver #140 and should never be changed. When the Pascal system is booted, it will execute 'SYSTEM.ATTACH' first, and install the Ramdrive driver. If you are already using the attach system to install drivers, you will need to use the utility programs that come with Apple Computer's SYSTEM ATTACH package to merge the Pascal Ramdrive driver with the drivers you are currently using. Changing Volume Number After all of the drivers in the 'ATTACH.DRIVERS' file have been attached the system will execute the program 'SYSTEM.STARTUP'. In this program a call to the function 'RAMDRIVE' will be executed. The 'RAMDRIVE' function is an externally linked assembly language program that expects, as a parameter, the volume number to which the Ramdrive is to be associated. After the second stage of the Ramdrive installation is finished, it will return with the number of 64k banks of memory found on the RamWorks card and indicate if the Pascal Ramdrive has already been installed. The current volume setting for the Ramdrive is number #12. If this does not meet your needs, the startup program will have to be changed, compiled, and linked. The source for the startup program is provided on the disk with the file name of 'STARTUP.TEXT'. The variable 'VOLUME_NUMBER' can be changed to any number between 1 and 12 for Pascal 1.1 and 1 through 20 for Pascal 1.2 and 1.3. Careful consideration should be taken before any number is choosen since only volume numbers 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are valid for Pascal 1.1 and Pascal 1.2 and 1.3 have additional ones between 13 and 20. If any other device is installed with the number that you choose it will be disabled. If you wish to incorporate the Ramdrive installation into another startup program the function declaration and call to the Ramdrive function will have to be copied into your current startup program. Now compile the program and link it with the files 'RAMDRI.CODE' and 'RAMDSR.CODE'. The finished code file will have to be renamed to 'SYSTEM.STARTUP' so that it will automatically be executed at boot. When the Ramdrive function returns to the calling program it will return the number of 64k bank of memory found on the RamWorks card. If the Ramdrive had already been installed, the number returned would have been offset by 256 to indicate this fact. In this case to get the real number of bank on the memory card, subtract the number from 256. To convert this number of bank on the memory card to that of usable block of storage in the Ramdrive, multiply the number by 127. Automatic Transfering of Files to Ramdrive Once the Ramdrive is installed, the startup program uses the 'CHAINSTUFF' unit in the system library to execute an exec file. This exec file 'COPYFILES' will enter the system filer and copy all the Pascal system files on volume number #4 and #5 to the Ramdrive. After all files have been transfered it will execute the program 'BOOTRAM'. For more information on Apple Pascal exec files in refer to the operating system reference manual and the operating system reference manual addendum. Making the Ramdrive the Boot Volume The 'BOOTRAM' program, when executed, will set the Ramdrive volume in the Pascal system as the system boot volume. This program is needed for two reasons, first, Pascal system requires that the 'SYSTEM.PASCAL' be located on the boot volume. This is a handicap when using the Ramdrive since every time that you exit to the system level to switch from the editor to the compiler you will have to pass through the outer system command level in which the system will have to access the system Pascal file on the disk drive. This will degrade the entire performance that the Ramdrive can deliver. The second reason is that the Apple Pascal system is geared around the use of system work files. By using system work files, all of the system programs (editor, compiler, ect.) will use them as the default input file. This relieves the programmer from having to type in the file name of the file he wishes to edit or compile. He can move smoothly from one system program to the other with a single key stroke. The problem arises from the fact that the system work file must be on the boot volume in order to work correctly. Through the use of the 'BOOTRAM' program both of these problems can be overcome and allow the user to take advantage of the speed of the Ramdrive. If you are currently using a hard disk, it might be better to not use the 'BOOTRAM' program since the speed difference between a hard disk and a Ramdrive is not so great. Although the only real way to tell is to try different configurations to find out which works best for you. One final note about using the 'BOOTRAM' program. Once the Pascal system has booted up it, expects the file 'SYSTEM.PASCAL' file to always start at the same block number on the boot volume. If the file moves, or the boot volume is changed and the 'SYSTEM.PASCAL' file is not in its correct position, the system will crash. In order to guarantee that this won't happen, the file 'SYSTEM.PASCAL' must be copied over to the Ramdrive, into its correct position before the 'BOOTRAM' program is executed. This is usually not too much of a problem since the first two files on the boot volume are 'SYSTEM.APPLE' and 'SYSTEM.PASCAL'. By copying these two files over to the Ramdrive first, using the 'CPOYFILES' exec file or the system filer, the position of the 'SYSTEM.PASCAL' file can be maintained. Working with other Attached Drivers If you are already using a driver that is installed into the Pascal system with SYSTEM.ATTACH your current drivers will have to be merged with the Ramdrive drivers. The documentation and tool needed to do this can be obtained from Apple Computer under the name of Apple // Pascal Attach Tools.