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From: appelbau@topaz.rutgers.edu (Marc L. Appelbaum)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: ? HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DOS?
Message-ID: <13445@topaz.rutgers.edu>
Date: Wed, 22-Jul-87 08:46:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.13445
Posted: Wed Jul 22 08:46:49 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 24-Jul-87 03:32:03 EDT
References: <10955@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 43
Cc: appelbau


In article <10955@decwrl.DEC.COM> curzon@kaoa01.dec.com (Richard Curzon KAO4-3/7A DTN 621-2196) writes:

>     Too many DOSes for the Atari 8 bit.
> 
>     I have a utility that I would like to make smart enough to run
> on any DOS.  For Sparta and OSS, I would like to have it pick up the 
> filename from the command line -- I have the documentation on how to
> do it for Spartados, and apparently the OSS DOSes are consistent.
> 
>     However, I would like it to work with other DOSes.  If I can 
> identify that the DOS loaded is not a command line DOS, the 
> program will display a filename prompt.
> 
>     Only catch is, how do I identify the DOS?  Is there any reliable 
> trick to identify?
> 

There is no way to identify a DOS, (that I know of, please correct me
if I'm wrong).  But you should have no trouble working with SpartaDOS
or DOS XL.  

On to passing parameters from the command line.  This can be done
easily in Action! or C.  Lets look at an Action! example (this of the
top of my head)

proc main(byte array filename)
;;;this is the main proc, it will take a filename from a command line
;;;dos
if filename(0)=0 THEN getfile(file2)
;;;if just a return was pressed go to the proc getfile and input a
filename
ELSE
;;;go on with your program.

I've used this structure in a few of my programs, and it has worked
OK.
-- 
 -Marc L. Appelbaum 				
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