EXTENDED COMMODORE OPERATING SYSTEM V128.2.B5
GENERAL NOTES
 
(C) 1995 YUKON CORNIELIAN SOFTWARE
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION/SUPPORT/PROGRAMMING BY THE RENEGADE PROGRAMMING GROUP 
 
DISCLAIMER:
Yukon Cornielian Software ("YCS") makes no claims on the reliability of
this software, and will not be held respoinsible for the results of using
this software directly or indirectly.  This software is offered as is, with
no warantees attached, and no present implications of use, etc.
 
The author(s) will not be held liable under the aforementioned terms.
 
 
ABOUT
The Extended Commodore Operating System (ECOS) was developed by Yukon
Cornielian Software in the hopes of creating an easier programming
environment for uni-tasking applications which required some type of
higher-level hierarchial system for disc processing and memory
organization/execution.
 
The system itself is composed of two parts:
 
A. The Kernal
B. The SubPrograms
 
The Kernal is the set of routines offered by YCS to the general public
under the NPP guidelines.  Contained within it is all of the valid official
subroutines to be used by SubPrograms.  It should be noted that SubPrograms
which do NOT adhere to the latest version of the Kernal will not
necessarily be compatible with previous and/or later versions of ECOS.
 
The SubPrograms are programs called by the Kernal which execute specific
tasks.  For a full list of official SubPrograms released under the NPP
guidelines, please refer to the file "SUBPROGRAM INFO".
 
HISTORY
The ECOS has a long history, despite it's very low version numbers.  The
most primitive attempts at any type of DOS over the standard were the EDPSF
systems released in the late '80s to local user groups by YCS.  To say the
least, these programs were cheap ripoffs of other useful disc utilities,
simply archived into one complete file system.
 
The first actual attempt at an OS occured on the C64 with the advent of
STORAGE, a simple file linker/compressor program for telecommunications.
It used a syntax similar to that of ARC64, and ran out of it's own shell.
The program never got beyond it's initial beta-releases, which were only
given to a few select people by the authors.
 
The next attempt at an OS was the X-kernal, which was a Commodore Kernal
Supplement that added various disc access commands, namely the ability for
letter designated files, etc.  (A la MS-DOS; IE: A:Filename).  The X-kernal
never made it past the development stages due to time restraints.
 
Then came the MAX system, which was the first attempt at a point-and-click
interface on the C64.  This project was abandoned after the loss of the
original source code.  Several modified versions still lie around, but they
are pretty useless without the documented code, since the MAX system used
complex variable setups prior to calling subroutines in it's Kernal.  Only
two projects were started under the MAX system, namely "Horror House", a
rip off of the game CRIME TIME, and a "Music Analyzer" Program, not to be
confused with MA programs put out previously by various European and
American demo groups -- this was a full point and click system, which
required a mouse, etc.  The screen layout looked much like a SID/ZipCodeII
hybrid.
 
Finally, came the BHDIS system (Basic Hard Drive Interface System).  This
OS used a command parser written in BASIC, which called on ML specific
routines.  Originally planned to be cross-Commodore-Kernal compatible
(C128/C64/PET/VIC), the project was killed after finding that too many
calls were made on the C128 kernal to be of much use anywhere else, without
major rewriting of the entire kernal itself (a tedious task).  The kernal
also relied on multiple memory banks (RAM 0 and RAM 1) to do a lot of the
string processing, which was not yet available on any other Commodore 8-Bit
platform.
 
Enter ECOS.  A new takeoff on the BHDIS system.  Utilizing the same syntax
for commands, etc., but written in pure ML code with no reference to
machine specific subroutine, ECOS looks like it's here to stay!  The
SubPrograms initially included with the first ECOS release are acutally
modified versions of the BHDIS release, originally only given to RPG
members.  Since ECOS also uses a fixed memory structure, it can be easily
ported to any Commodore 8-bit machine.
 
TECHNICAL INFO
ECOS uses a variable database to access most of it's information.  The
general path of the Kernal is as follows:
 
A. Print a prompt
B. Get the users input
C. Process the input
   A. Parse the prompt
   B. Check if it is an internal command
   C. Check if it is a valid external command
   D. Act on the internal/external command validity
   E. Update necessary registers/pointers
D. Loop to A.
 
The variable database consists of a one-page listing of variable names, and
a 1k listing of variable data.  See the file "ECOS TECH NOTES" for more
information.
 
SUPPORT
All Original Code by Patrick M Pritchard at Yukon Cornielian Software.
Supplementary code, beta-testing and distribution by the Renegade
Programming Group, USA.  For info, please contact:
 
   Via Usenet: Any article with the subject header of 'ECOS: ..<your text here>' 
 Via Internet: pmp@io.org
Via PunterNet: 111/Patrick Pritchard
    SnailMail: PO Box 34527
               1565 Jane St.
 
Toronto, Ontario
               M9N 2R3  Canada
 
 
Patrick M Pritchard - CYBERAD/RPG - Skyfox`IRC    OUT OF SERVICE -> pmp`io.org
The VisualFlex Studios, Toronto    USE THIS ADDRESS -> ppritcha`acs.ryerson.ca
PictureTakenVinylSpininTeknoDancinhOilPaintinMacUsinCommieProgrammingKindOfGuy
Box 34527 - 1565 Jane St. - Toronto Ontario - M9N 2R3 - Canada  -
416/241-8489