eve@ssc-bee.UUCP (Michael Eve) (10/30/84)
After waiting for five months, I can finally use Prodos! The Prodos Technical Reference Manual is now apparently back in print. I was able to purchase a copy at my local computer store for $25. I have skimmed the manual and it seems to have all the necessary information for assembly programming. There is even a return card in which Apple says they will attempt to keep registered users informed of changes (I will believe this when I see it). The parameter format for calls to the Machine Language Interface (MLI) is a bit strange to me: The first parameter of each call is the number of parameters to expect. The manual says this is to guard against accidental calls to the MLI. Is this practice now being pushed by anyone besides Apple? This is the first time I have encountered it, and think its a little silly but harmless. A very, minor flame: The manual is distributed in looseleaf form. The pages are smaller than normal 8 1/2 X 11, and are wider than my one small notebook likes. Apple says they did this to make updates easier and binders are available at extra cost. The loose leaf style is good for updates especially if the updates are issued in the form of "replace this old page with this new page", but the first set of updates which came with the manual contains several widely separated page updates on one page so you can't really just replace the offending pages. -- Mike Eve Boeing Aerospace, Seattle ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!eve