[comp.sys.apple] ProDOS startup applications

AWCTTYPA@UIAMVS.BITNET ("David A. Lyons") (03/07/88)

>Date:         Tue, 1 Mar 88 04:28:14 GMT
>Reply-To:     Info-Apple@BRL.ARPA
>From:         Joel Sumner <ndmath!thelink!oliver@iuvax.cs.indiana.EDU>
>Subject:      ECP 16
>
>This is an inquiry to anyone who has ECP 16... Is there any way that you can
>just make it AUTO-BOOT instead of having to activate it through the desktop
>or finder... I know it is done on much commercial software (to just leave the
>selector out and run the program).. Is is possible to do with ECP 16??
>Thanks... I like the shell but I use it so infrequently (almost never) because
>I hate running through the desktop first...
>
>Joel Sumner..
>FidoNet 1:277/3

Your inquiry is actually about ProDOS in general, not about ECP.  By putting
a SYS file with a name ending in ".SYSTEM" or a S16 file with a name ending
in ".SYS16" in the main directory of your disk, ProDOS will run it
automatically when you boot.  (I don't use ECP--if the filetype is EXE
rather than S16, just change it to S16 using the "filetype" command in ECP.)

PorDOS runs the FIRST ".SYSTEM"/".SYS16" file it finds, scanning from the
beginning of the directory, so you may need to copy the first file off, copy
ECP.SYS16 onto the disk, and copy that other ".SYSTEM"/".SYS16" file back
on--this way the one you want will be first.

Finally, there is one complication for ProDOS 16 users:  Before scanning for
a startup program in the main directory, it checks for a file called START
inside your SYSTEM directory.  If it finds START, it runs it instead of
scanning the directory.  So RENAME or DELETE  SYSTEM/START.

(The START provided on System Disk 3.1 as shipped from Apple is a tiny
application that checks potential free memory and runs either */SYSTEM/FINDER
or */SYSTEM/LAUNCHER.)


--David A. Lyons  a.k.a.  DAL Systems
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