CSvax:Pucc-H:Physics:piner@pur-ee.UUCP (06/25/83)
Yes, exactly right. Newdos, Ldos, Trsdos all handle EOF differently. I like the Newdos way best too. My point is, if Radio Shack is selling Ldos and Trsdos, one would expect their compiler package to work under both. Sadly, that is not the case. But Ldos is not a product of Lobo. I had that impression once too. Ldos is a product of Logical Systems. It is not as good internally as Newdos, but it allows non-standard new devices to be added to the system in a logical way. It is the cleanest system I have seen for adding extra hardware, better than CP/M. Adding a disk drive under Newdos, can only be done if it is a drive that is run by a disk controler that Newdos already understands. There is no way to add a driver for a new type of disk controler, such as hard disk, or any other device, such as ram drive. Under Ldos, write a driver, and use the SET command to install it in the system, and you are done. Anyway, it ain't Lobo I'm mad at, but Radio Shack. If Lobo gets licences, and corrects the mistakes made by others, I think they can make a lot of money, since the machine is a good one. (My boss liked mine so much, he ordered one.) By the way, Lobo says they are open to suggestions on what software people want, so if you call them to ask about the machine, put in a vote for your favorite language too. A final note on FORTRAN, I got a copy of Nevada FORTRAN (CP/M) today. It does not include Real*8, Integer*4, Complex, EQUIVALENCE statements, Extended DATA statements, D & P formats, or Statement functions. It does have some useful extensions, such as, ENCODE/DECODE, IF-THEN-ELSE, IMPLICIT, free-format I/O, and others. So I guess it's worth $30. It's sold by Ellis Computing by the way. Rich Piner Purdue Physics Dept.