Msg: 7141 *Conference*

05-01-97 19:15:18

From: RON WIESEN

To : ROBERT BENSON

Subj: REPLY TO MSG #7140 (UNUSED PART OF RAMPAC DIRECTORY)

Wait a minute Bob.  First, registration of copyright, or lack thereof, is not a
factor.  So it's a copyright that is not registered with the U.S. but it still
is protected under U.S. copyright law.  Second, a copyright doesn't expire
until the author of the work is deceased.  At least that's my recollection of
U.S. copyright law.

Sounds like you really really really want me to do it.  I'de love to but
nevertheless Paul must agree or my relocating version of his RAM100.CO work
can't be used by anyone other than myself.  Take heart though, after playing
with the UR-II ROM, recently acquired, I find the "little characters" of
ROM-View 80 quite a kick.  Using my relocating version of DOS100.CO, which is
another item I can't share, I've found that TS-DOS (as well as RAM100.CO) does
LCD tricks that makes it unusable where it runs under ROM-View 80.  Of course
invoking the "legal TS-DOS" from UR-II excludes ROM_View 80 so this is never
seen by "legitimate users".  Point is, I may as well work toward a replacement
for RAM100.CO which will "look right" when run under ROM-View 80.  Of course it
will consume far less memory than RAM100.CO.

My aim is for it to be a "work-alike" to the D service: small, simple, no
frills, and BATCH DRIVE CAPABLE.  I also need to add a command to D for disk
file directory listing (likely command name of F).  So if I add an F command to
D, and make a "work-alike" of D for Rampac service, then it's covered.  What
I've not yet decided is whether the Rampac service (R) should be totally in
memory or brought in from the Rampac in "tiny chucks as needed" to conserve
memory.  It depends on what the whole R animal ends up - sizewise.

The unused 512-byte "end" of the directory sector in Rampacs just cries out to
me - "Please don't let me lay here as waste".  I believe a small tight R
service can be made to fit within 512 bytes (barely but I think so).
Alternatively, one could put R code in a regular Rampac sector and just have a
few bytes in memory to "find the sector and get the code, or a chunk of it".
But then it consumes a perfectly good sector (like RAM100.CO which is so big it
consumes 2 perfectly good sectors). Nahhhh... aim for no sector consumption -
besides, a cold-loader would be even more simple than the one for RAM100.CO.
Anyway Bob, that's where I'm aiming.

Been a while since I heard from you.  Hope all is well.