Powr-DOS from Acroatix: A Review ================================ joel dinda [75725,1134] Supplier: Acroatix, Inc 10 Upton Drive Wilmington MA 01887 Price: $69.95 Introductory Matters ==================== Powr-DOS is a collection of programs supplied on a TDD floppy. One of these programs is an extension of BASIC; the others are application and utility programs which use those extensions. All in all, Ed Giese has taken a valuable product (Powr-Disk) and made important improvements; this product, while less than perfect, has the potential to vastly improve your M100/T102/T200 and TDD. This is the second version of this review. Although the structure of the review has been greatly modified, and a few new details have been added, the conclusions are much the same. Several months ago, I reviewed Powr-Disk, a predecessor to this product, for this DL. Powr-Disk is still on the market, and remains a quite satisfactory purchase. If you're not familiar with that product, please read my previous review (POWR-D.REV) because this essay assumes that either you've read that review or that you are familiar with Powr-Disk. In particular, there are some technical details in that review which I'll not repeat here; this review is long enough already. As I write, the T200 version of this program has not been shipped, but it should not differ significantly from the M100/T102 version I've got. The utility programs will apparently be identical, as most check to see which computer is "installed" in their first line. For my convenience, this review refers to M100 and TDD from time to time. Everything here should apply as well to the T102, the T200, and (I expect) the Brother disk drive. BASIC Extensions Briefly Summarized =================================== Powr-DOS extends BASIC by permitting BASIC programs to directly access disk files in much the same manner used for RAM file access. These extensions require only slight changes to the normal syntax of BASIC, and most BASIC programs could be easily adapted. (These extensions are mostly shared with Powr-Disk; see POWR-D.REV for details.) Other extensions, new with this program, permit programs to more directly access specified disk sectors; these offer the potential for MUCH more powerful software for M100 in combination with the Tandy Disk Drive. I return to these matters below. What's NEAT about the BASIC extension, besides the added power, is that the program is absolutely transparent in normal usage. Except that it occupies about 3K of RAM, Powr-DOS is completely invisible -- it doesn't reset HIMEM, and it doesn't interfere with normal usage of your computer. Unfortunately, Powr-DOS Review 11/12/86 Page 2 this transparency also makes it very difficult to give some sense of just what the program might do for you, as most of its effects are unnoticed. Powr-DOS Applications and Utilities =================================== The utility and applications programs provided include two disk backup utilities (one to another disk, the other to cassette), a disk-based text editor/print formatter, two main-menu-like file transfer programs (one an optional purchase, actually, for upgrade buyers), a disk formatting utility, a (clever) program loader, a file recovery program (worth the price of the package just for this, in my view), and an 800 byte file transfer utility for use in a crowded machine. RECOVR, alone, is worth the price of the package. This is a file recovery program which can salvage files from a damaged diskette. It's pretty thorough, and correspondingly slow, but WELL worth the wait if you need the abilities it provides. Recovering a DOcument file is simple, though you'll likely need to trim some trash from its tail. Likewise simple is recovering a COmmand file, though if you use SUPER or some of its relatives you may have to guess at the program's specific extension. Recovering a lost BAsic file is not difficult, either, but since the program assumes you'll recognize "sensible" line number sequences, it helps if you've done some programming. The main menu imitations are DMENU, an Acroatix product, and DOS+, a program written by Andy Barbolla and marketed by Acroatix. DMENU is an improved and (much) smaller version of the menu utility included with Powr-Disk. DOS+ is essentially similar, though the details vary and the products have quite different "feels". Both simplify most standard file manipulations in RAM or on disk (neither permits a disk file rename, however), and help transfer files between drive and computer. The strength, in both cases, is that similar processes can be done on several files at one time. The weakness is that both programs are in BASIC; although they're quite nicely done, I find them painfully slow. DMENU's a slightly more powerful program; specifically, it permits you to load AND RUN a disk file by merely selecting it. DOS+ is a modular program, and thus easily customizable; this user prefers it but not very strongly. Depending on how DOS+ is configured, these programs are very similar and occupy about the same amount of RAM. D-TEXT is a "disk-based text editor" and print formatter. The editor's useful if -- and ONLY if -- you've long files on diskette which need editing. In truth, it's NOT a disk-based editor at all; what it does is copy part of the file being worked over into RAM, let you edit it there, and replace it when you've finished. The problem is that replacing the file involves a LOT disk reorganization; this is SLOW! It sometimes does unusual but apparently harmless things to the disk directory in the process. D-TEXT is also a simple but probably adequate (and easily customizable) formatter which prints directly from disk. Powr-DOS (the BASIC extensions) and TINY (the tiny file transfer program) are Powr-DOS Review 11/12/86 Page 3 both hidden on the disk in files named Powr-D_SYS and !!!!!!.!! -- these seem to be two versions of the same code; the important difference is that the ! file can be copied. Either Powr-DOS or Tiny can be loaded with the IPL program you've used to load FLOPPY.CO, or the equivalent function suppied on PCSG's Super ROM. If you're not starting cold, however, PL is more convenient, as it doesn't require that you reset the DIPs. Both programs inquire whether you wish to load Powr-DOS or Tiny, and load the program you select. COPY and COPY-C, the backup programs, are workmanlike and unexciting. The same comment applies to FORMAT, except that it creates disks which can be written to MUCH more quickly than TDD normally permits. Unfortunately, this gain is negated by the TDD itself under most circumstances. The tiny file transfer program, TINY, is a simple little program with extremely limited functions -- it can transfer a file to or from disk, or it can delete a disk file. Its command syntax is REAL primitive, but easy to use; I find it necessary to use this program regularly to retrieve and save spreadsheets which push my RAM limits. Not noted in the documentation but worth keeping in mind is that TINY is a conventional (though invisible) machine language program; like most such, it remains resident until overwritten or otherwise removed and can be started with CALL HIMEM. Some Notes on an Extended BASIC =============================== Just of itself, extending BASIC is not an interesting thing. What's interesting is that the extensions make new things possible. What's disappointing, so far, about the extensions we've already been provided (by Powr-Disk, by TS-DOS, and by Disk Power 100) is that only ONE program (Dave Willman's spell checker) has been made available which effectively uses the new commands to any great purpose. While it's certainly nice that several of us keep rewriting file transfer programs for this computer, it's NOT what I want to see written. This is now less true: Powr-DOS comes packaged with two programs which utilize these capabilities. While I'm not greatly enamoured of D-TEXT, it permits me to do things I cannot do without it. And RECOVR has probably already saved my employer nearly its value in time I would otherwise have had to spend rewriting spreadsheet templates and reentering data. Some folks seem to believe this program's a "hacker's tool". Actually, it's too primitive for that; what it does is give hackers capabilities to WRITE hackers' tools. But it gives those same hackers the opportunity to write applications; the reason we're writing tools is so those applications will be better. We're exploring; please be patient while we learn what this stuff means. The BASIC extensions, as noted, are mostly the same old commands with slightly variant syntax. One (ONE!) disk file can be opened at any given time with OPEN"0:filenm"FOR whatever, and used in all the normal ways. Files can be transfered between drive and computer with slightly variant versions of Powr-DOS Review 11/12/86 Page 4 LOADM and SAVEM, and there's a SAVEM option to append a RAM .DO file to a disk file with the same name. Several commands begin with LFILES, and can be used for gathering information about files or for controlling Powr-DOS. Options include formatting disks, removing the program completely, and cleanly exiting the program to the main menu. DSKI$ retrieves file lengths, or reports disk usage. The most interesting extension is DSKO$, which copies disk sectors to RAM and/or transfers RAM contents to sectors. Where the other improvements provided with this package mainly make M100 capable of treating disk files like RAM files, DSKO$ adds a whole new dimension to this machine. DSKO$ makes a number of things possible. I've been using it to explore the operation of the Tandy Disk Drive; see my report SECTR0.TDD in DL5. RECOVR.BA uses DSKO$ to recover lost files from trashed disks. DSKO$ could be used to simulate "random" disk access on the TDD, though an implementation to do this would best involve a heavily structured file. My RENAME program uses DSKO$ to rewrite the disk directory. And a clever program could use DSKO$ to simulate opening more than one file on the drive. The problem with DSKO$ is that it's pretty clumsy. This is a command which, much like PSET, requires careful programmer control to be effective. Some of this clumsiness is inherent in the drive, whose internal software interferes with external operations. A related problem is that the drive is pretty slow; no software is going to improve that significantly. This clumsiness can be lived with, however. This command makes some really INTERESTING applications possible. The Program Loaders =================== Ed Giese is justifiably proud of the way this program is loaded into RAM. Whether you use the (Tandy?) IPL.BA or the Acroatix PL.BA, you are prompted to select either Tiny or Powr-DOS. If you select Powr-DOS, you're soon asked if the loader can safely move the file residing at the bottom of RAM. When it finds a safe slot, the loader inserts the program there and hides it from view. Powr-DOS, like Supera and the PG Designs Menu program (and Disk Power 100, though that oughtn't be at issue here) is a machine language program camouflaged as BASIC. Unlike the others, though, it's relocatable; if you use one of those, this program can be safely loaded as the "second" file. Several of us can vouch for the procedure; it works remarkably well. Documentation and Support ========================= Powr-DOS comes with a fine manual. It's well organized, contains accurate information about program functions, gives useful sample programs for examples, and offers genuinely interesting technical information and Powr-DOS Review 11/12/86 Page 5 programming tips for the advanced programmer or user. My only complaints are that there is no index, and that nowhere does Acroatix supply a list of files to expect on the disk. A bonus is a concise list of BASIC and P-DOS error messages inside the back cover, with the more obscure messages explained (BN comes to mind). Ed Giese of Acroatix, who seems to be the principal author of this software, is active and helpful on this SIG. Acroatix publishes an occasional newsletter for Powr-Disk and Powr-DOS users, with tips and other useful information. Experience shows that this company goes out of its way to repair bugs and otherwise satisfy its customers. Response is not always rapid, but it always seems to come. Improvements from Powr-Disk =========================== My Powr-Disk review mentioned a number of problems. Most have been addressed in this package: Attempting to open a second disk file now results in an AO (Already Open) error message. The new manual is terrific. DSKI$ can be used to easily check free space on the disk. Although there's no RENAME utility supplied with this DOS, there's now such a program available in DL5 for use with Powr-DOS. Bugs and Other Irritants ======================== These are very nice programs, mainly. They are, however, a bit less than perfect: LFILES sometimes reports 255 sectors free when the disk is actually full. Since 79 is the actual maximum, this message is not especially confusing; it's just a bit disconcerting. Curiously, DSKI$ gets the number right, even in these cases. MERGE doesn't work; instead you get a NM error. The same thing happens when you attempt to LOAD or RUN a .DO version of a BASIC program; this is NOT what the documentation claims and is different from both M100 BASIC and from Powr-Disk. It seems to be three manifestations of the same bug, since all involve the translation of code from ASCII formats to BASIC. (By the way: The fix in DOSTIP.006 DOESN'T work; one of the POKES is WRONG and even the correct one doesn't fix the problem correctly. Ed's promised a program fix at his first opportunity. Since this problem is mostly inconvenient, not fatal, that's probably good enough.) Powr-DOS Review 11/12/86 Page 6 There are reliable reports that this program will NOT work with Dave Willman's spelling checker. The specific problem is that running DCPREP leads to cold starts -- not while the program runs, but soon thereafter. Let's hope THAT gets solved. Several of the Powr-DOS applications wipe out any machine language programs you may have resident above HIMEM. This is unpleasant behavior; worse, it can be disastrous if the overwritten program resets RAM hooks. There are, actually, plausible reasons for the overwrites -- but it's a bit frustrating that Acroatix would take such care to prevent P-DOS from having such conflicts and ignore the problem in the applications. D-TEXT, as noted above, sometimes messes up the disk directory. The problem does not seem to be dangerous, but can be pretty irritating. Acroatix' own TMPC time organizer program comes equipped with a program loader which damages Powr-DOS. Ed reports it's easily fixed, and asks TMPC users to contact Acroatix about the problem. LFILES V can be used to bomb Powr-*Disk*. Phil Wheeler and I have both had it wipe out Bank 1 on our multiple- bank M100s; I'm not certain whether it endangers single- bank computers. Properly speaking, this is NOT a Powr-DOS problem; however, anything with the potential to cause cold starts should be documented and made public. (Not blaming Acroatix for this; just publishing it m'self.) Be aware that Acroatix has always made determined efforts to repair such problems when the've been brought to their attention. Summation ========= When Powr-Disk was released, it was the only alternative to FLOPPY.CO. Although it was (and remains) an excellent and inexpensive product, its competitors (TS-DOS from Traveling Software and Disk Power 100 from UltraSoft Innovations) offered features Powr-Disk lacks. Powr-DOS can be reasonably viewed as the first of the next generation of TDD DOSses. It's also excellent, though imperfect. We'll have to see about its competitors. Probably Powr-DOS is worth its $69.95 purchase price just for one of the utility programs, RECOVR.BA. But what the program offers is much more: This product's great strength is its potential. Not that it has any serious shortcomings -- the potential's in what it makes possible. Where the TDD comes supplied with only a simple file transfer program, FLOPPY.CO, this package permits the creation of applications programs which make efficient direct use of the Tandy drive. So far, the best such programs are D-TEXT (even with flaws) and RECOVR. There ought to be more such programs; I can't wait to see 'em. joel LSJ-Access TBBS 517-482-8144 18&19oct86 11nov86