A86: New Shell/Differences between ROM versions


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A86: New Shell/Differences between ROM versions




Hi everyone,

I'm new to this list and relatively new to ASM, but for a few years now I 
have been wishing there was a shell with all the features I wanted that also 
looked nice, didn't hog a lot of space, and didn't crash all the time. After 
trying all of them, YAS is the best I found, but it still doesn't fit my 
needs perfectly. I decided I should make my own.

My shell (tentatively titled ACIDshell, for Advanced Calculator 
Interface/Directory) is well underway, but still has enough bugs and missing 
features that I don't feel comfortable releasing a beta yet. My question is 
this: Where can I find a complete list of the differences between every ROM 
version of the 86?

Please email me any answers or workarounds to the version differences, any 
features you would like to see in a new shell, or any other advice or 
assistance you think would be helpful to someone relatively new to ASM doing 
something relatively complex.
I am also having problems in the following areas: 85 emulation; support for 
icons and longnames*; getting a list of programs and strings installed; and 
testing the battery level. Please email me any suggestions you have in these 
areas.
*A longname is a format I am considering where, instead of listing programs 
by their variable name, showing a string similar to the title string but 
shorter. After the lines ".dw title" and the less common ".dw icon" a 
programmer would add ".dw longname" and then declare the string longname:
title:  .db "My Program v4.2 (c)2000 by Me",0
icon:   .db "11100010", etc.
longname:   .db "My Program",0
Thus the title string, containing name/author/version/copyright, need not be 
displayed except on request, freeing up more screen real estate to list more 
programs simultaneously. I welcome programmers of games and shells to support 
this new format, unless you think it's a bad idea. Please email me and tell 
me what you think of it so I can decide whether to keep it or dump it.

-- Jonathan Marcus
Appelkore@aol.com
irc: appelkore


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