About Instant Pascal - A Specialized OS for the Apple II and IIgs (MISC. FAQ INFO.) Complied by Charles T. 'Dr. Tom' Turley ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal: RGB Color DISCUSSION: For the current release of Instant Pascal, the Extended 80 Column Color card is not activated at boot time. This was a deliberate design decision. Double high- res text, even with the 40 column option selected, does not look satisfactory on a Color 100 monitor (or other RGB monitors). Ê However, for customers who already have RGB monitors and who wish to use Instant Pascal in color, there is a pre-boot workaround to turn on the card. From ÊProDOS Basic, type and save the following program: Ê 10 D$ = CHR$(4) 20 PRINT D$;"PR#3": PRINT 30 POKE 49246,0 40 POKE 49247,0 50 POKE 49246,0 60 POKE 49247,0 70 POKE 49246,0 80 CALL 50688 Ê LOAD the program into your IIe and place the Instant Pascal STARTUP disk in the drive configured to Slot 6, Drive 1 and RUN the program. Instant Pascal will function as usual with the addition. Text will be difficult to read. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: ProDos GS/OS, and Instant Pascal: Launching and Quitting TOPIC; We have an AppleTalk network system and have discovered some strange behavior with certain applications on the Apple II. Using current software, there are three shell programs (besides BASIC) available for AppleTalk network system users. They are Aristotle, the Finder, and Let's Share. We have found that some applications work perfectly when launched from one of the shells, but not when launched from another. Also, when quitting, some return to the shell from which they were launched, while others return directly to the File Server Log-On screen. Here are some examples: - Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (Software Toolworks) works fine when launched from Aristotle or the Finder, but not from Let's Share. - Medley (Milliken) always returns the user to the Log-On screen on quitting. Some applications seem to return the user to the shell from which they were launched, while others return the user to the server-defined startup application. (I have no concrete examples of this, but here's an illustration) - The user logs on and goes to Aristotle, his startup application. He launches the Finder from Aristotle and from there launches "Application X". On quitting Application X, he is returned to the Finder, and on quitting the Finder (Special Menu, Shut Down, Return to Launching Application), he is returned to Aristotle. - The user repeats the above process to get to the Finder, but this time launches "Application Y". On quitting Application Y, he is returned directly to Aristotle, even though he launched Application Y from the Finder. Do you have any clues about these differences? Do some of these shells leave memory in a different state than others when they launch applications? Are there any standards for this sort of thing? Is Let's Share a known offender, or does it follow whatever rules there are? Is there a standard GS/OS or ProDOS 16 Quit call? Is everyone not implementing it correctly? Here's a related I have tried putting ProDOS applications that reside on floppy disks into Aristotle menus. If I put the disk in the drive and choose the menu item, the application launches properly and, on quitting, seems to return the user to Aristotle without a hitch. However, a colleague reports that when doing this with Instant Pascal, the server connection is dropped somewhere, so quitting fails. Do some applications disable network listeners or trash the memory where network files resides? Is there any way to tell what might work in this fashion and what might not? DISCUSSION: The behavior is determined by which operating system the application is written under: GS/OS or ProDOS 8. The ProDOS 8 quit command is quite simple and does not have the ability to put the name of the application to return to on the return stack. ProDOS applications "quit to" the program named Start in the GS/OS volume. As shipped, this is the Finder. However, if the startup program has been set in the AppleShare Admin application, the Finder may not be the "start" program any longer. Whatever is set in Admin is the application to which the ProDOS 8 programs return. GS/OS applications have the ability to put the name of the program to which one returns onto the return stack. If properly written, quitting a GS/OS application returns the user to the same application that launched the GS/OS program just quit. For your examples: - We defer to Russ Systems about all Let's Share issues. - We are still trying to work a variety of issues out with Medley. We will add this one to the list to investigate. - With Aristotle (ProDOS 8) as the Admin set startup application, launching the Finder (GS/OS), then launching "Application X" (apparently, a GS/OS application from the behavior described), and quitting "Application X", it would be correct to finish at the Finder, if "Application X" is, indeed, a GS/OS application. Quitting the Finder (GS/OS) would then return to the application that launched it, Aristotle. - In the next example, instead of launching "Application X", the user launches "Application Y" (apparently, a ProDOS 8 application from the behavior described), then quits "Application Y", and finishes in Aristotle. This would be the correct behavior for a ProDOS 8 "Application Y". Instant Pascal has several issues associated with it. The primary issue is that it is neither a ProDOS nor a GS/OS application. Instant Pascal has its own operating system with its own input/output routines. These I/O routines know nothing about the network. It is, thus, totally logical that Instant Pascal disregards all network activities. The only solution is to rewrite the Instant Pascal operating system. It is unlikely that this solution will ever be considered. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal: Transferring files to and from Apple II Pascal DISCUSSION; To transfer source code files from Instant Pascal (IP) to Apple II Pascal, you can make use of AppleWorks to massage the IP file type. Follow these steps: Ê ÊÊ 1. Boot AppleWorks and load the IP source file into the word processor as "anÊASCII file from disk." 2. Still using AppleWorks, print the file back to disk as an ASCII file. 3. Boot System Utilities 2.1 and copy the "printed" file from the ProDOS disk to an Apple II Pascal disk. Ê To transfer source code from Apple II Pascal to Instant Pascal, follow these steps: Ê 1. Boot System Utilities 2.1. Ê 2. Put the Apple II Pascal disk in one drive. Ê 3. Put a ProDOS formatted disk in a second drive. Ê 4. Select the Copy Files option from the System Utilities menu and copy the source code files from the Pascal disk to the ProDOS disk. Ê * Note that System Utilities 2.1 supports file copying between two differently formatted disks. Ê 5. The source file on the ProDOS disk will be recognized by Instant Pascal asÊa "Text" file, but you can open it into the Program window. If you save the file under Instant Pascal, it becomes an "IP" type file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal: Transferring Programs to and from Mac Pascal DISCUSSION; The Instant Pascal Master Program disk contains a file called "A2.TO.MAC." Use this file to transfer programs between a Macintosh and an Apple IIe or Apple IIc. A modem is not necessary. Follow these steps, but first, if you have not already done so, delete some of the demonstation files from your master program disk before trying to use the file "A2.TO.MAC." A. Open the file "A2.TO.MAC" on the Master Program side of the disk. B. Print the file to a printer to obtain hard copy output. C. Enter the A2.TO.MAC program on your Macintosh using Macintosh Pascal. Save the program. D. To set up an Apple IIe or Apple IIc to send files to a Macintosh: 1. If you are sending files from an Apple IIe to a Macintosh: a. Connect a Macintosh printer cable to the Super Serial Card installed in the Apple IIe. b. On the Apple IIe, check to make sure the constants (CONST) are set at APPLE2C = FALSE and MAC = FALSE. c. On the Macintosh, change the constant (CONST) default setting from MAC = FALSE to MAC = TRUE. d. You must run A2.TO.MAC on both systems, beginning with the Apple IIe. Start A2.TO.MAC running on the Apple IIe BEFORE you start it running on the Macintosh. 2. If you are sending files from an Apple IIc to a Macintosh: a. Connect a female-to-female adapter to modem port of the Apple IIc. b. On the Apple IIc, change the constant (CONST) default setting from APPLE2C = FALSE to APPLE2C = TRUE. c. On the Macintosh, change the constant (CONST) default setting from MAC = FALSE to MAC = TRUE. d. You must run A2.TO.MAC on both systems, beginning with the Macintosh. Start A2.TO.MAC running on the Macintosh BEFORE you start it running on the Apple IIc. E. A2.TO.MAC asks for the name of the file that you wish to transfer. 1. On your Apple IIe or IIe, either: -- Type in the file name and press Return or -- Select the appropriate box with your mouse and click the mouse button. 2. On your Macintosh: -- Type in the file name and select the appropriate box with your mouse and click the mouse button. F. Check to see that the file you just transferred is actually on your disk. This procedure is similar to that for transferring Macintosh Pascal files to Instant Pascal files and Apple IIe Instant Pascal files to Apple IIc Instant Pascal files. Read the instructions on A2.TO.MAC. Remember to run your Macintosh A2.TO.MAC program first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal is Compatible with Apple IIe Card TOPIC: Can you use Instant Pascal on the Apple IIe Card and Macintosh LC? DISCUSSION: We tested Instant Pascal and found it was compatible with the Apple IIe Card in the Macintosh LC. Even on the Apple II, Instant Pascal displays poorly on RGB monitors. This condition also appears on the Apple IIe Card/Macintosh LC combination. We suggest black-and-white display for best results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal 1.5 Update: Erratum DISCUSSION; There is a technical error in the Instant Pascal 1.5 Update document. The 1.5 Update document says on page 2 that: 312K or 356 blocks of contiguous memory is required to install Instand Pascal on a hard disk or on a RAM card. This is incorrect. The statement should be amended to: A utility program, IP.Custom has been added so that you can install Instant Pascal on a hard disk or RAM card with at least 512 blocks (256K) of contiguous memory. Instant Pascal does not run on the Applied Engineering RAMDisk because the RAMDisk does not contain 512 contiguous blocks of memory (independent of the size of the RAMDisk). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal: Not Designed To Display Text In Color DISCUSSION; Instant Pascal is not intended to display text in color. In fact, such text approaches being unreadable. The only solution is to use a monochrome display. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE: Instant Pascal: Using the Apple DMP DISCUSSION; If the Apple II is equipped with an Apple Parallel Interface card, printing text to a DMP will work fine. Graphic output requires an Imagewriter, Imagewriter II, or Scribe Printer. Text output is also supported on Okidata and Epson printers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General information src. ref. - Apple Computer,Inc.: TIL