]]]] PROARC V1.0 [[[[ ____________________________________________________________ The PROdos ARChival Utility for 5.25 floppy disks and Files. Programmed by The Freebooter 5/29/87 Software Encryption Analysts of South Texas Description: PROARC is a Prodos based utility designed to provide the user the ability to "archive" his 5.25 disks to a Prodos file in a compressed format. A secondary function gives the user the ability to read an input Prodos file and generate a cooresponding compressed output file. When archiving disk data, the resultant output file will be of the following format: Filetype = $F7 Filename format = XXXX.DSK When archiving a file, the resultant output file will be of the following format: Filetype = $F8 Filename format = XXXX.ARC This output filename (XXXX) may contain up to 11 characters, not counting the 4 character filename extension (.DSK/.ARC). The extension may be entered manually by the user or the program will automatically append the proper extension for him. These resultant files can then be placed on a mass-storage device for archival purposes or uploaded to your favorite BBS for disk/files transfers. The degree of compression realized from archiving a disk or file will vary according to the source data. In case of disk archival, the output disk file can be minimized if the source disk is not too fragmented. Fragmentation results from repeated file deletions and allocations. The user can "defragment" a normal DOS 3.3 or PRODOS disk by copying all the files off to a freshly formatted disk. The resulting defragmented disk is then archived by PROARC to achieve minimal output file size. Certain file types will realize significant file size reductions when archiving them, especially text files. In any case, any file size reductions will affect transfer times in BBS uploads/downloads. The user can then "de-archive" these resultant files back to their original forms. When converting a DISK file back to a floppy, a low-level format is automatically performed on the output disk. In the case of an archived file, the original file's attributes are internally saved so the unarchived file will be identical to the original file. Minimum system: Any Apple II series computer with at least 64k and one 5.25 floppy drive. Some other features: If a Prodos compatible clock is detected in the system the time is displayed in 12-hour format at the menus. If no clock is availiable the ability to set the system DATE is provided so the user can at least date stamp his output files. Basic.system is protected by PROARC, therefore all normal Prodos commands are availiable to the user within PROARC. Floppy drives MUST be running out of Slot 6. Drive 1 or 2 may be selected for DISK archival/unarchival. All file accesses follow the normal Prodos file hierarchy. At the menu screens, CONTROL-A will toggle upper/lower case screen output. Program exits through Prodos's normal Quit code. ____________________________________________________________ Please distribute this program as freely and fluently as possible. Let's campaign for widespread Prodos-based BBS's. Thank's, The Freebooter Software Encryption Analysts of South Texas