From: Jim Brain (brain_at_jbrain.com)
Date: 2008-03-06 07:27:31
Cameron Kaiser wrote:
>>> I think he wants to use the tape port exclusively.
>>>
>> Um, yes. After all, how would an USB stick device on the tape port
>> work? Would you implement the special LOAD"$",1 to get a directory
>> from the USB stick and then load named files?
>>
>> I don't know so much about the technicalities, but is anything preventing
>> you from creating a "tape" device that works pretty much like a floppy
>> drive, i.e. does the IEC bus have any special magic in that respect?
>>
>
> The IEC bus just lets the disk drive sort it out, while LOAD"$",1 would
> search the 'tape' for a file named $. I suppose there could be magic for
> that on the other end, but I agree with Jim that the IEC bus is much more
> flexible. You'd be dealing with relative timing intolerance either way.
>
I could be way off base here, but when you "loaded" a program from tape,
I didn't think the CBM actually sent the name out. It just watched for
a set of header bytes to come in, and matched them against the name you
had specified.
If I'm right, there would be no way way say "Hey, PC hung off the tape
port, give me file 'xyz123'" All the PC would see is "CASS MOTOR RUN".
The IEC bus, on the other hand, get the filename, so it can do
something. It also has "channels", where the tape did not.
Jim
--
Jim Brain, Brain Innovations (X)
brain@jbrain.com
Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!
Home: http://www.jbrain.com
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