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Comm.System Documentation v2.3

Apple II Freeware
Copyright 1990-91 by Jim Ferr
May be distributed freely, but not sold for profit.

About Comm.System

Comm.System, or CS for short, is an Apple II comm program based on Warp Six BBS,
and was written for the fun of it. The program is small (13K), simple, and yet
it includes Xmodem file transfer capability and a small copy buffer (about 20K).
This version of Comm.System is distributed both with Warp Six BBS and
separately. Its Xmodem and I/O routines are based on Warp Six BBS v8.1.

CS has no ambitions to become a huge commercial program, so it is likely to stay
small and free of charge. I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions you have
for additional "minor" features, but I don't plan to add Ymodem, Zmodem or the
kitchen sink in the future. I'd like to add text send capability, but I'm too
lazy at the moment to think about it. :)

CS is freeware, and you are not obligated to pay anything for it. I won't
complain if you make a contribution, but you don't have to be guilt-ridden if
you do not. If you re-distribute CS, please distribute both the program and this
doc file, unchanged. CS is copyright, and I still retain ownership of the source
code.

What's New in this version

The feature that displays the elapsed time of file transfers always saying the
time elapsed was zero hours and zero minutes. This has been fixed. I also added
a single beep at the end of the file transfer to inform you when it is complete.

The Xmodem module now sends 8 Control-X characters to cancel a transfer instead
of only 3 -- some programs weren't getting the message. They will now. <grin>

A large block of "program constants and data" was moved closer to the start of
the program to make patching Comm.System easier to accomplish. For example, to
change the default baud rate, get into AppleSoft BASIC under ProDOS and enter
the following in the same directory as Comm.System, hitting the Return key to
enter each line:

BLOAD COMM.SYSTEM,TSYS
POKE 8192+60,2
BSAVE COMM.SYSTEM,TSYS

Location 8192 is the start address of the program. POKE 8192+60 means "put the
following value into byte 60". Don't attempt to apply a patch using any version
of Basic.System older than 1.4, as the infamous bug in BSAVE could make mince
meat of the program.

Here are some values you can change:

Location  Description        Default value  Explanation

Byte 60   default baud rate        3        1=300, 2=1200, 3=2400 etc.
Byte 61   default duplex           0        0=full, 255=half duplex
byte 64   touch tone flag         255       0=pulse dial, 255=touch tone

Hardware Requirements

Comm.System runs on the II Plus (64K), IIe, IIc, IIc Plus and IIgs, automatically determining the cpu type and activating any ProDOS-recognized 80 column card. It runs in 40 columns on the II Plus and IIe if no 80 column card is found.

Hardware compatibility chart

(Find your cpu in the left column. The required interface and modem are on the same line. Note: Instead of a 'Hayes or compatible external', you could substitute the AE DataLink 2400 -- except on the IIgs. Where you see Super Serial Card, you could substitute the AE Serial Pro or or other SSC compatible card. In call cases, the interface or modem port is expected in slot 2.)

Cpu                 Interface Used          Modem CS expects to find

Apple II (64K)      Super Serial Card       Hayes or compatible external
Apple II Plus       Super Serial Card       Hayes or compatible external
Apple IIe           Super Serial Card       Hayes or compatible external
Apple IIc           Built-in modem port     Hayes or compatible external
Apple IIc Plus      Built-in modem port     Hayes or compatible external
Apple IIgs          Built-in modem port     Hayes or compatible external

Comm.System does NOT support any other interfaces. If you have a IIgs, it
assumes you have an external modem connected to the modem port and will not
support any other configuration, unlike Warp Six BBS.

Comm.System always uses 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit to communicate,
and works in full duplex (no echo), or half duplex (echo), and when in terminal
mode, sends normal ASCII (high bit clear), and clears the high bit of incoming
text.

Xmodem file transfer: if you wish to abort a transfer, hit the ESC key once and
CS will abort AFTER the current packet is fully sent or received. If CS "hangs"
for any reason (It shouldn't -- Please let me know the circumstances if it
does!), hitting Control-Reset (or just Reset on the II and II Plus) will restart
it, flushing any open files. Most internal messages from the program are
prefixed with "CS: ", so you know that Comm.System, and not your host, is
printing the message.

Please send comments and suggestions either online or at my mail address:
---
GEnie: J.FERR  CompuServe: 75047,2455  | Jim Ferr
America Online: JFerr                  | 26-95 DeCarie Circle
Apple TechLink BBS: (416) 513-5544     | Etobicoke, ON M9B 3J5 Canada