SYSTEMS RETURN
Since Version 6a was rolled out on the issue 14 disc, many questions
have been asked which I cannot possibly answer all at once. I have
selected 2 of the most detailed questions and hints below and I have
commented on each one. Hopefully this will also benefit other members
of 8BS. Should anyone have further questions unanswered then please
drop me a line.
2GJ: Roger Pashby
I have spent a lot of time transferring my 150+ PD records from the
old version onto this, so I hope that there aren't too many bugs. As
yet I haven't encountered any, but ...
One thing I have done, is altered the "SOURCE" prompt to "DRIVE" - a
problem that I discovered was that when I wanted to LOAD a program
through the gateway I couldn't always be certain as to which side of a
disc it was located - not all stuff is on 0 as you will know from the
discs you send us! This information is not included in the prompts,
but I now have a version which DOES. Something to think about? Just
one other niggle, I would prefer the NOTES to be more accessible. I
think I have to go through three menus to get there, and I do use them
quite a lot. As for the rest of the program, it does seem to be a
great improvement. It is certainly faster, and the dump routine is
rather professional.
8BS REPLY: The point you have made Re: Drive numbers I feel is very
valid, but the decision to support DFS as well as ADFS was more of an
afterthought rather than specifically planned at the beginning. More
and more people are tending to use the more versatile ADFS system
(especially on the Master Series Machines) as their primary filing
system, whilst keeping the DFS for compatibility reasons. It was
thought at the time that it was not worth sacrificing program space to
implement the DFS system any more than it already is, as the number of
people who do not have access to ADFS is very limited. Seeing as the
ADFS system treats both physical surfaces of a disc as one "drive" the
need to specify drive "sides" was eliminated. It is pointed out in
the manual that although SYSTEMS will support DFS comfortably, those
members with an ADFS system should use it. However you seem to have
found a solution of your own which appears to be working well.
*******
L1L: Jock Smylie
As a first time user of Systems Server I was very impressed with both
the power and the ease of use of the program. Although a reasonable
effort is required to enter the details of every program I own (having
only partially attempted this) I beleive the rewards are bountiful.
The only query I have is - is there any way of having more than 999
files in the one database or is this limit constricted by the BBC's
memory? The Upgrade for sorting files into alphabetical/numerical
order is awaited eagerly.
8BS REPLY: I have to point out that it may be some time before the
next upgrade to Systems is rolled out. A few members are at present
piloting the next program in the SYSTEMS series (called SYSTEMS Menus)
which can create/amend/read stand alone disc menus which present
themselves when each disc is auto booted. Owing to the time this is
taking up, I do not envisage getting the time to upgrade the main
systems program until the turn of the year. To answer your other
quesion - it is possible to have more than 999 files per database, but
at the time of writing and bearing in mind the facility to hold more
than one database on a single disc it was not envisaged that any
member would need more than 999 records per database. However, time
and experience is telling me otherwise, and the 999 limit could well
be removed from the program come the next upgrade.