ATARI XL ADDENDUM ATARI HOME COMPUTER SYSTEM OPERATING SYSTEM MANUAL Supplement to ATARI 400/800™ Technical Reference Notes ATARI"TABLE OF CONTENTS 10 20 30 40 5.0 60 INTRODUCTION APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS HOW THE 1200XL COMPARES TO THE A400/800, 31 The Help Key 32 What the Function Keys Do Cursor Left Cursor Right Cursor Up Cursor Down Home Cursor Cursor to Lower Lett Comer Cursor to Beginning of Physical Line Cursor to End of Physical Line Keyboard Enable /Disable Screen DMA Enable /Disable Key-Click Enable /Disable Domestic/Intemational Char. Set Select 33 Key Redetinition Contents of the Key Redetinition Table Reassignment of the function keys only Non-reassignable Keys and combinations 34 User-Alterable Keyboard AutoRepeat Rate 35 Caps/Lowr Key Toggle Action 36 LED Initialization 37 Power-On Self-Test 38 Option Jumpers 39 Additional Hardware Screen Modes 310 ‘Text Screen Fine Scrolling 3M Disk Communications Enhancements 312 Power-On Display Enhancement 313. Deleted Features MEMORY MAP OF THE 1200XL ENHANCEMENTS TO THE A400/800 REV. B OPERATING SYSTEM INCORPORATED IN THE 200XL Peripheral Handler Additions General Improvements OTHER CHANGES/GENERAL INFORMATION Improved Handling of OS Database Variables NTSC/PAL Timing Provisions 120OXL OS ROM Identification and ChecksumAPPENDIX A — An Example ot Keyboard Reassign- ment APPENDIX B — Suggestions for the Construction of a New Character Set for the New Graphics Modes 12:13, and details of memory use and data interpretation for modes 12:5. APPENDIX C — OS DataBase Changes trom REV B to 1200LO INTRODUCTION This manual is designed to serve as a supplement to the ATARI 400™ and ATARI 60O™ OPERATING SYSTEM MANUAL ‘The ZOOXL. as shown in sections 3-5, is a technical upgrade ot the A800. The operating system for the I200XL has been written to maintain, as much as possi- ble, compatibility with application programs which have already been developed tor the A400/800. Since the basic hardware which controls the user interface and the display is, for the most part compatible with the earlier designs, the operating system. ex- cept for the enhancements or changes described here, has remained largely the same. Therefore the data contained in the OS manual for the A400/800 is still valid. ‘This manual has been written to provide the user with data regarding usage of the added features of the 1200XL operating system. with some details about the characteristics of the peripheral devices with which it will operate. Program. mers or peripheral developers who require a greater level of detail regarding the handling of peripheral devices should refer to the documents referenced in item 2 of section 2 below. 2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS L ATARI Home Computer Operating Systems Manual. Describes the OS for the A4CO and A800, which is the basis for the enhance- ments described in this manual. 2. ATARI Home Computer Hardware Manual and 1200XL Supplement The Hardware Manual covers the hardware registers which control the various functions of the A400 and AgOO, The supplement to the hardware manual covers the added features for control of the 20OXL Home Compu- ter. Details that are appropriate to the OS handling of such hardware registers are contained in this OS manual. The user who has need for other hardware-related data should refer to the hardware manual for more information. 3. DE RE ATARL / This document provides the user with an introduction to the effective use of the ATARI Home Computer hardware. Although written to cover the ‘A400/800, the data contained therein is valid tor the 1200XL as well.3.0 HOW THE 1200XL COMPARES TO THE A400/800 The following Is a list of the teatures and functions which will be discussed in this chapter. Each will be explained in a separate section. In this chapter, you will learn about: 1 The HELP Key The Function Keys How key codes are redetined and which ones cannot be redefined How to alter the key repeat rate The action of the Caps/Lowt Key How the OS initializes the LED's on the keyboard What happens when a cartridge {s installed or removed What happens during power-on self-test Yo PNP Hp wp What the option jumper assignments mean . What new screen modes the I200XL can use 5 How to enable fine scrolling of the text screen FE How the disk handler has been changed for improved operation 5B What kind of display is now produced at power-up 14. What features have been deleted as compared to the A400 97 ABOO B Each of the items enumerated above corresponds to the paragraph number in this section which follows. For example, Item 1 above {s covered in paragraph 31, item 2 in paragraph 32 and so forth.3.1 The HELP Key The operating system, while watching the keyboard, will recognize the. pressing at the HELP key as a request to set a flag in the OS database. This flag can be read by whichever application program ts in control at the time and react accordingly. ‘The OS treats the help flag in the same way as the BREAK key in that no ATASCT code ts produced but a database ‘variable is set Therefore, if your program Is ex~ octing the HELP key to be pressed, you musi not only read the keyboard FIFO (hex location O2FC) for incoming ATASCI codes other than Help, but also occa- sionally check (“poll”) the contents of the HELPFG (help flag) database variable to see if Help was requested. [After reading the database location, and deciding what to do, you must “clecr” it for the next time the key will be pressed. The OS does not clear it for you. The Help Flag is cleared. bystoring a zero in its database variable. The location of this variable is $O2DC. The conditions to which it responds are listed below, along with the codes which. will be stored fn HELPFG: Hex value Condition represented. co ‘The Help flag is cleared. This flag is cleared at inl- fil power-up reset and subsequently, If set, must he cleared by the application program. L HELP key alone was pressed. 51 SHIFT-HELP key combination was pressed. a CTRL-HELP key combination was pressed. The HELP key can be used during the power-on display and during the self test feature, See those sections for more information.3.2 What The FUNCTION Keys Do NOTE This section only applies to XL computers with function keys. The 200XL is provided with a set of four function keys. You may redetine the ATASCI values which these keys produce if you desire. As a matter of fact the entire keyboard ATASCII output may be redefined as will be seen later. This sec- tion shows the normal detinition of the FI-F4 keys, their functions and the ATASCI. codes which they produce (if any) as a result of the power-on reset assignment. All values in the table below are given in hexadecimal. FUNCTION KEY ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY If pressed alone Produces the Cursor-up function, returns ATASCI 1C Produces the Cursor-down function, retums ATASCI 1D Produces the Cursor-left function, returns ATASCI IE Produces the Cuzsor-right function, returns ATASCI IF It pressed with SHIFT See HOME CURSOR below See CURSOR TO LOWER LEFT CORNER below See CURSOR TO BEGINNING OF PHYSICAL LINE below See CURSOR TO FAR RIGHT OF PHYSICAL LINE below RdV3 f Zag4 B 4 4 Key If pressed with CTRL FL See KEYBOARD ENABLE/DISABLE below F2 See SCREEN DMA ENABLE/DISABLE below F3 See KEY-CLICK ENABLE/DISABLE below F4 See DOMESTIC/INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER SET below Key If pressed with CTRL and SHIFT FL Ignored F2 Ignored F3 Ignored Fa Ignored HOME CURSOR FUNCTION SHIFT-Fl causes the cursor to move to the home position of the screen as well as producing the default ATASCI code IC. The default function is reassignable. CURSOR TO LOWER LEFT CORNER SHIFT-F2 causes the cursor to move to the lower left comer of the screen as well as producing the default ATASCI code ID, The default tunction is reassignabie.CURSOR TO BEGINNING OF PHYSICAL LINE SHIFT-F3 causes the cursor to move to the far lett of the physical line on which it is located (note, not the logical line which. in the screen editor, could be as many as 3 physical lines) This function is performed by the screen editor as well as generating the default 'ATASCI code IE. The default function is teassignable. CURSOR TO FAR RIGHT WITHIN PHYSICAL LINE SHIFT-F4 causes the cursor to move to the far right side of the physical line on which it is located. This function is performed by the screen. editor as well as generating the default "ATASCI code IF. The default function is reassignable. KEYBOARD ENABLE/DISABLE CIRL-Fi controls the keyboard enable/disable function. It produces no ATASCL cee Ths key combination atiects the operating system handling ot the key- board and is not reassignable. CTRLFi disables and re-enables all keyboard functions except for the following: RESET is the 6502 RESET key, and cannot be disabled OPTION START SELECT keys are not controlled by the operating system Each time you press CTRLFI, the operating system changes the enabled/dis- bled status to the opposite of what it was when you pressed this combination. In other words, if the OS had disabled the keyboard, LED | would be on It at that time, you press CTRL-FL the OS ‘would re-enable the keyboard and tum LED | off The second press of this combination ‘would reverse the process, disabling the keyboard again. You may monitor or control the keyboard enable or disable function under soft- ware control by reading or writing the ‘OS database varlable called KEYDIS (hex location 026D) A value ‘of O in this location means the keyboard is enabled, and a value of hex FF here means the keyboard ts disabled.