Last modified on 14 December 2017, at 16:11

AMSDOS Header

Revision as of 16:11, 14 December 2017 by Arnoldemu (Talk | contribs)

In AMSDOS it is possible to store files in two ways: headerless and with a header. Headerless files are often files which were created with OPENOUT and SAVE"filename",a. Programs normally have a file header, which consist of 128 bytes and contain the following data:

Byte 00: User number (value from 0 to 15 or #E5 for deleted entries)
Byte 01 to 08: filename (fill unused char with spaces)
Byte 09 to 11: Extension (fill unused char with spaces)
Byte 16: first block (tape only)
Byte 17: first block (tape only)
Byte 18: file type (0:basic 1:protected 2:binary)
Byte 21 and 22: loading address LSB first
Byte 23: first block (tape only?)
Byte 24 and 25: file length LSB first
Byte 26 and 27: execution address for machine code program LSB first
Byte 64 and 66: 24 bits file length LSB first 
Byte 67 and 68: checksum for bytes 00-66 stored LSB first
Byte 69 to 127: undefined content, free to use

To calculate the checksum just add all bytes from 00 up to and including byte 66 together.

This is only a summary. All details are in Firmware Guide chapter 9, page 4.