158 lines
6 KiB
Markdown
158 lines
6 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: page
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title: Software Archives
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menu_title: Software
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menu_order: 7
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permalink: /apps/
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---
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Software Archives
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-----------------
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PCjs has archived selected software for the following machines:
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* [IBM PC](pcx86/)
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* [Challenger 1P](c1p/)
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* DEC [PDP-10](pdp10/) and [PDP-11](pdp11/)
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PCjs also includes a small collection of disk images in the [Disk Libraries](/disks/):
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* [IBM PC](/disks/pcx86/)
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* [Challenger 1P](/disks/c1p/)
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* [DEC](/disks/dec/)
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---
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### Software Application Manifests
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In the PCjs Project, every complete software package is stored in its own folder, either as a set of individual
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files (under [/apps](/apps/)) or as a set of disk images (under [/disks](/disks/)), along with a **manifest.xml**
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file that describes the software. The manifest format is still being developed, but at a minimum, it should contain
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the following information about the software:
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- Title
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- Version
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- Type (eg, Application, Game, OS, Diagnostic, Utility, etc)
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- Category (eg, Productivity, Text Adventure, BASIC Compiler, etc)
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- Company (eg, IBM, Microsoft, etc)
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- Creation Date (of first version)
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- Release Date (of this version, if different from creation date)
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- Creator(s) (of first version)
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- Author(s) (of this version, if different from creator(s))
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- Contributors(s) (names of additional contributor(s) to this version)
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- Publisher (name of publisher, if different from company)
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- License (with link to current software license, if any)
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- Machine (reference to PCjs machine.xml file capable of loading/running the software)
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- Disk(s) (one or more entries describing sets of files and/or disk images)
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The distinctions made by Type and Category are a bit arbitrary and likely to change. For now,
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Type is merely a reflection of how we initially filed the original [disks](/disks/pcx86/), while Category
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provides more detail.
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### Example: VisiCalc
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VisiCalc is stored in an [/apps folder](/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/), and two relevant files are
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described by <file> entries in its [manifest](/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/manifest.xml):
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```xml
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<manifest>
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<title>VisiCalc</title>
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<version>VC-176Y2-IBM-TEST</version>
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<type>Application</type>
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<category>Productivity</category>
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<company>Software Arts</company>
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<releaseDate>December 16, 1981</releaseDate>
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<machine href="/devices/pcx86/machine/5150/mda/64kb/machine.xml" state="/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/state.json"/>
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<disk id="disk" dir="/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/bin/">
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<file>VC.COM</file>
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<file dir="../">README.md</file>
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<link href="http://www.bricklin.com/history/vclicense.htm">VisiCalc License</link>
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</disk>
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</manifest>
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```
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Since this [manifest](/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/manifest.xml) also contains a <machine> entry,
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the default manifest stylesheet will automatically load and launch the associated
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[PCjs machine](/devices/pcx86/machine/5150/mda/64kb/machine.xml). The machine will boot or resume according
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to its own <[computer](/docs/pcx86/computer/)> settings, unless the manifest overrides the machine's
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default state with its own *state* setting; eg:
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```xml
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<machine href="/devices/pcx86/machine/5150/mda/64kb/machine.xml" state="/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/state.json"/>
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```
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The machine.xml file, in turn, refers to a [sample set](/disks/pcx86/samples.xml) of disk images, one of which is:
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```xml
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<manifest ref="/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/manifest.xml" disk="*"/>
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```
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which refers to the <disk> entry in the VisiCalc manifest -- which brings us full circle.
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Since that <disk> entry is just a reference to a folder, PCjs must first convert it to a disk image,
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using the following API request:
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http://localhost:8088/api/v1/dump?path=/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/bin/VC.COM;../README.md&format=json
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The PCjs DiskDump module processes the dump request and generates a JSON-encoded DOS 2.x-compatible disk image
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containing all the specified files.
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However, to avoid the PCjs web server re-generating the same disk image for every user-initiated disk load, we
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have saved that JSON-encoded image as static file on the server, and then added an *href* attribute to the manifest's
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<disk> entry:
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```xml
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<manifest>
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<disk id="disk01" dir="/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/archive/" href="/apps/pcx86/1981/visicalc/disk.json">
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...
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</disk>
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</manifest>
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```
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PCjs always prefers a resource specified by *href*. While the <file> entries are now superfluous, they
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still serve to document the contents of the disk image, and are still necessary if the disk image ever needs to
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be re-generated.
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### Example: CP/M-86
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CPM-86 is stored as two disk images in a [/disks folder](/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/). The disk images are described in that
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folder's [manifest](/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/manifest.xml):
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```xml
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<manifest>
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<title>CP/M-86</title>
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<version>1.1B</version>
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<type>OS</type>
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<category>Operating System</category>
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<company href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Research">Digital Research</company>
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<publisher href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Computer">Eagle Computer</publisher>
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<releaseDate>May 20, 1983</releaseDate>
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<machine href="/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/machine.xml"/>
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<disk id="disk01" href="/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/cpm86-disk1.json">
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<name>CP/M-86 (Disk 1)</name>
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</disk>
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<disk id="disk02" href="/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/cpm86-disk2.json">
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<name>CP/M-86 (Disk 2)</name>
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</disk>
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</manifest>
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```
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In this case, the software was "born" as disk images (non-DOS disk images at that), so we don't
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bother listing the contents of those images with <file> entries inside the <disk> entries.
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We do, however, include optional <name> entries that help describe (or at least differentiate)
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the disk images.
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If a machine file wanted to use only the first disk, then it would specify:
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```xml
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<manifest ref="/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/manifest.xml" disk="disk01"/>
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```
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and if it wanted to use all the disks listed in the manifest, it would specify:
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```xml
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<manifest ref="/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/manifest.xml" disk="*"/>
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```
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which is what our [CP/M Machine Configuration](/disks/pcx86/cpm/1.1b/machine.xml) does.
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