Get it RIGHT !

NAS-SYS Naughties

Over the last few weeks we have become aware of an appalling ignorance about NAS-SYS, not only by users like you and me (who should try reading the manuals even if they are hard to understand at times), but by people who hope to sell software products for Nascom computers. For instance, we were sent the drafts of ammendments to a book, which incorporated an update for use with NAS-SYS. It said in effect, ‘Throughout the book, whenever you see a reference to one of the following, change it thus:

Now this is wrong, WRONG, WRONG !!!!! And one of them is doubly WRONG. if you can’t see anything wrong with that, then you should reread the manuals (go on, grin, but we bet there are a few red faces out there). The author has missed the whole point about NAS-SYS. This is not the only instance, we’ll be giving a list of known ‘Goodies’ and ‘Baddies’ at the end.

Now one of the major features of NAS-SYS is the fact that to remain compatible with special versions, and, may be, later revisions, all calls to internal routines are handled through a table of addresses. This allows the software writers freedom to re-assemble NAS-SYS as required, yet still maintain compatibility with software written for an existing version. It is even possible to turn NAS-SYS inside-out and for the using software to be unaware of it.

Here are the rules, they are simple enough:

1. Never ever make absolute calls or jumps of any kind to NAS-SYS.
2. The major routines use the Z80 restarts, use them properly.
3. Always use the restarts or SCAL (RST 18H) to gain access to all NAS-SYS routines. STMON is the ONLY exception.
4. If calling routine ‘R’ using SCAL, make sure you put 52H into ARGX and that ARGN is set to 00H before the call.
5. Only use routine call numbers 41H to 7CH for full compatibility.
6. If in doubt read the listings and the manuals to understand how the SCAL routine works.

There, that wasn’t difficult was it.

One point, if you are writing software which makes monitor calls, and you don’t know what monitor it is to be used with, make all your CALLs to a table of your own, using three bytes for each call. Then, to give an example, if you want to call CHIN in Nasbug, the three bytes will be JP CHIN:
C3 3E 00
Whereas in NAS-SYS two of the three bytes will become RST RIN, RET, the last is a ‘don’t care’ byte:
CF C9 XX
Or in another instance, using B2HEX, the three bytes become JP B2HEX:
C3 4A 02
in Nasbug, whilst the NAS-SYS equivalent is RST SCAL, B2HEX, RET:
DF 68 C9