Topic       : The ATARI Compendium
Author      : Scott Sanders / JAY Software
Version     : 1.25 (20/6/2003)
Subject     : Documentation
Nodes       : 1117
Index Size  : 32614
HCP-Version : 6
Compiled on : Atari
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@lang       : en
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                               BIOS  Devices


The BIOS provides access to six default devices (numbered 0-5). In
addition, TOS 2.00 provides the ability to add extra devices with the
XBIOS Bconmap() function (see the XBIOS overview for more information).
Device assignments higher than device five are dependent upon the machine
and any third-party enhancements. The following list indicates the device
assignments which remain constant:

Name         Device   GEMDOS    Meaning
             Number  Filename

DEV_PRINTER    0       PRN:     Centronics Parallel Port

DEV_AUX        1       AUX:     Default Serial Device (this device number
                                could actually refer to any serial device
                                connected to the system depending on which
                                was mapped with Bconmap() )

DEV_CON        2       CON:     Console (screen device)

DEV_MIDI       3       N/A      MIDI Ports

DEV_IKBD       4       N/A      Intelligent Keyboard Controller

DEV_RAW        5       N/A      Console (no interpretation)

               6       N/A      Modem 1  (Mega STe or Falcon0303 only)

               7       N/A      Modem 2  (Mega STe or Falcon0303 only)

               9       N/A      Serial 2  (Mega STe or Falcon0303 only)

Hint: Reliable use of BIOS serial devices other than the ST compatible
device #1 on a Falcon030 requires the use of the TSRTermitate and Stay Resident programm
 program "FPATCH2.PRG"
(available from Atari Developer Support) or a TOS version > 4.04.

The Console Device

Two methods are provided for outputting characters to the screen. Output
via BIOS device #2 subjects character codes to interpretation. Codes such
as a carriage return (ASCII 13), line feed (ASCII 10), TAB (ASCII 9),
CTRL-G (ASCII 7), and ESCAPE (ASCII 27) are interpreted as special cases
and handled specially.

Output via BIOS device #5 causes all characters to be output literally to
the screen without interpretation.

The VT-52 Emulator

The Atari console device contains emulation code compatible with the VT52
standard. Special escapes may be used to manipulate the cursor and create
text effects.

To send an escape sequence, one of the listed codes (and possibly
additional characters) must be sent following the ESCAPE character
(ASCII 27)