APPLIED ENGINEERING RamKeeper - Manual (Page 64)

APPENDIX
B
A Brief ProDOS Tutorial
This is a brief explanation of the Professional Disk
Operating System, ProDOS for those who are completely
new to it. All of this information and more is included in
your Apple Owner’s Guide but we have provided it here
for your convenience.
Operating System
ProDOS is one of several operating systems for the Apple.
Others include DOS 3.3 and Pascal. Operating systems, as
defined in the Apple Owner’s Guides, are programs that
control how information is loaded into memory, how the
computer handles the information, how the information
is stored on a disk and how the computer communicates
with the printer and other peripherals.
Naming Volumes
ProDOS must have a way to locate which disk (often
called “volume”) you want to access. Instead of typing in
the location of the disk as in DOS 3.3 (ex: S6,D1), you
simply type in the name of the disk (the volume name).
Some rules for volume names are:
1) Name can include letters, numbers or periods but
not spaces
2) Name must begin with a letter
3) Name can be up to 15 characters long
These rules also hold true for subdirectory names.
Root Directory and Subdirectory
The main directory of the volume is called the root
directory. The root directory uses the same name as your
disk. Sub-directories are ProDOS’ way of organizing
information on a disk.
Think of the root directory as a file drawer and the
subdirectories as folders within the drawer. You can:
1) put files directly into the root directory like
putting documents straight into the file drawer
Appendix B - A Brief ProDOS Tutorial 55