RetroBBS - alt.folklore.computers - MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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Subject: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
From: mijoryx@yahoo.com (luserdroog)
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by: luserdroog - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 00:30 UTC

I've been reading up on MS-DOS programming and the various file functions
as they evolved from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 from Norton's Guide to the IBM PC.
In the DOS 2.0 functions there are 5 file handles already opened and reserved.

0 = stdin
1 = stdout
2 = stderr
3 = stdaux
4 = stdprint

What in the heck is a "standard auxiliary file (or device?)"? Is there any lore
on what this was used for? Would you plug an extra gizmo into the computer
and install a device driver and hook it up as the aux file and do what ...
blinkenlights, 7 segment displays, warp coil polarity control?

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: robin_listas@es.invalid (Carlos E.R.)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
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by: Carlos E.R. - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 01:04 UTC

On 06/07/2021 02.30, luserdroog wrote:
> I've been reading up on MS-DOS programming and the various file functions
> as they evolved from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 from Norton's Guide to the IBM PC.
> In the DOS 2.0 functions there are 5 file handles already opened and reserved.
>
> 0 = stdin
> 1 = stdout
> 2 = stderr
> 3 = stdaux
> 4 = stdprint
>
> What in the heck is a "standard auxiliary file (or device?)"? Is there any lore
> on what this was used for? Would you plug an extra gizmo into the computer
> and install a device driver and hook it up as the aux file and do what ...
> blinkenlights, 7 segment displays, warp coil polarity control?
>

It was the serial port, by default.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: jclarke.873638@gmail.com (J. Clarke)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
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by: J. Clarke - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 01:58 UTC

On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 17:30:11 -0700 (PDT), luserdroog
<mijoryx@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I've been reading up on MS-DOS programming and the various file functions
>as they evolved from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 from Norton's Guide to the IBM PC.
>In the DOS 2.0 functions there are 5 file handles already opened and reserved.
>
>0 = stdin
>1 = stdout
>2 = stderr
>3 = stdaux
>4 = stdprint
>
>What in the heck is a "standard auxiliary file (or device?)"? Is there any lore
>on what this was used for? Would you plug an extra gizmo into the computer
>and install a device driver and hook it up as the aux file and do what ...
>blinkenlights, 7 segment displays, warp coil polarity control?

My guess would the audio recorder, which on the PC wasn't used to
record sound but as an I/O device.

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
From: mijoryx@yahoo.com (luserdroog)
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by: luserdroog - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 03:01 UTC

On Monday, July 5, 2021 at 8:58:45 PM UTC-5, J. Clarke wrote:
> On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 17:30:11 -0700 (PDT), luserdroog
> <mij...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >I've been reading up on MS-DOS programming and the various file functions
> >as they evolved from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 from Norton's Guide to the IBM PC.
> >In the DOS 2.0 functions there are 5 file handles already opened and reserved.
> >
> >0 = stdin
> >1 = stdout
> >2 = stderr
> >3 = stdaux
> >4 = stdprint
> >
> >What in the heck is a "standard auxiliary file (or device?)"? Is there any lore
> >on what this was used for? Would you plug an extra gizmo into the computer
> >and install a device driver and hook it up as the aux file and do what ...
> >blinkenlights, 7 segment displays, warp coil polarity control?
> My guess would the audio recorder, which on the PC wasn't used to
> record sound but as an I/O device.

Interesting. Do you a need a modem in there somewhere or A/D or D/A convertors?

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: gtaylor@tnetconsulting.net (Grant Taylor)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2021 22:56:28 -0600
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by: Grant Taylor - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 04:56 UTC

On 7/5/21 9:01 PM, luserdroog wrote:
> Interesting. Do you a need a modem in there somewhere or A/D or
> D/A convertors?

The original IBM PC included a Cassette port.

Link - Nobody ever used the IBM PC with cassette tape port.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_8CXyF5M1Q&t=129s

--
Grant. . . .
unix || die

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: news0009@eager.cx (Bob Eager)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
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by: Bob Eager - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 11:11 UTC

On Mon, 05 Jul 2021 21:58:43 -0400, J. Clarke wrote:

> On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 17:30:11 -0700 (PDT), luserdroog <mijoryx@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>>I've been reading up on MS-DOS programming and the various file
>>functions as they evolved from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 from Norton's Guide to
>>the IBM PC.
>>In the DOS 2.0 functions there are 5 file handles already opened and
>>reserved.
>>
>>0 = stdin 1 = stdout 2 = stderr 3 = stdaux 4 = stdprint
>>
>>What in the heck is a "standard auxiliary file (or device?)"? Is there
>>any lore on what this was used for? Would you plug an extra gizmo into
>>the computer and install a device driver and hook it up as the aux file
>>and do what ... blinkenlights, 7 segment displays, warp coil polarity
>>control?
>
> My guess would the audio recorder, which on the PC wasn't used to record
> sound but as an I/O device.

No, it was the first serial port. The AUX: device.

--
Using UNIX since v6 (1975)...

Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: robin_listas@es.invalid (Carlos E.R.)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
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by: Carlos E.R. - Tue, 6 Jul 2021 11:15 UTC

On 06/07/2021 03.58, J. Clarke wrote:
> On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 17:30:11 -0700 (PDT), luserdroog
> <mijoryx@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> I've been reading up on MS-DOS programming and the various file functions
>> as they evolved from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 from Norton's Guide to the IBM PC.
>> In the DOS 2.0 functions there are 5 file handles already opened and reserved.
>>
>> 0 = stdin
>> 1 = stdout
>> 2 = stderr
>> 3 = stdaux
>> 4 = stdprint
>>
>> What in the heck is a "standard auxiliary file (or device?)"? Is there any lore
>> on what this was used for? Would you plug an extra gizmo into the computer
>> and install a device driver and hook it up as the aux file and do what ...
>> blinkenlights, 7 segment displays, warp coil polarity control?
>
> My guess would the audio recorder, which on the PC wasn't used to
> record sound but as an I/O device.

Nope, sorry. The tape recorder thing wasn't a device, not a pseudo file
you could write to.

No, AUX was the serial port.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: ni@w21.org (Juergen Nickelsen)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
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by: Juergen Nickelsen - Thu, 8 Jul 2021 16:01 UTC

"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> writes:

[AUX:]
> It was the serial port, by default.

And there was a MODE command to set the port parameters (among other
things), so this could actually be useful.

--
Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea --
massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a
source of mindboggling amounts of excrement when you least expect
it. -- Gene Spafford

Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

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From: @ednolan (ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??
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by: ted@loft.tnolan.com - Thu, 8 Jul 2021 16:13 UTC

In article <87a6mw23ry.fsf@lith.ni.w21.org>,
Juergen Nickelsen <ni@w21.org> wrote:
>"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> writes:
>
>[AUX:]
>> It was the serial port, by default.
>
>And there was a MODE command to set the port parameters (among other
>things), so this could actually be useful.
>

Except it still wasn't useful because DOS didn't use interrupts to
drive the UART iirc. You still needed a program that could do that
directly to get any useful speed out of the com port, and that bypassed
the whole AUX: interface entirely.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

Neutrinos are into physicists.

computers / alt.folklore.computers / MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

computers / alt.folklore.computers / MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??

Subject	Author
MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	luserdroog
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	Carlos E.R.
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	Juergen Nickelsen
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	J. Clarke
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	luserdroog
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	Grant Taylor
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	Bob Eager
Re: MS-DOS aux file -- what that is??	Carlos E.R.