Contents |
Description
It's a CP/M tool created by Brian E. Moore (version 1.1) and patched by Hans Overtoom to make it compatible with MSX-DOS.
You can find it on Clubguide Magazine 08 and Clubguide Special 01.
Command
Effect
Stores and compresses files in an archive.
Internally it analyses each file which it is asked to compress and tries to find the best compression method.
Syntax
ARK -B -K -S -W <Device>:<ArchiveName> <Device>:<Filename> <Filename>...
Parameters
When used without any parameter, ARK will display an on-line help message.
<Device> is the name of used device for the archive or the source files. It can only be a disk drive.
If you don't specify the drive, the computer will work with the currently active drive (by default, it's drive A:)
| Device type | Device name | Remark |
|---|---|---|
| Disk drive | A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H | A floppy disk interface can control until 2 drives. |
<ArchiveName> is the name that you want to give to your archive (maximum 8 characters). The tool will automatically add the ARK extension.
<Filename> is the name of the file you want to compress and put in the archive. Wildcards can replace some characters in filename to get several files. The asterisk (*) and question mark (?) are used as wildcard characters. The asterisk matches any sequence of characters, whereas the question mark matches any single character.
It is also possible to specify several file names.
-B is used to retain a backup copy (.BAK file) of the archive
-K is used to force compression (direct crunching without analyzing)
-S is used to suppress compression (the files will only be stored).
-W is used to suppress warning messages during the operation.
Examples
A>ARK -K MUSIC PD0044.FMP
A>ARK MUSIC PD0043.FMP PD0044.FMPA>ARK B:STAGES *.ELG
Related to
Environment
- MSX1 and higher
- CP/M / MSX-DOS 1 / MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor