MagiC v5

MagiC v5 Preview

Thomas Binder

MagiC v5, the popular multitasking TOS replacement for the Atari ST and compatible computers... MagiC has always been a fast and reliable platform for Atari programs, so what can you expect from the new release?

Of course, MagiC v5 features all the desirable feature from former versions, including high-speed multitasking, background disk access, loadable filesystems and device drivers, a special "single mode" for problematic programs.

The most important news is the built-in VFAT filesystem which enables long filenames (up to 64 characters) to be used on floppies and hard disks in a Windows 95 compatible format. With the help of a little tool supplied with MagiC v5, it's possible to decide which drives long filenames should be used on. There's no need to re-partition the hard drive, so there won't be any data loss.

You're even able to read from and write to VFAT partitions from normal TOS, although the long filenames will not be usable in this case. Not all programs are able to handle long filenames, but since every file with a long name has a second one conforming to the old 8+3 format there's no need to worry. It may simply happen that you are not able to create new files with long names or see the file "MagiC-Preview.txt" as "MAGIC-~1.TXT" while using one of these (typically older) programs. Despite the backward compatibility, it's dangerous to use low-level tools (such as optimisers) on partitions using long filenames and could lead to complete data loss!

Also note that due to this backward compatibility, VFAT suffers the same drawbacks as the normal Atari FAT filesystem: Hard disks are easily fragmented, making access slow, larger partition sizes lead to loss of disk space due to the larger cluster size required (one cluster is the minimum size of a non-zero length file), maximum partition size of 1Gb, and so on. MagiC v5 also supports threads (where one process can be split up into several sub-processes) and signals, making it more compatible with MiNT, which is important for programmers. Together with some new operating system calls it's possible to use threads in GEM applications as well. This means programs using this new feature are able to do more than one thing at once (in layman's terms). Currently, only the tools for the MagiC Desk support this. Although MagiC v5 allows the use of long filenames on hard disks, the programming interface for external filesystems is still incompatible with MiNT, which makes it impossible to use MiNT-Net or Minix-FS with MagiC which seems a pity. Until now, there are only a few external filesystems available for MagiC, and none of them allow real alternative filesystems on hard disks, like Minix does for MiNT. If you simply want to use long filenames with your Atari and have already used MagiC, the update is well worthwhile. If you're a happy MagiC v4 user happy with the 8+3 format filenames on your hard disk, I'd think carefully before ordering the upgrade - you currently don't get much more than the VFAT filesystem, unless you're a programmer. Single TOS users should take a look at MagiC v5. It's fast (faster than plain TOS when running a single program!), it's compatible, and it has pre-emptive multitasking, which makes work much easier and more comfortable.

A directory with long filenames, MagiC 5.0 with VFAT-support active

Although there are alternatives (N.AES, Geneva, or projects such as XaAES and oAESis) MagiC is the best choice for most people unless you need the extra features and MiNT tools , such as almost full UNIX compatibility, MiNT-Net, or the Minix filesystem.

The same directory, displayed with plain TOS 4.04

Another pro for MagiC is that it's not only available for original Atari hardware.

With MagiC Mac and MagiC PC, you get the ability to work with your favourite programs on Apple Macintosh's and Intel PC's running System 7 or Windows 95/NT. If everything you need under MagiC on your Atari, the chances are you can continue working with your software on a new platform, a remarkable achievement.

UK distribution: System Solutions Contact: 0181 693 3355 RRP: TBA

Requires: Atari ST/STe/TT/Falcon030 with 512Kb memory (2Mb recommended)

Review of MagiC v4

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