TRON is a firmware that provides CD and DVD support for Apple II computers. It includes a low-level device driver for ATAPI, file system translators, and an application for reading and manipulating files from discs. TRON was created because Apple II computers lacked native CD support, and existing solutions were expensive or impractical. It is designed modularly and follows relevant standards. Current functionality includes playing audio CDs, reading various disc formats, and copying files between discs and Apple II volumes, though there are some limitations. Future plans include improvements to the interface and adding support for more formats and drive types.

1. TRON
Mt KFest Australia 2009
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

2. Overview
Introduction
Functionality
About TRON
Limitations
Why?
Future Plans
Design
Demonstration
Brief talk about ATAPI
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

3. Introduction
I am not an engineer
Wrote this in 2005-2006
Initial idea and ongoing support from Bill Garber
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

4. TRON
CD and DVD support for all Apple II's
Low Level Device Driver for ATAPI
File System Translators
Application for reading and manipulating files
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

5. Why?
No CD support for 8-Bit Apple II's
CD support in the IIGS requires expensive SCSI cards
and compatible drives
Why not create an ATAPI card?
One more card to fill your slots
I don’t have the skillset
File System Translators in firmware?
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

6. Why?
Why not write new firmware for the CFFA?
800 bytes left in the current firmware
No way to do the File System Translating on the 8-Bit
Apple II's
Last reason: because we can ;)
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

7. Design
Started as a PoC and grew
Split up and redesigned
Designed in Modules
Low Level Driver
File System Translators
User Interface Application
Written Entirely in 6502 Assembly
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

8. Design
Designed following standards
American National Project Standards ATA/ATAPI-7 V1
Working Draft Rev. 4a 31/03/04 - AT Attachment With
Packet Interface - 7
Filesystems are all based on their respective standards
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

9. ATAPI
Addresses extra requirements of removable media
Sits on top of ATA
Provides a packet command interface
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

10. Packet Command - Read
Byte 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
0 Operation Code (0x28)
1 reserved reserved
2
3
Logical Block Address
4
5
6 reserved
7
Transfer length
8
9 reserved
10 reserved
11 reserved
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

11. Current Functionality
Works with Rich Dreher’s CFFA card in any slot
Plays Audio CD's (via speaker jack)
Reads CD-ROM and DVD-ROM Discs
Reads ISO9660 and Joliet Discs (Single Session Only)
Reads HFS Formatted Discs with Single or Multiple
Partitions
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

12. Current Functionality
Copies from disc to a ProDOS Volume
Copies single files or whole directories with auto-
renaming of files
Creates Disks from 8-Bit Emulator Disk Images (.PO
or .DO Format)
Tested on ][+ (Europlus), ][e, //e Platinum, ROM01 and
ROM03 IIGS
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

13. Limitations
Cannot use ATAPI + IDE or ATAPI + CF concurrently
Drive must be slave (hardcoded at this point)
Multiple CFFA searching not supported (uses first found)
No support for straight UDF (Universal Disc Format)
without ISO9660 compatibility
Not all drives work
Limited debugging and error handling
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

14. Future Plans
More usable GUI style interface
UDF support
IDE Zip / Floptical Drives
VFAT support
Dual Layer DVDs (may work already, untested)
BlueRay?
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow

15. Demonstration
Mt KFest 2009 - 25 July, 2009 © 2009 Ninth Overthrow