Commodore 128D - Formatting a Disk-The HEADER Command

You will learn several commands that let you communicate between
the computer and disk drive or Datassette. The commands are con
structed with the use of a command word followed by several
parameters. Parameters are numbers, letters, words or symbols in a
command that supply specific information to the computer, such as
a
filename, or a numeric variable that specifies a device number.
Each command may have several parameters. For example, the
parameters of the disk format command include a name for the disk
and an identifying number or code, plus severalother parameters.
Parameters are used in almost every BASIC command; some are
variable which change and others are constants. These are the
parameters that supply disk information to the C128 and disk drive:
Disk Handling Parameters
disk name— arbitrary 16 character identifying name
you supply.
file name— arbitrary 16 character identifying name
you supply.
i.d.— arbitrary two-character identifier you
supply
drive number— must use 0 for a single disk drive, 0 or 1
in a dual drive.
device number— a preassigned number for a peripheral
device. For example, the device num
ber for a Commodore disk drive is
usually 8.
Formatting a Disk—The HEADER Command
To store programs on a new (or blank) disk, you must first prepare the
disk to receive data. This is called "formatting" the disk. NOTE:
Make sure you turn on the C128 before inserting any disk.
The formatting process divides the disk into sections called tracks
and sectors. A table of contents, called a directory, is created. Each
time you store a program on disk, the name you assign to that pro
gram will be added to the directory.
The Commodore 128 has two kinds of formatting commands. One
can be used only in C128 mode, and one can be used in both C64
and C128 mode. The following paragraphs describe C128 mode
format commands here. See Chapter III on C64 mode for more infor
mation about C64 programming and disk handling.
42 USING C128 MODE—Getting Started in BASIC