MOS Technology file format: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Binary to ASCII text format}}

{{Not confuse|Mostek hex format}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020|cs1-dates=y}}

{{Use list-defined references|date=December 2021}}

The '''MOS Technology file format''' is a [[file format]] that conveys binary information in [[ASCII]] text form.

== History ==

The [[KIM-1]] [[single-board computer]] specified a [[KIM-1#Tape_formatTape format|file format for magnetic tape]] and a format for paper tape. The paper tape format was adapted slightly and has been used to interchange files for computers based on the [[MOS Technology]] [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]] microprocessor.<ref name="Feichtinger_1987"/>

The open-source Srecord package simplified this tape format by eliminating the {{char|<NUL>}} and {{char|XOFF}} characters. <ref>http://srecord.sourceforge.net/man/man5/srec_mos_tech.html srecord: srec_mos_tech − MOS Technology file format<name="Miller_2014"/ref>

== Format ==

Each record begins with a [[semicolon]] ({{char|;}}), followed by two [[hexadecimal]] digits denoting the length of the data in the record. The next two bytes represent the starting address of the data, in [[endianness|big-endian]] (most-significant byte first) hexadecimal. Up to 24 bytes of data follow. Then, there is a 2-byte (4-character) [[checksum]]: the sum of the other non-{{char|;}} data in the record.<ref name="Hennig-Roleff_1993"/> Finally, a record ends with a [[carriage return]] ({{char|<CR>}}), a [[newline|line break]] ({{char|<LF>}}), and six [[null character]]s ({{char|<NUL>}}).

The last record on the paper tape is empty (its length field is <tt>{{mono|0000</tt>}}), with the starting address field representing the total number of data bytes contained in the transmission. The file ends with a {{char|XOFF}}. <ref>https://archive.org/details/KIM-1_Users_Manual/page/n98/mode/1up KIM-1 Users Manual<name="MOS_1976"/ref>

== See also ==

* [[Binary-to-text encoding]], a survey and comparison of encoding algorithms

* [[Intel HEXhex format]]

* [[Motorola S-record hex format]]

* [[Tektronix hex format]]

* [[Texas Instruments TI-TXT]]<!-- red link with possibilities --> (TI Text)<!-- another hex file format -->

== References ==

{{Reflist|refs=

<references />

<ref name="Miller_2014">{{cite web |title=srec_mos_tech − MOS Technology file format |author-first=Peter |author-last=Miller |date=2014 |orig-date=1998 |version=Version 1.64 |url=https://srecord.sourceforge.net/man/man5/srec_mos_tech.html |access-date=2020-07-31 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731132547/http://srecord.sourceforge.net/man/man5/srec_mos_tech.html |archive-date=2020-07-31}}</ref>

<ref name="MOS_1976">{{cite book |title=KIM-1 − Microcomputer Module − User Manual |chapter=Appendix F − Paper Tape Format |date=August 1976 |edition=2 |publisher=[[MOS Technology]] |___location=Norristown, Pasadena, USA |id=Publications Number 6500-15B |pages=F-1 − F-2 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/KIM-1_Users_Manual/page/n98/mode/1up |access-date=2020-07-31}} [https://archive.org/download/KIM-1_Users_Manual/KIM-1_Users_Manual_text.pdf][https://web.archive.org/web/20200726160056/http://users.telenet.be/kim1-6502/6502/usrman.html#F]</ref>

<ref name="Feichtinger_1987">{{cite book |author-first=Herwig |author-last=Feichtinger |title=Arbeitsbuch Mikrocomputer |trans-title=Microcomputer work book |chapter=1.8.5. Lochstreifen-Datenformate |trans-chapter=1.8.5. Paper tape data formats |language=de |___location=Munich, Germany |publisher=[[Franzis-Verlag GmbH]] |isbn=3-7723-8022-0 |date=1987 |edition=2 |pages=240–243 [243<!-- relevant page -->]}}</ref>

<ref name="Hennig-Roleff_1993">{{cite web |title=HEX.DOC: MOS Technology Hex Format |author-first=Werner |author-last=Hennig-Roleff |language=de |work=SIM51 |date=1993-02-01 |orig-date=1988 |version=1.04 |url=http://spot.fho-emden.de/ftp/micro/sim51_04.zip |access-date=2021-12-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811161238/http://spot.fho-emden.de/ftp/micro/sim51_04.zip |archive-date=2017-08-11}}<!-- [https://web.archive.org/web/20210806202253/https://www.dos4ever.com/8031board/SIM51D_BASIC.zip][https://web.archive.org/web/20210806202253/https://www.dos4ever.com/8031board/SIM51_06.zip] --> (NB. This is an older version of SIM51, the software and documentation was maintained up to 1996.)</ref>

}}

[[Category:Binary-to-text encoding formats]]