My two penneth of the disk format discussion:
I like the idea of a new, all-encompassing disk format for the
samcoupe.org archive (SCOA anyone?) as it will bring together many
disparate formats DSK/SDF/SAD etc. into one, but it has to be able to
hold the full geometry of the disk.
After all, the idea is that the images in the archive should be true to
the original format and IMHO there is no point implementing a new format
if it cannot handle all disks, after all we might as well stick to DSK
and SAD and the odd SDF for that.
What we need to say is that this is "the format for the archive" and if
anybody prefers to have it in DSK then they should be able to make it
that way for their own needs, I am thinking of a parallel to getting a
speccy .TAP file and converting it to a .Z80 because that's what you
prefer to deal with but the .TAP file is the 'original format' that you
take that from.
Also, I think the idea of including data in the header of the format is
vital - I have too may ARSE.DSK files knocking about and it will be a
good method of preserving the information if authors, dates etc. in a
standard and manageable way like it ID tags in MP3 files.
In short: "One site to store them all, One place to find them, One
format to store them all and on the Internet bind them." :->
Dan.
