Apple II DeskTop

Work-in-Progress disassembly of Apple II Desktop (a.k.a. MouseDesk)

Background

Apple II Desktop started its life as "MouseDesk" by Version Soft. It is a mouse-driven Mac-like "Finder" GUI application for 8-bit Apples with 128k of memory (Enhanced Apple //e, Apple //c) using double-hires monochrome graphics (560x192) and the ProDOS operating system.

Apple Computer acquired the software and released it - rebranded as Apple II Desktop - as the initial system software for the Apple IIgs before 16-bit GS/OS replaced it. The rebranded version still functions on 8-bit Apples.

Overview: http://toastytech.com/guis/a2desk.html

Manual: Apple IIgs System Disk User’s Guide (1986) - Chapter 2 “The DeskTop”

A pieced-together history, details of versions, bug reports and feature requests: https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/MiscInfo/Misc/mousedesk.info

Disks can be found at: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/masters/other_os/gui/

Other GUI environments exist for the 8-bit Apples, including GEOS (which includes productivity applications) and Quark Catalyst. While A2.Desktop is more limited - serving only as a file manager and application launcher - it is (subjectively) more visually appealing and better integrated with ProDOS.

Goal

The goal of this project is to disassemble/reverse-engineer the suite with an eye towards understanding how it functions, and eventually fixing bugs and adding functionality.

Tools

The cc65 tool chain will be used; source files will target the ca65 macro assembler. Cross-development on modern systems will be assumed. (Sorry, Merlin purists! We still love you.)

Code of Conduct

Discussions should be polite, respectful and inclusive, and focus on the code. Harassment will not be tolerated. Keep comments constructive. Please read the full Code of Conduct.