








	  INTRODUCTION					October	7, 1987





	  _T_h_e__P_r_o_b_l_e_m

	       Take an exciting	new computer, with state of the	art
	  graphics and sound hardware and software, add	a multi-
	  tasking kernal, and then add a DOS that doesn't work well
	  with the rest	of the system.	This makes software less
	  reliable, harder to develop, and results in more headaches
	  and more expense for programmers and users alike.

	  _T_h_e__S_o_l_u_t_i_o_n

	       The solution is ARP, which stands for "AmigaDOS
	  Replacement Project".	ARP is an effort led by	Charlie
	  Heath	of Microsmiths,	Inc. to	replace	the current DOS	in a
	  compatible fashion, so that current programs will continue
	  to work, but making whatever improvements are	possible, so
	  that current and future programs will	work better.

	  _W_h_y__i_s__A_R_P__b_e_t_t_e_r_?

	       Well, that is what this entire little manual is
	  about, but in	brief, ARP replacement programs	are
	  typically much smaller and much faster than their AmigaDOS
	  equivalents.	It is not unusual to find ARP programs which
	  are less than	half the size of the program they are
	  intended to replace. This translates immediately into	disk
	  space	and memory savings for you, both precious
	  commodities on the Amiga.  In	addition, ARP programs often
	  have enhanced	features, and can do things the	original DOS
	  programs simply can't.  Finally, and perhaps most
	  importantly, they conform to clearly defined Amiga system
	  standards for	Amiga software,	so developers don't have to
	  handle a lot of special cases, which will help all Amiga
	  software.

	  _I__n_e_v_e_r__u_s_e__t_h_e__C_L_I_,__w_h_y__s_h_o_u_l_d__I__c_a_r_e__a_b_o_u_t__A_R_P_?

	       If you truly never use the CLI, then the	impact of
	  ARP will be less apparent to you.  But you will realize
	  big savings in memory	and disk space.	 In addition, with a
	  more standard	software environment for developers,
	  software reliabilty will increase, and as software becomes
	  easier to write for the Amiga, prices	of important




          (*)Though Imay be more visible than Scott Ballantyne, who
          wrote this manual and much of the ARPlibrary and programs,
          he has certainly been as important as I have in developing
          ARP.
                         ...cheath


				    - 2	-



	  software will	be less	than they would	be in a	difficult
	  development environment.

	  _H_o_w__m_u_c_h__i_s__i_t__g_o_i_n_g__t_o__c_o_s_t__m_e_?

	       It will cost you	the duplication	cost of	a disk,	or a
	  connect fee to a network to download it.  Many busy
	  programmers worked hard on ARP, donating large amounts of
	  their	time in	an effort to make the Amiga a better place
	  to work and play.  The emphasis here is on improving the
	  Amiga	environment, so	that future software will work
	  better, not on separating you	from your money.  (That
	  comes	later, when you	buy all	that neat software that	ARP
	  made so much easier to develop.)

	  _C_a_n__I__g_i_v_e__i_t__a_w_a_y_?

	       You sure	can, and we encourage you to distribute	it
	  as widely as possible.

	  _I__a_m__a__d_e_v_e_l_o_p_e_r_,__c_a_n__I__i_n_c_l_u_d_e__i_t__o_n__m_y__c_o_m_m_e_r_c_i_a_l__d_i_s_k_s_?

	       Yes, you	can and	should.	 All we	ask of commercial
	  users	of ARP is that if you use any portion of the
	  arp.library in your software (and we hope you	will),
	  please include the rest of the ARP replacement programs as
	  well.
































