On 07/14/2018 04:04 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk wrote:
It's my understanding that MS-DOS was one of the
earlier OSs to
standardize file systems used across disks for various computer
manufacturers.? There were still some physical differences though.
Well, yes and no. NEC really is the trailblazer here, not IBM (or for
that matter Microsoft). The PC98 platform maintains the same format and
datarate across 8", 5.25" and 3.5" floppies, although it many cases it
can recognize and work with the IBM PC versions. One notable aspect is
that the drives use all spin at the same 360 RPM speed.
As far as CP/M, well there is the 8" SSSD (IBM 3740) format that DRI
distributed the software on. Various OEMs tweaked their own
interpretation of "CP/M Format, both in terms of drives and the
organization and method of storing data on them.
There are many more forgotten floppy formats than most realize--for
example, the Drivetec/Kodak 5.25" 2.8MB and 6MB formats.
--Chuck