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======================== MSDOS : C-128 Interface By: Carl F Howard [CHUCK.WAGON] 05-27-87 ======================== It is becoming more common in this day and age not to just own one Personal Computer but in fact 2 and maybe more. A recent survey showed that as much as 66% of those people who own one P.C. usually have, or buy a second one. Many of us started out with a Commodore 64 or 128 as our first PC and have for various reasons moved up to an MSDOS Compatible machine, mainly due to the Power and relatively Inexpensive prices for which a Clone may be Purchased these days. Even the folks at Commodore have seen Blue and come out with their own versions of MSDOS machines. If your like myself, you find yourself with one machine for Play and one for Work. However there are lots of things that you can do with both machines For example, word processing and data base chores can be handled on both machines and although the Commodore Program files are not compatible with an MSDOS machine most Commodore Data files I found, are easily converted into Standard ASCII files and are very usable on my clone. Many MSDOS Word processing programs can handle ASCII text files and have both importing and exporting capabilities for files in this format. As an example, I use Time Works Word Writer - 128 on my C-128. The Sequential ASCII files created by Word Writer can easily be used with both the CP/M and MSDOS Versions of Word Star and these files can easily be used with another popular MSDOS Program FIRST CHOICE by PFS. The Key to Compatibility here is the necessary conversion too a Standard format which is of course ASCII. One Note on the negative side however is that when swapping Text files between word processors you will have too run your files through a filter program to Strip Printer Control Characters, if you have used them, and re-insert the codes in your new format. This however is a small and easy price to pay when compared to manually retyping entire documents. I have also had a great deal of success with The Shareware Program PC File by Jim Button. This Program available here on GEnie in both the CP/M and IBM versions is a very easy to use Data Base program which can easily swap data files between either Mode. additionally the IBM version has Powerful Importing Utility features which with a little practice can allow you to convert just about any kind of formatted ASCII text file in to a Data Base file. This means that those Large Data Files Which were taking you for ever to sort on your C-64 and 1541 can now take just seconds on your MSDOS machine (I'm not exaggerating the difference in disk drive speeds is awesome). Additionally the IBM version features a 32,000 plus record capacity which will tackle just about any Home or Small Business application you could imagine. The problem with conversion of files is that even with the now popular Traslation programs for the C-128 such as "Cross Link" and "Big Blue Reader" there are still some very definite "file size" limitations for making the tansfers. Also if you don't own a 1571 Disk Drive or a C-128 there is no way of physically transferring files with a C-64 and 1541. As a result, you may find as another very desirable and inexpensive option is to Connect your two Machines together and let them chat directly. In fact one of the first things I did shortly after buying my Clone was to run out to my Local Commodore Dealer and Purchase the Aprotek Universal RS-232 Expansion Interface (You should be able to purchase this or a comparable unit for between $30 and $50). The Aprotek Interface connects to the User Port of your 128 or 64 and has an extension slot in its rear end so you can still use your existing modem or printer interface. A Cable running from the side of the interface has a Standard DB-25 Serial Connector that plugs into to the Serial Port of your Clone. You then set Switch 1 on the interface to "Inverted" and Switch 3 to Printer B" load up your favorite Communications Software on Both Machines and your ready to make your file transfers. It really is that simple. Note You Do not Need a modem on Either Machine to make this hook up, You just need Terminal Programs to make your transfers, similar to how you currently upload and download files here on GEnie. Also Your Clone Must have A Serial Port, This shouldn't be a problem since most Clones Equipped with a Multi-I/O Board feature this option. As a matter of fact I don't have a Modem in my clone. I let my C-128 do all my Communications work and then transfer files via the Interface to the Clone. This may sound a little cumbersome but you can crank both the Commodore and the Clone up to 2400 Baud (provided your software will allow it) so the second transfer goes rather quickly. As you can see this little investment in hardware on the Commodore can save you a $100 or more for that second modem for the clone and you can still do all your On-Line chores as usual. Anyway, thats it for this time, as you can see I've tinkered with my toys quite extensively and picked up a trick or two along the way. If you have any questions concerning Commodore/CPM/MSDOS compatability feel free to drop me Some E-Mail and I'll be happy to be of whatever help I can. Regards... -=[CARL]=- 74000,3077 ON CIS [CHUCK.WAGON] ON GEnie ========================= C-128 Compatibility By: Carl F Howard [CHUCK.WAGON] 09-19-1987 ======================== This is an article on the aspects of compatibility of the C-128 and other operating systems and software available to facilitate the importing and exporting of data. This article centers on the CP/M mode of operation although the discussion will cover the various modes of the C-128 as well. Even though the C-128 utilizes 8-bit CPU's it's diversity as a personal computer for home and small business purposes is one of it's main Assets, and I am sure many new users of the machine aren't even aware of the capacities available to them. Aside from playing your favorite games in C-64 mode the native 128 80 column capabilities allows much convenience for the use of pro- ductivity applications to the new user. There is already a wide base of Word Processing, Data Base and Spread Sheet Software available for use. Additionally by utilizing the CP/M mode of operation users can take advantage of Business Applications and a huge base of public Domain Software as well. Also, it is possible to use your C-128 to process data brought home from the office or school which was created on an MSDOS machine. This article will help you become aware of the various different disk and data type formats and the software available to convert data for your particular application. First it is necessary for the new user to understand a little about the way information is stored in the commodore computer and how it differs from other types of computers used in the U.S. As you are aware all data utilized by a computer is essentially processed in binary numbers in the forms of zeros and ones. This represents the on and off state of an individual transistor switch in the intergrated chips of your computer. This is simple enough as far as it goes but how does the computer know when you press a key on the keyboard what your pressing and what it means. Well each key has a numeric value assigned to it. The value can be expressed in Decimal, Hexadecimal or binary form. And it is this value which is converted to a binary number that allows the computer to distinguish what key is being pressed and what it means. Most computers used in the U.S. use a standard code called ASCII which assigns a value of decimal 1 to decimal 128 to characters used by them. Commodore in their unique wisdom however chose not to use this standard an developed a character set unique to there machines using decimal codes 1 to 256. So in order to use data created by other machines it is necessary to convert it too PETASCII code a form which your Commodore computer can understand. Aside from the data differences Commodore also chose to use a different way of storing information on their floppy disk as well. Mostly their reason for this was to build a cheaper disk drive. They use GCR format as opposed to MFM format for the rest of the U.S. computer industry. I won't go into the difference here but, it is nice to know that the 1571 Disk Drive has the capability of reading and writing to both formats with the use of the proper software. We'll get into this more bellow. The thing to remember here is that all Native Commodore operating systems (home computers) including CP/M use the GCR format. Well armed with this information what else do we need to know? For one it is important to know whether you are using a single or double sided disk format. For another it is important to know which operating system (or disk drive) your disk was formatted on. The types of disk formats we will be discussing here are the following: a. C-64 Single Sided 1541 b. C-128 Single Sided 1571 (1541 compatible) c. C-128 Double Sided 1571 (not 1541 compatible) d. C-128 CP/M (GCR) 1571 Single Sided (1541 compatible)) e. C-128 CP/M (GCR) 1571 Double Sided (not 1541 Compatible)) f. C-128 CP/M (MFM) IBM (CP/M-86) Single Sided 1571 (not 1541 Compatible)) g. C-128 CP/M (MFM) IBM (CP/M-86) Double Sided 1571 (not 1541 Compatible)) h. MSDOS IBM Double Sided (9 tracks) DOS Version 2.0 or higher. As you can see I have listed the Disk types in upward compatible order. Commodore did develop a CP/M version (2.2) for the C-64 which required an add on cartridge to implement and as such I've included it in our list although we will be discussing the 128 Version here which is CP/M + (Ver 3.0) and takes advantage of the 128's Banked Memory (additional 64k as opposed to only 64k for Ver 2.2). The Stock C-128 CP/M Operating System which comes with the computer is capable of reading and writing formats d. e. f. & g. noted above. The stock system is also capable of reading Kaypro And Epson Formats as well. The System will automatically identify the disk type in current use in the lower right hand corner of your monitor. Note when a disk format other than a 128 Single or Double Sided format is used the user must tell the system whether or not the non-128 formatted disk is a single or double sided disk. This is done by pressing the left or right arrow keys on the top row next to the function keys. Failing to identify the correct format can cause disk read and write errors so be sure to properly set the system for the correct format. There are Two Public Domain Programs available that will enhance the C- 128 Systems ability to read write and format other CP/M formats. They are Called NFORMAT.COM and UNIDRIVE.LBR. NFORMAT will allow you to format all of the formats indicated above and Osborne DD formats as well. Unidrive will allow you to read/write up to 10 formats out of a menu of 25 different formats not supported by the stock O/S. Although there are more than 200+ CP/M formats these 25 will surely enhance your systems capabilities and cover a range of the more popular formats you will encounter. More than likely at some point you will want to transfer data you have created on your C-64 or 128 in native mode. The stock system can't do this. But don't get discouraged. A real Nifty Program to read and transfer/convert Data from your Commodore disk has been put in the Public Domain by Rob Tiloston called RDCBM21.LBR. It will allow you to transfer binary (program) files or sequential files you have created in native mode to your Ram Disk or second Disk Drive while you are in CP/M operating mode. The program will also convert PETASCII to ASCII for you as well. CP/M uses ASCII files and your Commodore text files will have to be converted for you to use them in CP/M mode. The program is very helpful in this respect and eliminates your having to use other utility files for the conversion. The other nice feature of this program is that you can transfer CP/M program files you have down loaded with your Native terminal program to a Commodore formatted disk directly to a CP/M disk or your RAM disk while in CP/M mode. This is a much eaiser way of accomplishing transfers than some of the earlier transfer programs that came out in the beginning days of C-128 CP/M. The program is menu driven and easy to use and I highly recommend it for anyone just beginning in CP/M mode. While we're on the topic of Commodore to CP/M transfers I'll shift back into Native mode transfer programs for just a moment. There are 2 programs that are available for use in 128 Mode to facilitate Disk to Disk transfers of Data. One is a DEMO program of a commercial program called Big Blue Reader and it will allow you to view MSDOS Data files on your 128. The actual program will implement full file transfers and I believe the current version also supports CP/M transfer as well. The suggested retail price is $29.95. The other Program is called CROSSLINK2.LBR, CrossLink is a fully imple- mented menu Driven Disk to Disk (2nd Drive optional) transfer program that will make just about any kind of transfer/conversion you can think of. It will handle CBM, CP/M and IBM Disk formats and do ASCII PETASCII conver- sions as well PRG and Screen file conversions too. This means that it will convert just about any Commodore text file format into a usable CP/M or MSDOS format that you require. You can also use it to convert different text file formats used by the various Commodore word processing applications programs too. It is an absolute MUST HAVE utility for any one using more than one type of word processor on their Commodore computer. The major draw back with using either of these two programs though is that they are limited in the size of the files that they can transfer to about 200 disk blocks or 40k of memory. This is because they store the data being transferred in a RAM buffer and Don't transfer the data directly. This can be overcome by splitting a larger file into smaller ones for text files but you will not have this option in the case of a Program ARC or LBR files which can't be split. For larger files you are going to have to use the RDCBM program above or employ a direct conversion method of tranfering your data such as a Null Modem Cable (See my article C-128 Interface for more info on this method). Now back to CP/M mode, to use an MSDOS formatted disk on your 128 there is a program called RDMS233C.LBR. This program will allow you to copy an MSDOS disk file directly to your RAM disk or second drive. File size is limited only to the available disk space. The only problem with this program however is that it will only read an MSDOS disk not write to it. To get the Data back to an MSDOS format you will have to copy it to a CP/M disk and use the Crosslink program noted above. For those of you who will be doing a lot of MSDOS / CP/M transfers and don't want to go through the Gymnastics of multiple file conversions I would highly recommend an MSDOS Program called UNIFORM. It is a commercial program which retails for $59.95 available at most retail software outlets that will allow you to read/write CP/M disk on the second floppy drive of your MSDOS machine. It supports over 200+ CP/M formats and you can take your work home and bring it back the next day if you use one of the Alternate MFM formats supported on the Commodore 128 noted above. It's well worth the price if you do a lot of work at home and don't want to spend the extra time at the office. Well that's about all for now if you have questions or need help with any of these programs drop me a line and I'll be glad to offer what ever assistance I can. Happy *Puting* -=[CARL]=- 7400,3077 ON CIS [CHUCK.WAGON] ON GEnie