Commodore Free 30/Commodore_Free_Issue_30_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/128 cpm 2

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An Introduction to C-128 CP/M

CPM1.TXT rev 1a 96-11-01

        CONTINUED FROM PART 1

Printer Support
C-128 CP/M can support two printers,
serial port devices 4 and 5. In its
default configuration, device 4 (CP/M
physical device PRT1) is assigned to
the logical LIST device with a
secondary address of 7 and ASCII to
PET-ASCII translation enabled.  To
change to a device 5 printer, use the
DEVICE utility (see Chapter 3). To
disable ASCII to PET-ASCII translation
use the CONF utility.

The Keyboard
The operation of the C-128 keyboard is
slightly different in CP/M mode than
it is in native mode.  For one thing,
it uses the standard 7 bit ASCII
character set rather than the
PET-ASCII set used in native mode. In
addition, each key is completely
programmable as to its character
codes or other special functions.
Other differences in keyboard
operation are outlined below.

Alpha Keys
The alpha keys on the main keyboard
(e.g. A, B, C, D, etc.) generate the
standard lower case,  upper case, CAPS
LOCK and control values.  The CAPS
LOCK value defaults to the upper case
value and is used as a software shift
lock.  It is not related to either the
SHIFT LOCK key or the CAPS LOCK key.
To turn the CAPS LOCK mode on, press
the Commodore logo C= key at the
lower left of the main keyboard.
Pressing the same key again, will turn
off CAPS LOCK mode.

Numeric Keys
The numeric keys (the row of keys
above the alpha keys) produce the
appropriate number as the unshifted
value and the CAPS LOCK value, the
symbol above the number on the key as
the shifted value and the color on the
side of the key (the top one of the
2 colors shown) as the control value.
These colors are defined as 80 column
foreground colors. The control value
produced by the numbers on the numeric
keypad are defined the same as those
on the numeric keys, except that they
generate 80 column background colors.

Arrow Keys
The arrow keys are located in the
cursor keypad above the top right
portion of the main keyboard.  The
functions & character codes assigned
to these keys in CP/M mode are
different to those assigned to the
cursor control keys at the lower right
of the main keyboard. The default
values for the arrow  keys are those
use used by most application
programs which feature full screen
cursor movement, such as text editors,
etc.

The up arrow key generates the value
05 (<control>-e) as the unshifted,
shifted and  CAPS LOCK  values; it
generates the hexadecimal 12
(<control>-r) as the control value.

The down arrow key generates the
hexadecimal value 18 (<control>-x) as
the unshifted,  shifted and CAPS LOCK
values; it generates the value 03
(<control>-c) as the control value.

The left arrow key generates the
hexadecimal value 14 (<control>-s) as
the unshifted,  shifted and CAPS LOCK
values;  it executes the 40 column
screen left function as the control
value.

The right arrow  key generates the
value 04 (<control>-d) as the
unshifted,  shifted and CAPS LOCK
values; it executes the 40 column
screen right functions as the control
value.

Additional ASCII Characters
The  key labelled as a British pound
sign generates the character '#' as
the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK
values.  The reverse apostrophe
character is generated as the control
value.

The  up arrow key next to the
<RESTORE> key generates the caret
character '^' as the shifted and
control values. The pipe character is
generated as the unshifted & CAPS
LOCK values.

The '=' key generates the '=' as the
unshifted, shifted & CAPS LOCK values.
The tilde character is generated as
the control value.

The '/' key  generates the '/' as the
unshifted, shifted & CAPS LOCK values.
The back slash character '\' is
generated as the control value.

The key labelled 'INST DEL' generates
hexadecimal value 7f (ASCII rubout)
as the unshifted, shifted & CAPS
LOCK values; the hexadecimal value 16
(<control>-v) is generated as the
control value.

Special Key Functions
The key labelled NO SCROLL executes
a PAUSE function. To resume execution,
press NO SCROLL again (for AUG or DEC
versions only) or RETURN (for MAY
version).  The control value of the NO
SCROLL key toggles between two modes
(ON/OFF) of automatically tracking
the CP/M screen on a 40 column monitor

The right & left arrows at the top
of the keyboard initiate the special
functions screen right & screen left
respectively (40 column screen
tracking) as their control values.

The key labelled <ENTER> generates a
Carriage Return as the unshifted,
shifted and CAPS LOCK values. The
control value initiates the special
function boot, which reboots the
system as if the reset button has been
pressed. If a CP/M boot disk is in
drive A:, the CP/M system will be
re-started, otherwise normal C-128
native mode will be started.

The key labelled <RUN/STOP> is
undefined as its unshifted, shifted &
CAPS LOCK values, and toggles the
display/nondisplay of the disk status
window as its control value.

The  key  labelled  CRSR with up &
down arrows (bottom right on main
keyboard) generates  the hex value 17
(<control>-w) which causes the latest
CP/M command line to be re-typed on
the screen. The key next to this (CRSR
with right & left arrows) allows you
to move right (<control>-f) and left
(<control>-a) (unshifted and shifted,
respectively) through a command line
to edit it.

The key labelled F1/F2 generates the
two character string 'F1' in the
unshifted & CAPS LOCK modes and the
string 'F2' in the shifted & control
modes.

The key labelled F3/F4 generates the
four character string 'dir <return>'
in the unshifted and CAPS LOCK modes
and the string 'dir' in the shifted &
control modes.

The key labelled F5/F6 generates the
two character string 'F5' in the
unshifted & CAPS LOCK modes and the
string 'F6' in the shifted & control
modes.

The key labelled F7/F8 generates the
two character string 'F7' in the
unshifted and CAPS LOCK modes and a
string representing the date that the
system files were assembled in the
shifted & control modes (i.e. the date
which is displayed in the sign-on
message).

The key labelled HELP generates the
string 'Help' in all modes.

The Command Line
CP/M commands and transient programs
are accessed from the system prompt by
typing in a sequence of characters
called a command line.  A CP/M command
line is composed of a command, an
optional command tail, & a carriage
return. The command is the name or
filename of a program to be executed.
The optional command tail can consist
of a drive specification, one or more
file specifications, & some options or
parameters.

A>COMMAND +command tail! <cr>

Command Conventions
The following special symbols define
the syntax of a normal command line.

+!   surrounds an optional item.
l    separates alternative items in a
      command line.
<cr> indicates a carriage return.
^    indicates the Control Key.
n    substitute a number for n.
s    substitute a string (group) of
      characters for s.
o    substitute an option or option
      list for o.
[]   brackets enclose an option list.
()   enclose a range of options
      within an option list.
RW   Read-Write attribute -
      opposite of RO
RO   Read-Only attribute -
      opposite of RW
SYS  System attribute -
      opposite of DIR
DIR  Directory attribute -
      opposite of SYS
...  preceding element can be repeated
      as many times as desired.
*    wildcard: replaces all or part of
      a filename/filetype
?    wildcard: replaces any single
      character in the same position
      of a filename/filetype.

Command Line Editing
The resident CP/M command interpreter
(CCP) allows a certain degree of
editing of the CP/M command line
before pressing the <return> key. The
editing keys are outlined below along
with their usage.  It should be noted
that these editing keys are totally
independent from the control codes
used by the terminal emulation for
the video display.


Control Character     Function

CTRL-A   moves cursor one character
          to the left.

CTRL-B   moves cursor from beginning
          to end of command line &
          back without affecting
          command.

CTRL-C   stops executing program when
          entered at the system prompt
          or after CTRL-S.

CTRL-E   forces a carriage return
          without sending command.

CTRL-F   moves cursor one character
          to the right.

CTRL-G   deletes character at current
          cursor position if in the
          middle of a line.

CTRL-H   delete character to the left
          of cursor.

CTRL-I   same as TAB key.

CTRL-J   moves cursor to the left of
          the command line & sends
          command to CP/M. Line feed,
          has same effect as carriage
          return.

CTRL-K   deletes character at cursor
          & all characters to the
          right.

CTRL-M   same as carriage return.

CTRL-P   echoes console output to the
          list device.

CTRL-CF: restarts screen scrolling
          after a CTRL-S.

CTRL-R   retypes the characters to the
          left of the cursor on a new
          line; updates the command
          line buffer.

CTRL-S   stops screen scrolling.

CTRL-U   updates command line buffer
          to contain the characters to
          the left of the cursor;
          deletes current line.

CTRL-W   recalls previous command line
          if current line is empty;
          otherwise moves cursor to
          end of line.

CTRL-J,-M,-R,-U and RETURN
         update command line buffer
          for recall with CTRL- W.

CTRL-X    deletes all characters to
           the left of the cursor.


Filespec
CP/M identifies every file by its
unique file specification,= which can
consist of four parts:

   the drive specification,
   the filename,
   the filetype and
   the password.

The term "filespec" indicates any
valid combination of the four parts of
a file specification, all separated by
their appropriate delimiters. A colon
must follow a drive letter. A period
must precede a filetype. A semicolon
must precede a password.

The general symbols and rules for the
parts of a file specification follow:

d:        drivespec   optional
           single alpha character
           (A-P)

filename  filename
           1-8 letters/numbers

typ       filetype    optional
           0-3 letters and/or numbers

password  password    optional
           0-8 letters/numbers

If you do not include a drive
specifier, CP/M automatically uses the
default drive. Valid combinations of
the elements of a CP/M file
specification are:

   filename
   d:filename
   filename.typ
   d:filename.typ
   filename;password
   d:filename;password
   filename.typ;password
   d:filename.typ;password

Some CP/M commands accept wildcards
(* and ?) characters in the filename
and/or filetype parts of the command
tail.  A wildcard in the command line
can in one command reference many
matching files on the default or
specified user number & drive. This
is sometimes referred to as an 'afn'
or ambiguous filename. If no
wildcards are present, an 'ufn' or
unambiguous filename results.


COMMODORE FREE
I would like to thank Herne and 'Herne
Data Systems Ltd.' For granting the
reprint permission of this text
From: Herne <[e-mail]>
Subject: Commodore Free magazine
To: Commodore Free Magazine

You have our permission to run the
text. Pls be sure to send us a copy
for our records when it appears.
regards,  Mike

Herne Data Systems Ltd.
31 Adelaide St E, PO Box 357
Toronto, ON M5C 2J4
CANADA

Voice/FAX [phone]
[e-mail]

"Custom Software for DOS & Windows"
visit our award winning website-
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Other text about the CP/m & C-128 can
be found on Hernes website zipped up
text versions can be found here
http://www.devili.iki.fi/Computers/
 Commodore/C128/CPM-tech/

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