Loadstar 237/237.d81/t.cml

Text File | 2022-08-26 | 5KB | 185 lines

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       Q U A N T U M   L I N K
         for the 21th Century
        by E. Grady Glover II


    The Commodore 64 meets the
Internet, Q-Link style. That is what
Jeff Ledger is trying to accomplish
with CMLink and Commodore Markup
Language (CML).

    Jeff is a 34 year old father of
three and operates a small computer
repair firm in Orrville, OH. When he
was young, his family didn't have a
home computer, but luckily he met and
befriended a gentleman who ran a
private school -- which had a computer
lab. The first computer Jeff
encountered, at the age of twelve, was
a TRS-80. And he was hooked.

    Jeff's family was not able to send
him to that private school but the
gentlemen who ran it took a liking to
him. Jeff was allowed to lock himself
in the computer lab from 9pm - 3am
every night during the summer months.
Ten TRS-80's, with all the books and
training materials, were at Jeff's
disposal -- a twelve-year-old's dream
come true. Years later, Jeff's father
brought home a Commodore +4 -- which
was exchanged within 24 hours for a
Commodore 64! Years learning the
basics of computing with the C-64
setup led Jeff into a life in the
technology field.

    Jeff started his CML project a
little more than a year ago. After
watching 8-bit telnet Bulletin Board
Systems become a reality, CML
(Commodore Mark-up Language) and
CMLink (the QuantumLink-like system
for interaction) seemed like a logical
step. The use of CML makes possible an
open Commodore Internet.

    Latter day telnet explorers have
found that with a Commodore, a PC
connected to the Internet, and a
Commodore RS232 interface connecting
the two with a null modem cable,
independent BBSing is better than
ever. CML will help to recreate a
bygone world many Commodore lovers
miss, Quantum Link! Using individual
URL's, a user can access screen after
screen of Commodore viewable
information just like the wonderful
days of yesteryear.

    CML started out as a set of
shortened HTML tags which could be
understood by a Commodore 64 and
displayed using petscii/text controls.
The CML code can be embedded in an
ordinary HTML document, out of sight
of PC/Mac browsers. So when
CML-enabled C-64/128's connect to the
site, they get a page which is more
than C= Friendly! They get Commodore
specific content.

    Jim Lawless wrote the Machine
Language for the RS232 routines in CML
itself. Leif Bloomquist wrote the
first version of CMLServ, which is
part of the software that makes CMLink
work. CML currently supports viewing
many standard HTML pages by converting
standard HTML to CML on the fly. It
can display PETSCII screens created
with pet editors and supports a
version of hyperlinks -- using
function keys. It even has a
multi-user chatroom written in Perl
using CML input/output protocols, very
similar to Q-Link of yesteryear.

    CML is forked into two segments:

      CMLink - The Q-link type
        interface, which will use a
        CML backend, is designed for
        all those who miss Quantum
        Link.

      CML - The Commodore browser
        itself.

    Some features that CML will soon
support:

      ETH64 Support - A big goal of
        CML is to loose the current
        requirement of the PC side and
        CMLServ. CMLServ, which is the
        software that is used on the
        PC side to get CMLink to work
        will become an option, instead
        of a requirement..

      Sprite Support - On the fly
        download and use of sprites.

      Sound Support - On the fly
        download and playback of
        sound, possibly SID.

      Built-in IRC - An IRC interface.

      File Download - A method of
        downloading CBM files
        directly.

    One of the basic design goals of
CML, is to keep it decentralized as
much as possible. Currently, anyone
with a webpage can use CML controls
and code in the page to create a CML
site that doesn't interfere with the
HTML version. This will allow a
Commodore Internet to peacefully
co-exist with the current Internet.

    For years I have heard Commodore
users lament when Q-Link pulled the
plug in the mid 90's. I had Q-Link
back in 1989 and miss it deeply. As
fast and all encompassing as the
Internet is, Q-Link had a personal
feel to it that the Internet has never
been able to replicate. Well, all you
Quantum Link enthusiasts, get ready.
By the looks of this, CMLink is going
to be the Q-Link of the Future! If you
would like to get in touch with Jeff
Ledger, email him at

           [e-mail].

  EGGII


[DAVE'S NOTE:] I am HUGELY EXCITED by
this development. Jeff even has given
us schematics on his web page for
constructing the RS232 interface
needed to connect the C= computer to
the PC -- which will be my first
electronics project in 30 years! I
want to be able to CML!

    My PC guru and I talked about the
CML concept over late-night coffee for
months, but neither of us had the time
to do anything about it. I cannot tell
you how happy I am to see it become a
reality. The "peaceful coexistance"
with HTML is a great feature of CML --
the one which makes it feasalbe.

    LOADSTAR will keep you updated,
and when the software becomes
available, we hope to bring you at
least a taste of its possibilities.
Thanks Jeff, Leif, and Jim for putting
everything together!

 DMM