CP/M/CPM_CDROM.iso/cpm/zcpr33/00nzcom.doc

Text File | 1994-07-27 | 13.5 KB | 300 lines

      Preliminary Information about New Z-Com v2.0 (NZ-COM)
                          by Joe Wright
                            4 June 88

                    ** NEW Z-COM RELEASED **

As  Murphy always knew, if a Manual can be late, it will be.   On
the  other  hand  we expect it to be  worth  the  wait.   Initial
purchasers of NZ-COM will have the following information and  the
Manual  will  be mailed later.  Thank you  for  your  indulgence.
SYSOPs.   Please  distribute  this file as  widely  as  possible.
Thank you.

Most of you who are reading this may already have a fair grasp of
the  Z-System and how its many features work so well for  us.   I
won't go into a lengthy explanation of it here.  Z-System will be
covered  more fully in the Manual.  In the meantime,  almost  any
material  you read about Z-System is generally applicable to  New
Z-Com v2.0.

1.  Introduction:

NZ-COM,  like  its  predecessor Z-Com, will  allow  the  user  to
install  Z-System on his CP/M 2.2 system  automatically,  without
any  programming or assembly.  You will have it running  on  your
computer in seconds.  This is where the similarity ends.

NZ-COM  will  allow  you  to  customize  your  operating   system
environment  in ways you could have only dreamed about.  You  can
change  operating  systems at any time, even in the middle  of  a
multiple  command line.  You can do it manually from the  command
line  or automatically from within alias or menu command  scripts
using flow controls depending on system conditions.

You can change the whole operating system or any part of it.  You
can switch from one command processor to another or from one  DOS
to another with a simple command.

Need more memory temporarily for a specific application?   Simply
load  a new system without IOP or RCP and FCP if not needed,  run
the  memory  hungry application (PerfectCalc comes to  mind)  and
when you're finished, load up your normal system again.  All this
is done in seconds with one multiple command.

Using NZ-COM is really simplicity itself.  You don't need  source
code.   You don't have to assemble or link anything.   You  don't
even need SYSGEN or DDT to get NZ-COM running.  You don't have to
'hack' on anything (unless you really want to).

If  you  have a floppy system, copy the distribution files  to  a
work disk at put the distribution disk away.  If you have a  hard
disk system, I suggest you copy these files to the A0:  partition
of  the hard disk.  NZ-COM will work from any drive and user  but
A0: is preferred and will speed things up considerably.

Getting  NZ-COM  running  the first time is  a  two-step  process
almost too easy to talk about.  First use MKZCM.COM to define the
system  you  want to build and then use NZCOM.COM  to  build  it.
Here's how:

     A>MKZCM NZCOM<cr>

MKZCM  will present a full screen describing a  full-up  Z-System
for your computer.  For the sake of argument, let's say you  like
it like that.  Press 'S' for save and MKZCM will create two files
for you, NZCOM.ZCM and NZCOM.ENV.  Second step:

     A>NZCOM<cr>

In  about  three shakes of the old lamb's tail, NZCOM  will  have
loaded  seven or so modules, written two files and given you  the
Z-System  A0:BASE>  prompt.   You are now in  the  world  of  the
living.   You have a fully functional full-featured  Z-System  at
your disposal.  You have arrived!

One  of  the  primary  features  of  Z-System  is  the   TERMinal
CAPabilities  (TERMCAP or TCAP) segment in the  environment.   As
delivered,  NZCOM  installs a minimum Lear-Siegler  ADM-3A  tcap.
This  will suffice for most Osborne and Kaypro computers and  for
most  Televideo  and  Wyse terminals and many  others.   If  your
terminal doesn't like ADM stuff or has more capability, now is  a
good time to create your own NZCOM.Z3T file.  Use TCSELECT  NZCOM
and choose your computer or terminal from the list.  You can load
the resulting descriptor with NZCOM NZCOM.Z3T (or of course  with
LDR or JetLDR).

NZ-COM  is  delivered with a minimal  NZCOM.NDR  Named  Directory
module  naming  A0:BASE  and  A15:ROOT.   This  file  is   loaded
automatically by NZCOM whenever there is space available for  it.
You  may use MKDIR NZCOM.NDR to modify this file to taste  or  to
make new ones.

2.  Practice:

Now  that we know we have Z-System, let's play around  a  little.
Type MKZCM<cr> again and get the system environment map  display.
You  will note that each of the segments have an address as  well
as  a  definite  size.  MKZCM calculates  the  addresses  of  the
segments  based on the CBIOS address (where your computer's  BIOS
really starts) and the sizes of the various segments.  The  order
of  the segments is fixed by MKZCM but their sizes are  definable
by  you.   You may lengthen, shorten or  eliminate  a  particular
segment by defining its size.

Let's  define  a really small (large TPA) system.  Note  the  TPA
size report near the bottom of the screen.  We need CCP, DOS  and
BIO segments as they are for the present.  Leave them alone.  The
IOP  (12 records) is the first candidate for  elimination.   Type
'4'.  Now type '0' and return.  The new display will show no  IOP
and a TPA 1.5k larger.  Continue with selections 5, 6, and 7  for
RCP,  FCP and NDR and notice how the addresses and the  TPA  size
change.  Due to a technicality which requires our BIO segment  on
a  page  rather than record boundary, you will not  gain  TPA  by
eliminating the SHS Shell Stack segment.  Leave it at 4 x 32.

Now type 'S'.  You will be asked for a filename. Type 'SMALL' and
return.  MKZCM will create SMALL.ZCM and SMALL.ENV in the current
directory.  Now type NZCOM SMALL.ZCM and return.  Voila, mesdames
et  messieurs,  the Minimum Z-System.  You will note  (run  MKZCM
again) that the difference of the real CBIOS address and our  NZ-
COM Bios address is 400h or only 1k.  That is the total  overhead
of  Z-System.   Whithin  1k you get  multiple  commands,  the  Z3
messages,  external Path and FCB, the Wheel, the  Z3  environment
and termcap as well as a full 4-entry shell stack.  Still a full-
capability Z-System and only 1k larger than your old CP/M system.
Magic.  You return to the full-up system with NZCOM<cr>.

3.  What's Going On Here?

NZ-COM  (and Z3PLUS*) is a little more than just cute.  It  is  a
true advance of the art.  Operating systems and segments  thereof
have,  until now, been 'black' magic.  The OS was just  something
you  learned  to live with.  From the largest mainframes  to  the
most modest micros, users had to simply take what the got and  do
the  best they could with it.  No more.  The New Z-System puts  a
definite  end  to  that.   The User, not  just  HAL  or  BigSoft,
determines his own operating system environment.  The User is not
stuck, either, with his last best choice.  Any part of NZ-COM can
be  modified  in many ways and at any time by the User  from  the
command  line  or  from alias or menu command  script.   The  New
World.

NZ-COM  consists  of  two  Major  command  files,  MKZCM.COM  and
NZCOM.COM, a selection of Z-system ReLocatable (ZRL) files and  a
number  of  utility command files.  We have  already  touched  on
MKZCM  and NZCOM.  The ZRL files contain the building  blocks  of
the system.  There are six of them contained in NZCOM.LBR:

NZCPR.ZRL      This is Jay Sage's ZCPR34 Command Processor

NZDOS.ZRL      This is Dennis Wright's ZRDOS at version 1.9c

NZBIO.ZRL      Mini-BIOS for warm-boot of NZ-COM (2 records)

NZIOP.ZRL      Dummy IOP structure

NZRCP.ZRL      The Resident Command Processor

NZFCP.ZRL      The Flow Control Processor

ZRL files are actually REL files which can be produced by many of
our  favorite assemblers.  They are renamed to ZRL to  avoid  the
temptation  to run a standard linker on them.  These files use  a
multiple  Named  COMMON  Block construct which  a  normal  linker
simply  can't  handle.   Only NZCOM, Z3PLUS or  JetLDR  have  any
chance at these files.

NZ-COM uses a data structure known as an environment  descriptor,
Z3ENV  to  the initiated, for its operation.  Z3ENV  contains  or
implies the addresses and sizes of all Z-System segments as  well
as  other data used by the command processor and Z3 utilities  to
determine  or  change  system status.  Z3ENV  fully  describes  a
particular system for NZ-COM.

The  output  files  from MKZCM (name.ZCM or  name.ENV)  define  a
complete  and  explicit  system  in  terms  of  the   environment
descriptor.   NZCOM can read either of these files and  determine
how (or whether) to make any changes to the current system.   You
will note that .ZCM files are actually ASCII text in the form  of
a standard symbol table.  You might edit this file to fine-tune a
system more to your liking.

The  actual programs contained in the .ZRL modules use Z3ENV  for
all inter-module references.  In this way a newly loaded RCP  can
find  the address of the command processor and other segments  of
interest.

NZCON.Z3T and NZCOM.NDR are binary segments which are not address
sensitive.  They can be loaded anywhere.  If you already have Z3T
and  NDR files for your current Z3 system, you may simply  rename
them for use under NZ-COM.

4.  What's REALLY Going on Here?

Once  you play around a little and get used to what goes on,  you
will  notice NZCOM searches an LBR for its files unless told  not
to.   You may put any of these files into NZCOM.LBR or any  other
LBR  and  get them from there.  Although it costs  one  directory
search  to open an LBR, subsequent accesses of the LBR do not  go
the  the  directory  and  are,  therefore,  quick.   If  you  get
conscientious,  you  can  place the ZCM (or  ENV)  files  in  the
library   and   eliminate  that  search.   If  you   get   really
conscientious  and  ensure that the LBR occupies  contiguous  (or
contemuous) allocation blocks on your disk, it flies.

For you 'speed at any cost' types, NZCOM will build your favorite
system an create a single ZCI image file of it (name.ZCI).   This
system  can  be  loaded  in the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  without
reference  to  even the LBR.  No free lunch.  Each of  these  ZCI
files are 10 or 12 k long, costing disk space.

NZCOM  is  also  a hot package loader.  It can load  any  of  the
system modules individually or in groups.  As mentioned  earlier,
NZCOM  looks for its packages in an LBR file unless you  tell  it
otherwise.  You tell it 'otherwise' with an explicit DU: or  DIR:
reference.  Consider the possibilities.

     NZCOM NZRCP.ZRL

NZCOM  will open NZCOM.LBR, read and load NZRCP.ZRL from  it.  If
you want to load a file from disk, without reference to the  LBR,
the command might be:

     NZCOM A6:NZRCP.ZRL  or  NZCOM WORK:NZRCP.ZRL

NZCOM  supports DU: references under CP/M and either DU: or  DIR:
references under NZ-COM.

Let's  get really fancy and consider that we have a seperate  LBR
for  descriptors, NZCOM.LBR for the modules and some loose  files
on the disk.  We can build a system this way.

     NZCOM B0:DESC.LBR, TEST.ZCM, A0:NEWRCP.ZRL, A15:NZCOM.LBR

This will get TEST.ZCM from B0:DESC.LBR, get NEWRCP.ZRL as a disk
file  from  A0: and then open A15:NZCOM.LBR for the rest  of  the
modules required for the new system.

5.  Conclusion

This  short note is not complete, and is perhaps  too  technical.
We  will  wait  for  the Manual (75 pages by  now!)  for  a  more
complete  description.  The real purpose of NZ-COM is to  present
to  the  normal  user of Z80 computer systems, not  just  to  the
'techie'   developer,  the  latest  and  best  operating   system
environment possible.  I believe that it can do just that.


I am reminded that some of you don't actually own NZ-COM yet, and
can't  really  follow  these  examples  on  your  own  computers.
Fortunately for both of us, this situation can be remedied almost
at  once for the price of a good dinner.  At $69.95, NZ-COM  will
not  upset  your  stomach,  is  high  in  nutrients  and  has  no
cholesterol.   Unlike  a  good  dinner,  NZ-COM  will  keep   you
satisfied  for  more  than  eight  hours.   Guaranteed.   Low-fat
software..(Somebody, Stop him!).

If  none of this has whetted your appetite, then I  simply  don't
know  what to tell you.  If, on the other hand, I have created  a
certain longing or even hunger in the pit of your stomach, please
send me the price of a good dinner and we will both be satisfied.
(Ok, ok.  I quit.)

*   Z3PLUS by Bridger Mitchell of Plu*Perfect Systems is  similar
in many respects to NZ-COM and presents the New Z-System to  CP/M
3.0  users of Commodore 128, Osborne Executive, Morrow MD-11  and
others.  Also $69.95 from Alpha Systems.
.pa



                           ORDER FORM

      New Z-Com v2.0 (NZ-COM)  $ 69.95 (+ Calif Sales Tax)

                    Alpha Systems Corporation
                      711 Chatsworth Place
                       San Jose, CA 95128
                         [phone]


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