CP/M/CPM_CDROM.iso/cpminfo/cpm-cc19.art

Text File | 1994-07-13 | 8KB | 147 lines

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[ THE KAY*FOG RBBS | Filename=CPM-CC19.ART | posted 07/05/86 | 146 lines  8k ]


          The CP/M Connection                   Originally published in
                  by                               Computer Currents
             Ted Silveira                         5720 Hollis Street
  (copyright and all rights reserved)            Emeryville, CA  94608

                               January 28, 1986
                           ALL THE NEWS FROM C TO Z

     There's good news for users of the Commodore 128 who are running
CP/M. Until now the 128 couldn't control a modem in CP/M mode, effect-
ively cutting users off from CP/M bulletin boards and the treasure
house of CP/M public domain software.  But now these users can get a
modified operating system that removes this barrier.

     If you're a Commodore 128 user, you can find the text files
C128.DOC and C128.IRV on local bulletin boards.  These files explain
what the current situation is and what you can do about it.  Briefly,
you need to download (or otherwise acquire) these two files and two
others--NEWSYS.COM (probably NEWSYS.OBJ if you get it from a bulletin
board, or NEWSYS.BIN if you get it from CompuServe), which will create
the new CP/M operating system, and 64CONVRT, which will move the files
from a Commodore 64 format disk to a CP/M format disk.

     The DOC file, written by George Smonig and Irv Hoff, gives clear
step-by-step directions for creating the modified system.  Hoff has also
put together a version of his IMP modem program for the C128 so that
Commodore users can go right to work downloading software.  The current
version of IMP is IMP244, and the Commodore overlay file is I2-C128.ASM.
You may also find an already configured version of IMP under the name
IMP-C128.COM (or OBJ) on the bulletin boards or IMP-C8.BIN on CompuServe.
You can find all these files locally on Wayne Masters' Potpourri RCP/M
(408/378-7474) or in CompuServe's CPMSIG (at PCS-47) in Data Library 3
(which is now reserved for Commodore 128 CP/M programs).

[The Wonders of ZX3]

     All CP/M users should take a look at ZX3, a nifty little (3K)
public domain utility.  At first glance, it's just another directory
program, displaying your files in alphabetical order along with their
respective sizes and the free space left on the disk.  At this job, it's
no better or worse than SD, D, or any other such program.

     ZX3 isn't just a directory program.  For one thing, it can also
erase files (using wildcards, if you want), though it's no great
improvement over the builtin ERA command except that it automatically
shows you the directory after it's done so you can verify the erasure.
But ZX3 can also unerase files, just like the well-known public domain
UNERASE program.  And ZX3 lets you view files (with or without paging of
the display) and even copy files (with wildcards) from one disk to
another.  Finally, ZX3 can also edit files, though very crudely (128
bytes at a time, with no readjustment of the document format--your new
entries just overwrite the old ones).

     Unlike NSWP207 and some other file-handling utilities, ZX3 is
operated completely from the CP/M command line--there's no way to give
several commands at once or to work on several disks in one pass.  To
get a disk directory, you enter [ZX3] or [ZX3 B:]. To erase a file (such
as LOANSHRK.LTR, for example), you enter

     [ZX3 LOANSHRK.LTR E]

To unerase the same file, you enter

     [ZX3 LOANSHRK.LTR U]

And to copy that file from drive A to drive B, you enter

     [ZX3 A:LOANSHRK.LTR B: C]

The other commands all work the same way.

     ZX3 also remembers the last two filenames you used in a command and
allows you to substitute the numbers 1 and 2 for them in a subsequent
command.  For example, if you had copied LOANSHRK.LTR from A to B, as
above, you could then erase the copy on A with the command

     [ZX3 1 E]

     All in all, ZX3 is a useful little program.  It's not going to
replace NSWP207 on my disks, because it's not as easy to use for
multiple file operations and not quite as versatile (no squeeze or
unsqueeze, no disk swapping).  But it does pack a lot of useful features
into a very small package, a lifesaver if you have overcrowded disks.

[News from Echelon]

     Lately, there've been some new things happening at Echelon, Inc.,
the Los Altos company that distributes ZCPR3 (an enhanced replacement
for CP/M) and also markets a number of commercial products that work
with ZCPR3.  Taken together, Echelon's products are known as the Z-
System, and they can completely replace your computer's CP/M operating
system, giving you a fast, feature-rich operating environment that's
still compatible with your old software.  (For those of you who've never
heard of ZCPR3 and the Z-System before, I'll be doing a review before
long.)

     Now Echelon is releasing some products that will allow programmers
to take advantage of the simple graphics capabilities (lines, boxes,
etc.) of modern computer terminals like the Televideo 955 and Wyse 50.
GRXLIB.REL and GRWLIB.REL are two libraries of assembly language
routines for drawing graphics (GRXLIB) and managing up to 16 windows
(GRWLIB) on 8-bit computers running ZCPR3 or the Z-System.  Judging by
the sample code in Echelon's latest newsletter (Z-News #402), these
routines make creating and using windows and graphs at the assembly
language level very simple and straightforward.  The two libraries are
commercial products, but in line with Echelon's usual policy of low-cost
software, you can get both for $49.00.  To support these libraries,
Echelon has also released a new version of their TCAP (terminal
capability) file that contains the graphics codes for those terminals
that have them.

     Those of you who are already running ZCPR3 can find a demo package
(GRXDEMO.LBR) on local Z-Node bulletin boards like Z-Node Central
(415/489-9005) and Doug Thom's Z-Node (408/253-1309).  Maybe we'll see
graphics on CP/M computers yet!

     In the same newsletter, Echelon also announced plans for ZCPR
version 3.3.  This new version will contain a number of new features and
(best of all for us users) will require no reassembly of the ZCPR source
code and no installation of ZCPR utility programs.  In addition, they
plan to offer a limited version of ZCPR that takes only a small bite out
of your computer's memory so that you can run it with programs that
require a large TPA (transient program area), like CDE Software's Checks
& Balances accounting program.  These new versions are all scheduled for
release at the end of February.  Future plans include versions for
banked memory (!) and a new ZRDOS (which replaces CP/M's BDOS) that
includes date and time stamping along with a host of other features.  (I
mean, these people are _dedicated_ to 8-bit computers).

Echelon, Inc.
101 First Street
Los Altos, CA  94022
415/948-3820

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Ted Silveira is a freelance writer and contributing editor to several
   computer-oriented publications.  He appreciates suggestions or feedback
   and can be reached through the KAY*FOG RBBS [phone] and CompuServe
   (72135,1447) or by mail to 2756 Mattison Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95065.

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