Z TIPS: Directly from Richard Conn comes advice: "Both MENU/VMENU tools lock
onto the current directory when they run. To switch DIRs under them, you have
to issue a command like: SHCTRL POP;DU:;VMENU *.* fn.VMN<cr> so that old
VMENU shell (in this case) is popped off the stack, DU switch is done, and new
VMENU is run. It has always been this way. The Manual discusses this topic."
Lots of users are pushing menus under Z-System to upper limits. Still, built-
in fundamental flexibility of ZCPR3 permits you to do what you want, if you
know how. Manual has many answers, a top source for understanding.
You use IFs and GOTOs in loops: chances are you'll need XIF. Testing
within a loop may leave many pending IFs. But XIF cancels all IFs, allowing
fresh loop start.
Program DEBUGRCP.ASM is available on Z-Nodes for downloading. For
assembly language programmers...get, assemble, and use as a temporary,
dynamically loaded, RCP to debug your programs...it's MU3, but resident! T-
h-i-n-k of all the ZCPR3 alias possibilities! Also, VERROR, now in style of
VMENU, VTYPE, and VALIAS, is also up. And Jay Sage (Z-Node #3) has his first
issue (not yet official) of ARUNZ out--like LRUNZ is to COM files, but for
aliases under Z-System!
PUBLIC Issue: After much soul searching, we decided to implement a public
facility in ZRDOS. But instead of making files public, we chose to make
public operator-specified DIRECTORIES (disk/user areas)! We felt this new
approach better and with less hassle than any other. No special utilities are
needed to manage the facility--only one new tool that make DUs and DIRs public
at the user's direction. You simply place all your programs that use overlays
and special (CMD) files, e.g., dBASE, Word Plus, WordStar, etc., into selected
public DIRs--there's up to 32 available--along search path. The rest is
automatic, ZCPR3 style. COM files and associated overlays don't necessarily
have to be in same DIR. COM files may be in any DIR along path. Overlays and
special command files are placed in DIRs that were specified as public.
We depart from intentions expressed earlier because we believe course
taken now is best, with continued full wheel-byte security (see Z-News 206).
Both ZRDOS and ZRDOS Plus have new (never previously implemented by anyone)
public directory capability--shipping from stock at previous prices of $49.50
and $59.50, respectively. Updates at usual $20.00 price, with your original
program disk.
We_Get_Letters: From Joe Silvia, Lawndale, CA, "Having just returned to the
real world of CP/M...implementation of ZCPR3...mind boggling experience... ."
Proclaims D. Boone, Valley Mills, TX, "I'm mostly interested in the news of
Z800 [and HD64180] and transfer of MS-DOS/PC-DOS software to ZCPR3."
Capability is coming Mr. D!
David Orrahood, Owensboro, KY, asks, "Will I be able to obtain the
complete 'dream' CP/M computer from you and when will it be available and what
will it cost?" Depends on your dreams, David; we don't sell hardware, only OS
software upward compatible with CP/M-80 and application programs taking
advantage of Z-System capabilities. The SB180 (single board computer running
full Z-System), available from Micromint, Inc. (25 Terrace Drive, Vernon, CT
06066, 1-800/635-3355), satisfies lots of dreamers. It's shipping now and
sells for from $369.00 to $499.00, depending on software option specified. Of
course, you need disk drives, power supply, cables, case, and terminal to make
complete computer system.
"ZCPR3 is really a must for anyone running under CPM-80." This we
received from Philippe Billotte, Casablanca, Morocco! Philippe manually
installed Z3 on a Northstar and has become a good-neighbor helper.
Cry for HELP! Lee McTaggart, 212 Beecher Drive, Southbury, CT 06488, has
a Cache-BIOS Ithaca Intersystems S-100 computer. Can anyone help him get a
manual-install version of Z-System up and running? Here's your chance to show
your stuff! A neighbor needs you to assist pushing his 8-bit system into Z
modern world. HELP!
Z-Node Activity: We now have Z-Node #41 in mid-Atlantic area (Baltimore, MD)
readying to serve. Fresh Sysop, Larry Mansfield, should be up and running
soon.
Gosh! we goofed! Sysop Charles Boghosian's correct node number is
919/383-6595 in Durham, NC; Richard Rodeheaver's, 614/864-2673.
Richard Peterson, El Paso, TX, Z-Node #31, now has 24 megabytes and new
2400 bps modem online; 915/821-3638. Ed Unrein, Z-Node #29, has a few bytes
more, at 30 megs, and too has new 2400 bps modem; 305/295-0844. These two
nodes are current, with latest of everything coming directly from Z-Node
Central; use them instead of Central, wil' ya, please!
Convention established: RAS modem/computer phone numbers are always
underlined; straight voice numbers are not.
Amateur Z User's Corner: Disk Editor, DU3, is so easy to use once you get
over fear of complexity. Start first by using MU3, the Memory Utility of
ZCPR3. The editor within DU3 is near identical to MU3, full screen oriented,
with high-lighting and cursor arrow keys to point to byte to change. Richard
Conn's editor arrangement has made altering data in memory or on disk so easy,
compared with ways of the recent past. Gain confidence with MU3 then go on to
learn DU3. Use the "E" command of DU3 and notice familiarity! Run DU3 using
a "scratch" disk (one you don't mind losing data from) just in case you do
things not intended! On entering DU3, at command line, type t2;d<cr>, and you
will be observing first eight lines, 16-bytes per line, of disk directory
area. Type s2;d<cr> and see next Sector! Directory starts a Track 2, Sector
1. (For further information on disk track/sector organization, read one or
two of many books written about CP/M systems. We recommend "The Programmers's
CP/M Handbook" written by Andy Johnson-Laird, published by Osborne/McGraw-
Hill.) Just remember, you can't hurt anything; any changes you make by using
the editor are not put to disk until you use the "write" command, CTRL-W.
In hardcopy, subscription edition: here placed
Lewis Carroll sketch of walrus, old man, and clams in school.
Quote under drawing, "Let us learn of Z... "
Study ZCPR3: The Manual from pages 161 through 180 to learn of vast
capabilities of disk editor. Online help (DU3.HLP) also is useful to quickly
remind of commands and syntax forgotten. Manual is best to beginning-learn
from; that's why it was written, to complement extensive, existing, online
help system (more than 700 screens!) that keeps you and me learning.
IF and ELSE conditional testing is easily understood once (if) idea of
statements being true and false is clearly understood (see Z-News 207, pg 2,
discussing true/false situations). If the IF statement (conditional) is
false, the ELSE verb (command) converts stored false condition to true. Then,
statements containing commands-to-be-run after the ELSE are executed by your
computer.
Now tell us, is walrus or is old man teaching...who among you dares
speculate?
Search Program Review: Needing a way to find files that contained a specific
character string, we procured SIFT from Siftsoft, 100 Valencia, San Francisco,
CA 94103, 415/864-8205. Thinking it had power and flexibility we needed, we
tried SIFT on some complex string searches with wildcard file declarations.
The user interface was near perfect, built-in syntax help (shades of Z-
System), and plenty of options--wonderful, but for two things! Program was
written in BDS-C and takes 20k-bytes of memory and disk space and is slow--fat
and porky. (We suddenly remembered why we stopped, after 18 months,
programming in C.) SIFT does things one would want a search program to do;
unfortunately, doesn't do them quickly! At $26.36 many may find it of value,
but our time is worth enough for us to seek an assembly language program for
these functions, one that makes us feel our computer isn't being abused.
Well-meaning producers of SIFT wrote a detailed manual telling all,
though extremely small typeface made for laborious reading. In general,
Sifsoft remind us of those who don't bench-mark to find relative speed
position of their product. They likely thought since BDS-C is the fastest 8-
bit C compiler, their program would be as fast as it could be! C programs can
be competitive; but for time and mental energy it takes, you might as well
have written it in Assembler from the start. That's the way we go (and
recommend) for other than 32/64-bit mainframe programs. Use SYSLIB (con-
taining LULIB), Z3LIB, and VLIB for generating desktop application programs!
Our Logo: Some number of EI customers have asked what our logo means, if
anything, and is there any connection with eagles? Well, since logos and
eagles are dear to our hearts (and heads), we thought we'd respond publicly.
Logo's three (3) horizontal lines form an abstract "E" of first letter,
followed by "i" to complete initials, of legal corporate name. The
abstraction symbolizes triad (3) of forces working in Cosmos, source and use,
both constructive and destructive. One echelon supports another for sub-
stantial stability, pointing to possible perfection. (Stability is not
absolute, else there would be no change--no change implies perfection, truth.
What is truth? It's that which does not change: truth is!)
Smoothed cornered, near square border around EI letters symbolizes non-
perfect world we're in. (A circle would imply perfection exists now!) And,
border is closed, reminding us that Cosmos's rate-of-change towards perfection
is constant.
Eagles fly level-to-level stimulating graceful change and interplay
between biological and non-biological life, influence ranging from our Moon to
our Sun. Few eagles need exist to have the work effective, to satisfy
existing Law. Believe it or not! If you're between belief and no, perhaps
you WONDER!
Industry Brief: All evidence points to Unix being a failure for economy,
speed, efficiency, and user interface. But that doesn't stop you-know-who
from continuing to push it with all their might. The supermirco houses using
68xxx chips have been patching every port with preprocessors in effort to
improve user keyboard response. Back in Newsletter 004 we said, "Time-share
CPU methods used by Unix, and the like, will not survive! Each user with his
own CPU--that's the long term future." We still believe time-share systems
far-less-than-optimum, real losers! A good local area network (LAN)
essentially provides parallel processing, with throughput proportional to
number of users! You want, need more? Mainframe (priest) mentally is hard to
shake. As is our general attitude toward customers and making money.
A business requires making a profit to survive--but financial profit
should not be primary goal (many other types of profit exist). Certainly,
first goal is satisfying customers, and from there certain profits come.
Satisfied customers create business climate that guarantees all kinds of
profits. So what do we see in most high-technology industries? Technology
for its own sake? Customers being duped into thinking this product or that
will do something to make-their-day! Let's face it: desktop computers have
been oversold by those in the trade, with customers' expectations (see Z-News
201, pg 3, for what earlier was said about expectations) not being fulfilled.
Word is around, customers have dried up! Computers don't do what majority of
customers thought they would. Long live customers (and computers)! See you
down the lines...
Echelon, Inc.
101 First Street
Los Altos, CA 94022
Telephone: 415/948-3820
Z-Node Central: 415/489-9005
Trademarks: SB180, COMM180, TKBBS, Micromint; HD63484/64180, Hitachi;
Z80/800, Zilog; NSC800, National; WY-50/350, Wyse Technology; Z-System, ZCPR3,
ZRDOS, Z-Tools, Z-Com, Zas, Zlink, ZDM, REVAS, Z-Msg, DSD, TERM III, Term3,
Lasting-Value Software, Echelon and their respective owners and authors;
MOSART, XE1201/03, Xecom; Sift, Siftsoft; MS-DOS, Microsoft; CP/M, Digital
Research; Unix, AT&T; BDS-C, Leor Zolman.
Drawing of
big eagle here Z s e t s y o u F R E E !
in subscription
edtion.
Z-News 303 is Copyright 1985 Echelon, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Permission
to reprint, wholly or partially, automatically granted if source credit is
given to Echelon.
