Help Needed! Armon A. Tippit, 605 Hampton Road, Bowling Green, KY 42101,
502/843-6373, needs help sorting out his S-100 CCS 2719 I/O board cabled to
Hayes Smartmodem. He'd also like someone to do some wire-wrapping on an
unusual ROM board he designed. Here's your chance to be of service (and make
a bit of money)--go for it! (Armon is special to Echelon community; please
HELP!)
PUBLIC ZRDOS PLUS. From directory B0:WORK, let's look at built-in help
contained within utility PUBLIC.COM. A complete Z-style HLP file is also
distributed, along with new DIR, Version 1.2, for file listing in both normal
and public directories.
B0:WORK>PUBLIC //<cr>
PUBLIC, Version 1.0
Syntax: PUBLIC
or PUBLIC /oooo...
Options: Cc - Clear PUBLIC declarations
c=A Clear All PUBLIC declarations
c=D Clear PUBLIC User Area Drive
c=U Clear PUBLIC User
Dd - Declare Drive=d, PUBLIC
Uu - Declare User=u, PUBLIC
B0:WORK>;Example of use: setup 4 and 8
B0:WORK>;on drive (disk) A as PUBLIC user areas.
B0:WORK>PUBLIC /CA,DA,U4,U8<cr>
First we clear existing settings, if any, then declare drive (disk) A, user
areas 4 and 8 public. Very simple! Next, we move our special files into
these areas. We can now access them and their overlays from any user area
with but one copy on our system, the one placed on disk A in area 4 or 8.
Typing PUBLIC<cr> displays directory public status, i.e., which disks and user
areas are presently public.
In Z-News 304 we stated there were 32 directories possible for public
areas. Well, it's not that simple. Drives A through H and user areas 1
through 8 can be declared, giving potential of actually 64. But if, e.g., A1:
is made public and B2: is also, both A2: and B1: automatically become public;
so watch it! Really, we simply can't think of needing more than 3 to 5 public
areas. But maybe you can; let us know.
After getting PUBLIC ZRDOS running, the thought came to put SYS.ENV in a
public area; thus, new COM utilities are installed without having to declare
SYS.ENV location. We added declarations to our STARTUP.COM alias so PUBLIC
areas are automatically created during cold boot. Presently, we use A6:
directory (paradoxically we call it PRIVATE:, and needs password to enter) for
all our special files like dBASE and WordStar. (We also have B6: public for
really tough jobs. We found The WORD Plus requires its UPDICT.CMP file to be
always on A0.) Of course, user must have WHEEL true (ON) status for PUBLIC
utility to function, making PUBLIC safe for RAS usage.
There are many ways to skin-a-cat, but important thing is that successful
skinning occurs. Case in point: under PUBLIC ZRDOS, our WordStar and
The WORD Plus VFILER CMD lines are really flexible. Compare with those in
DEMO.LBR (future newsletter explains difference between current and default
disk/user area log-ins):
ZRDOS Plus with PUBLIC DIRECTORIES is offered for $59.50 plus shipping
and handling. Those owning ZRDOS, ZRDOS Plus, or Z-Com may upgrade for usual
$20.00 (if Z3-Dot-Com, $40.95; see Z-News 202) with return of their original
disk. Order now!
We Get Letters. From Paul Naitoh, San Diego, CA, "I really appreciate your
help, as I am but a user of programs." Paul, become more! Examine your
priorities and adjust accordingly. What's important in the longer run...you
already know.
Jim LaSalle, 51 Bock Lane, Baden, PA 15005, 412/869-1358, writes, "...I
purchased Z3-Dot-Com. This solution works; however, I would prefer to
manually install ZCPR3. Do you have any suggestions that would aid me in
ZCPR3's insertion into my [Lobo Max-80] BIOS?" Jim, we don't understand your
computer...any hackers out there willing to give him a helping hand with a
Lobo? Contact Jim directly and let us know your solution to getting a manual-
install version running. Please upload your successful code to Z-Node
Central, so others can benefit from your work. Makes for good karma!
"Great newsletter! Great software! Keep it coming (down the lines...),"
proclaims Daniel Kelley, San Jose, CA.
From Owensboro, KY, David Orrahood asks, "Where can I obtain M80 and L80
and are these needed or even recommended by you with the ZAS universal
relocating macro assembler?" We don't believe Microsoft is selling M/L80
anymore, why we offer ZAS. ZAS can assemble most CP/M 8-bit programs in the
public domain as well as our source. We support ZAS and continue to make it
better. All new EI code is written using it, e.g., LGET, LHELP, LLF, and LX
described below, ZRDOS Plus, PUBLIC, DIR12, and overlays to TERM III, as well
as all code associated with Micromint SB180 computer.
Z-Node Activity. Attempt not to enter portals of Z-Node Central until you've
determined that your more-local (and probably less-busy) Z-Node has not what
you need. Com' on fellas, please! Give Central a break...
Welcome back to John Rovner, Z-Node #18, John was temporarily down (and
out). Try his Union City, CA, RAS at 415/489-0388.
And welcome to Jay Denebeim, Durham, NC, Z-Node #42. Jay is author of
ZBYE, that BYE contained within an RCP! Try his RAS at 919/489-6737.
John D'Ausilio, Bladensburg, MD, adds his ham radio packet switching
network expertise to Echelon staff. John's Z-Node #43 number is 301/779-7986.
He becomes link between east and west (Bob Finch, N6CXB) in overall earthly
communications network being nurtured and promoted by EI.
Amateur Z User's Corner. Before long, after having ZCPR3 available, you take
it for granted. Many have had occasion to return to simple monitor systems
(CP/M) and were shocked to become conscious of what an operating system (OS)
is, compared to a control program/monitor. We know the feeling--we've
experienced such occasions. Long live Z...and its continued expansion, and
support by customers.
If a new utility does not work, think! did you install it? Use Z3INS to
add utilities to your system: Z3INS A15:SYS NEWUTIL<cr> is the normal
command, with Z3INS along path, SYS.ENV in A15: (ROOT:), and file being
installed in current directory. Using PUBLIC ZRDOS Plus, you can forget the
A15: declaration requirement.
Of Cabbages and Kings. Many have asked why we add philosophy along side our
computer discernments--the answer: we deal mostly with whole people. Some,
having lost (or never found) their humanly way, rebel at what we do. So be
it...but, you act with all your resources whenever you move; you bring all of
you to each task. So you are treated as fully human. We don't compart-
mentalize your various functions. As they are together in you, so we deal
with them. It's so easy to not cognize what and who we are, especially since
our popular studies (school classes, magazines, etc.) are divided into dis-
cipline-areas of economic (concerns activity of wealth, labor, and commerce),
social (activity among friends, of home, marriage, and family), legislative
(activity of executive rulership), judicature (enactment and enforcement of
legal authority), cultural (aesthetic interpretation of beauty through the
medium of the arts), and educational (activities of logic, teaching, and
scientific inquiry). They come together (merge) in your head, in your mind;
all come together within you. Thus, we deal with all--we bind All under one
roof, Echelon!
Z TIPS. Bob Peddicord (Salem, OR) puts his TALIAS in our stable of alias
generators and editors. His version is very WordStar-like, beautiful! Give
it a try. It may become your favorite. (Bob, you and others, please don't
slow such tool design and coding. Develop along EI suggested guide lines,
debug, then start next one needed.)
As you may know, Paul Pomerleau (Chicago, IL) also has produced a
beautiful program, VERROR, one that easily and efficiently permits recovery
from command-line errors. It's probably our favorite, over ERROR23. Each
excels, depends on your temperament. (Soon, we discuss Paul's VCED, command
line editor and recall shell.)
New library support utilities (from Richard Conn, author of ZCPR3) add
flexibility to task automation involving NULU-type libraries. All respond to
the QUIET flag and LX also responds to the WHEEL byte.
COMMAND: LGET, Version 1.0
Syntax: LGET dir:library dir:afn1,dir:afn2,... o
Option: U - Unsqueeze squeezed files
Function: LGET extracts specified files from indicated library. If files are
prefixed with a directory reference, they are placed in indicated
directories. If U option is present and files are squeezed, they are
unsqueezed during extraction.
Examples of Use:
LGET a:SYSLIB *.HQP
-- extract all files of type HQP from the file SYSLIB.LBR on
disk A, current user
LGET ROOT:COMMAND B4:L*.COM,B4:L*.HQP U
-- from library COMMAND.LBR in ROOT: directory, extract L*.COM and
L*.HQP files and placed them in directory B4:; squeezed files
(L*.HQP) are unsqueezed and stored under their original names
COMMAND: LHELP, Version 1.0
Syntax: LHELP topic
-- get help on indicated topic in SYSTEM.LBR file
LHELP topic dir:library
-- get help on indicated topic in indicated library
LHELP * library -or- LHELP topic *
-- name of the topic is same as name of library
Function: LHELP functions similar to the HELP command (version 5.3 or later;
see HELPSYS.HLP). Unlike HELP, LHELP works from library files. It searches
for the indicated (or implied) library file along command search path and in
directory named HELP. The search path is:
1) indicated or default directory (dir:library)
2) command-search path
3) HELP directory (if any)
Once the library file has been found, LHELP locks onto it, and all help
files referenced by the indicated help file are pulled from this library file.
The file "topic.HLP" or "topic.HQP" is pulled from the library file,
unsqueezed if necessary, and processed. If a selection is made which
references another help file, the indicated help file is also pulled from the
current library and unsqueezed if necessary.
Examples of Use:
LHELP SYSLIB *
-- pull SYSLIB.HLP or SYSLIB.HQP from SYSLIB.LBR once SYSLIB.LBR
is found via file search path
LHELP CMD1
-- pull CMD1.HLP or CMD1.HQP from SYSTEM.LBR once SYSTEM.LBR is
found via search
LHELP Z3LIB1 A:Z3LIB
-- pull Z3LIB1.HLP or Z3LIB1.HQP from Z3LIB.LBR, starting file
search from disk A, current user
COMMAND: LLF (List Library Files), Version 1.0
Syntax: LLF dir:library
-- list all files in library
LLF dir:library /o...
-- list all files in library with options
LLF dir:library afn1,afn2,...
-- list selected files in library
LLF dir:library afn1,afn2,... o...
-- list selected files in library with options
Options: C - Print CRCs of each file in listing
G - Group files by file type and name (default is by file name
and type)
I - Print starting indices of files
P - Send listing to printer as well as console
Function: LLF displays a directory of declared library file. Specific files
may be selected by specifying a list of ambiguous file names. The listing may
be sent to console or printer. File sizes (in terms of records and nearest K
bytes) are indicated in listing.
Examples of Use:
LLF a:SYSLIB
-- list all files in A:SYSLIB.LBR
LLF root:COMMAND *.COM,*.HQP CPI
-- list *.COM and *.HQP files from COMMAND.LBR in directory
ROOT:; include CRCs, starting indices; send output to console
and printer
LLF root:COMMAND /P
-- list all files in COMMAND.LBR in ROOT:; send output to printer
COMMAND: LX (Library eXecute), Version 1.0
Syntax: LX command_line
-- execute command line, extracting command verb from
ROOT:COMMAND.LBR
LX -dir:library command_line
-- execute command line, extracting command verb from the
indicated (by directory leading dash) library file
Function: LX performs a complete parse of the indicated command line as the
ZCPR3 command processor would. Named directory references are resolved, etc,
and the External FCB (if available), FCB 1 (at 5CH), FCB 2 (at 6CH), and TBUFF
(at 80H) are loaded as though the ZCPR3 CP had done so. LX does not perform a
command search for the library. The library must reside in the indicated
directory, else LX fails.
For security, directory references are ignored if WHEEL byte is not set
(true).
The name of the default library (ROOT:COMMAND.LBR) can be easily changed
by patching (or reassembly of LX.MAC source code for) LX.COM.
Examples of Use:
LX XD HELP:*.*
-- run XD.COM from ROOT:COMMAND.LBR; properly parse and process
the command tail " HELP:*.*"
LX -a1:ASM LIB80
-- run LIB80.COM from ASM.LBR in A1:
Wyse Technology continues to do it: adds two new terminals to complement
their existing line, WY50+ and WY30, $699 and $399, respectively. New 50+ has
amber screen, 64-byte programmable functions keys, more page memory, bi-
directional auxiliary port, Wyseword as standard, and TVI-950 emulation. The
30 is much the same as the 50 but with fewer features, though with similar
overall characteristics. Oh! Wyse had sales of over $29 million for last
three months, April through June, 1985, setting their annual rate at 120-
million. Last fiscal year their sales were 17-million. (See Z-News 007, 103,
201, 203, and 207 for earlier comments about Wyse.)
Where does money fit into our picture? Let's briefly examine nature of money,
and its rightful place in the world. Although money is vital to welfare of
all, and is handled more frequently, perhaps, than any other thing on this
earth, it is surprising how little we know of its true nature. Money (force,
energy) is not the root of all evil or of evil only, as some would have you
believe. It is used for good as well as evil. Some say money is the medium
of exchange--the medium through which goods and services are exchanged.
Perfectly true, but there's much more.
To understand the nature of money, look at Life; here
is the key: money is medium through which time and effort
(labor) are exchanged for time and effort.
Our coin is energy! Money is not material substance.
A short story: You need something; perhaps a house (worth
more than gold here in California) in which to live. You sketch
have nothing but a few ill-groomed cows (you live off-the- of
land). But who would give you a house for such? Suddenly, mad hatter
you get busy and care for these cows. You clean them, feed here
them, milk them. You breed them, and your herd multiplies.
It takes effort and time to clean cattle, and to grow enough
food for them. You have to work hard at milking; then milk
must be prepared for market and finally taken there, all of
which brings you MONEY. You have some currency to show for
all your sweat
and work. You keep taking milk to market and
continue to receive currency which you put away in hidden,
therefore secure-from-theft, place.
As soon as you have enough, you take it to the man who spends his time
making houses. This man draws plans, then buys lumber, tools, nails, etc.,
from people who spend their time and effort growing and processing lumber,
mining metal and planning and manufacturing tools and nails. He takes this
material and puts it together, making a house. He trades time and effort for
currency you gave him that you spent your time and effort acquiring.
Money, therefore, is tangible symbol of time spent in growing, creating,
obtaining, making, or directing--effort of some kind. Money is solidified
effort! Thus, effort put forth may be frozen until such time as it becomes
desirable to release the effort. Money frees exchange of labor; makes
exchange convenient, efficient. We reciprocate with money, each with time and
effort of equal value. The usurer, cheater, robber, and swindler commit
partial murder each time money, merchandise, or service is taken without
giving part of their own lives in return. Software rip-off (and other things)
is suddenly seen in different light when nature of money is understood.
We See What Is,
Work ever for the Best,
Aware of the Worst,
The while...LIVING each minute to its FULL...
Delaying not,
For yesterday has vanished and
Tomorrow has yet dawned...
THIS MINUTE is all of LIFE we ever truly possess.
He who exalts in being Alive for the sheer fun and joy of IT...FOR, his cup is
full and runneth over! 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-30/50/50+/75/85/350, 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; Unix, AT&T; MOSART, XE1201/03, Xecom; PropStar, Civil Computing;
WordStar, MicroPro.
tiny +
eagle
here
Z s e t s y o u F R E E !
+ +
Z-News 305 is Copyright 1985 Echelon, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Permission
to reprint, wholly or partially, automatically granted if source credit is
given to Echelon.
