Backgrounder II: The Marriage of Plu*Perfect CP/M 2.2E and ZCPR3/ZRDOS 11/3/86 As a CP/M computer user, have you been troubled by the need to choose between ZCPR3 (with or without its ZRDOS operating system) and Plu*Perfect's CP/M 2.2E? Many of us have made this choice only reluctantly. And no wonder! Plu*Perfect has offered us the extraordinary power of DateStamper and Backgrounder, two programs that are unparalleled by any rivals. Moreover, Plu*Perfect's owner, Derek McKay, has removed physical limits on the lowly Kaypro computer by authoring the Advent TurboROM, a stunning and inexpensive ROM replacement that will support up to 112 megabytes of hard disk and 2 megabytes of ram disk, all with minimal sacrifice of TPA. I am one of the loyal Plu*Perfect users, who has bought everything McKay ever offered. For the life of me, I have never been able to understand how ZCPR3 users-- including most sysops--can stand the lack of time/date stamping of their files. Yet, to be honest, those of us who have opted for Plu*Perfect's CP/M 2.2E have wistfully read about the magic of ZCPR3 through the years, including such wizardry as multiple command lines, shells, named directory areas, wheel bytes, and countless fancy utilities with exotic names like VFILER, VMENU, and ALIAS. More than once, I have drooled over a public domain offering, only to be brought back to reality by the notation that the software runs only under ZCPR3. My pangs of regret at not being a ZCPR3 user have been heighted in recent months by Echelon's tantalizing advertisements for bootable Kaypro ZCPR3/ZRDOS systems. These ads caused me to dust off Ted Silveira's two-part article on the Z-System in the December 1985 and January 1986 issues of ProFiles. His description of menus, shells, and multiple command lines opened my eyes to the "cost" of choosing CP/M 2.2E. Silveira's glowing review made it clear that ZCPR3 is an extraordinary product, delivering fantastic value for the money. On greater reflection, I no longer marveled at the decisions by sysops to forgo DateStamping; ZCPR3 might be worth this "price." As a result of this rethinking, I decided that I just had to try out ZCPR3, even if this meant withdrawal from my dependence on CP/M 2.2E. Before engaging in such a disloyal act, however, I made one last call to Derek McKay, to inquire about a possible meshing of ZCPR3 and DateStamper. Once again, McKay has come through, and I have postponed my rush to acquire Echelon's (no-doubt outstanding) products. The good news is that it may no longer be necessary to make a choice between the power of Plu*Perfect's DateStamper/Backgrounder and the wizardry of ZCPR3. First, Plu*Perfect now offers "General DateStamper," for persons who do not want to use CP/M 2.2E; I knew that already, but suspected that meshing General DateStamper/ZCPR3 with Non-General DateStamper/CPM 2.2E (if I needed to toggle between the two operating systems) would be a logistical nightmare. No matter what else you may do, if you operate a CP/M computer without DateStamper, I think you're nuts. More importantly, however, Plu*Perfect plans to release its "General Backgrounder" (or "Backgrounder 2") by the end of November. (Only publication of the manual is holding up release.) In the past, Backgrounder has been just one (although maybe the best) of several key redefinition programs, and would run only with CP/M 2.2E. The new Backgrounder is such a new product that the use of the old name may unfortunately turn people away before they give it the look that it deserves. The truly miraculous thing about BG2 is that, according to McKay, the program will work for current ZCPR3 users as well as current Plu*Perfect users, and will provide virtually all the power of the two separate systems, plus the unprecedented capability of multi-tasking. As McKay explained it, BG2, when loaded, will sense whether the user is running a ZCPR3 environment or a standard (or Plu*Perfect CP/M 2.2E) environment. If the user is already in ZCPR3, BG2 will automatically enhance it with additional features (such as multi-tasking capability), but will retain the existing environment, so the user will still be in ZCPR3. [McKay explained that BG2 will support only certain version of ZRDOS (Versions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.7, and any future stable versions), because it is not profitable to "chase" Echelon's repeated issuance of temporary versions.] If the user is, instead, operating with standard CP/M or Plu*Perfect's CP/M 2.2E, BG2 will establish what McKay calls a "pseudo-ZCPR3 environment." McKay calls this system a "pseudo-ZCPR3 environment," because the code was "rewritten from the ground up" to emulate ZCPR3's capabilities. The result, according to McKay, is that BG2 being run on a non-ZCPR3-modified CP/M computer will add almost all of ZCPR3's features (including named directories, multiple command lines, and aliases), without the need to tinker with the operating system image, and without the need to install ZCPR3 or give up one's existing CP/M 2.2E system. Moreover, with a single command (BGOFF), BG2 will be removed and the user will be restored to the pre-existing system, whether ZCPR3 or Plu*Perfect CP/M 2.2E. All this is done, as I understand it, by using surprisingly little TPA. BG2, when loaded, will replace the CCP plus take up 2.75K of ram; this is much smaller than other key redefinition programs (including Backgrounder 1). This is done by using a "virtual memory" technique, involving a swap file (shades of Perfect Writer!). Delays associated with the swap file should be minimal on a hard disk, and a small price to pay for the increased free TPA. "Sure!" you say. "But what about VFILER, VMENU, ALIAS, and all those other ZCPR3 utilities that I just can't live without?" Well, it is true that BG2 does not come with those utilities. But these utilities can be obtained in the public domain, and McKay assures me that virtually all ZCPR3 utilities will work without a hitch under BG2, whether your original system was installed for ZCPR3, standard CP/M, or CP/M 2.2E. In particular, he assures me that BG2 is compatible with VFILER and VMENU. Still sound too good to be true? I have learned through the years that McKay delivers what he promises. In this case, he informs me that BG2 has been extensively tested by some of the most prominent ZCPR3 programmers and authors of ZCPR3 books, and that these individuals have been sticklers for working all the bugs out and developing complete compatibility. For several years, now, it has been a darn shame to have to forego the features of ZCPR3 or Plu*Perfect's CP/M 2.2E, because of the need to make a choice between the two systems. Now, with the forthcoming release of Backgrounder 2, the marriage of these two systems may at last make it possible for CP/M operators of all types to obtain the benefits of both systems with a minimum of effort. For more information, contact: Plu*Perfect Systems Box 1494 Idyllwild, California 92349 714-659-4432 John Stensvaag 130 Cottonwood Drive Franklin, TN 37064