3 September 1984 ZCPR3 Newsletter 004 Notice the ZCPR3 System uses a consistent command and utility program syntax. Programmers writing new support utilities or application programs should know and please remember established syntax for Z3 commands. Recognize uniform syntax is of great benefit to end users. Conversely, Unix doesn't have uniformity in its command language structure, this being one of many reasons for its reputation, even among programmers, of user-unfriendliness. Thus, let's keep our advantage as it is presently and show overall concordancy within our community, while sustaining a system of extreme versatility, power, and ease of use. Maintain existing syntax. Amen! ----------------- EDITORIAL Our point of view: RAM is and will remain more expensive than physically small Winchester hard disk drives, drives so popular with small computer users. The Winchester's price advantage, byte for byte, is tens to one over RAM. A 10 to 40 megabyte packaged disk unit (e.g., using Seagate, Ampex, MicroSciences, etc. drives) goes for less than $3,000. RAM costs up to $600 per quarter megabyte. What we are leading up to is: an 8-bit, 64K byte system using disk memory overlays (like WordStar does so effectively) is all we need for a really fast personal, desktop, portable or lap computer. Why? Those little Winchesters can load 50K of files in less than two (2) seconds! WordStar loading with any size text file takes about 1 1/2 seconds. A demonstration we recently gave: loaded WordStar and a 68K source listing in less than 2 seconds, then scanned from the top of file to bottom in 10 seconds using ^Q^C; scanned the same file, using ^Q^R, from bottom back to top in 11 seconds! (See footnote.) Who needs a RAM disk? What with all the hassle of loading to volatile memory and making sure saves are performed, a fast Winchester appears a better way to go. Who needs 16-bit machine and big RAM capacity expense? Users of ZCPR3 don't! We have the definitive operating system with all the features to do the things we want to do. But a good Winchester makes the floppy appear really slow, by a factor of over ten to one. That 10-to-1 is enough to make the difference in success of overlays (or chaining) or not. Application programs using overlays can be any size required, using callable disk files. T/Maker III uses this technique with its many support files resulting in a fully integrated program for word processing, list and database management, and a fast spreadsheet. Such programs are a wonder to behold when run from a Winchester using an Adaptec-type of controller. (Adaptec of Milpitas, CA makes controller borads that appear to have the fastest hard-disk date transfer techniques.) Additionally, it seems because of human nature being what it is, less efficient (looser) code is written when more RAM is known to be available. Eight-bit programs require Assembly Language for speed and code efficiency; C Language is simply not good enough here for high performance operations. C programs run- ning on 16-bit machines are not any better than Assembler running on 8-bit machines. Portability... so write application programs in structured Assembler (SYSLIB3, of course) for Z-80's and in C for 8086's. The rest of the cpu's don't presently count for much in the commercial world. (Sorry 68000's, 8000's, 16000's and 6502's, but here at Echelon we're CP/M-80 folks.) ZCPR3 Newsletter 004 Z3 Tips We challenge 16-bit machines running portable software to match ZCPR3 CP/M's flexibility, speed, ease of use, and total environmental control, along with total system price. The ZCPR3 System consists of 70, or so, utilities controlled by the ZCPR3 Command Processor (CP), the console module functional after complete system installation. Complementing this array of support utilities are these recommended application programs: 1. WordStar for general wordprocessing 2. The WORD Plus for spelling check and correction 3. Punctuation & Style for punctuation and grammar 4. WordMaster for Assembly Language program development 5. dBASE II for relational database management 6. SuperCalc II for spreadsheet calculations 7. T/Maker III for an integrated environment of wordprocessing, spreadsheet, accounting, file and data management, and full online HELP documentation (editor set to WordStar commands as noted in User's Guide Magazine Issue #7, Feb 1984) 8. MODEM7, MDM7, MEX, COMM7, or TERM III for communications Such programs combine with MENU and VMENU to produce a super powerful (and useful) turnkey computer software set. Don't be mislead by hype ads; 8-bit software does the job at lowest cost and with minimum expenditure of your time. Single-user, networked workstations is the efficient method of resource management and communications of the future. 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. Let's quietly wait 'til Zilog's Z-800 is available; then we'll see what happens to time-share concepts and systems. Central processing, as an efficient multiuser concept, is dead! With ZCPR3, we have moved to high efficiency, as well as resource economy and high individual console operator productivity. That's the route to winner-circles! (End of Editorial.) ----------------- Z3 TIPS: Notice XDIR.COM displays files in all User Areas if the "U" trailing parameter is entered at the command line, e.g., XDIR *.* U or XDIR /U. Entering XDIR // recalls full range of options for the command. ALIAS can call another alias. STARTUP.COM could call STLDR.COM, where the latter is a loader that doesn't change often. So it is used in an alias where the rest changes often. The nesting saves frequent retyping the constant. STARTUP.COM could consist of: STLDR;SHOW E;VFILER;B0: where STLDR (for startup loading) is an alias made up of: LDR SYS.RCP,SYS.FCP,SYS.NDR,MYTERM.Z3T SHOW was entered as an Error Handler with "E" trailing the command name. ERROR2 could have been used instead and is another handler that's spectacular in performance and flexibility. Try both, and the other error handlers too, before deciding which recovery program is best used in a specific activity. Page 2 ZCPR3 Newsletter 004 Z3 Tips A chain of three sample menus are on the AMPRO BBS, as MENU.MNU. These can be customized for your specific needs, but show some of the techniques getting you started. The ability to use the current directory ($D) and user ($U) to return from a firm login is not shown but could be used wherever a hard B: drive is declared. When you get some general interest menus working, please put them up on the BBS so others can see your handy work! The community will certainly give you its appreciation. SAK (strike any key) adds the key missing link to making complex command lines and aliases really work. Typing SAK // gives the customary reminder of what the command does and its syntax. As an example, SAK placed after an assembly command and before the load command permits the operator to abort if errors occurred in assembly, if operator is present at CRT screen to notice. But the load command may be auto executed, if after a preset time operator has not pressed a key to abort. The alias could look like: ASM $1;SAK /P10 Enter ^C if Errors Occurred;LOAD $1 If the operator hasn't struck ^C within ten seconds after the assembly has occurred, the program executes LOAD. Add a B before the P and the console bell rings to alert. (P has a range of 1 to 9999!) Try it and see the ways to simply command-line programming. $1 is filename to be assembled. At command line, enter ALIASNAME . Remember, ALIAS passes parameters similar to ZEX and SUB plus has the ability to know the home directory with $D for disk and $U for user. $* passes the entire command line tail and $0, the alias filename itself. See ALIAS HELP for complete details. CLEANDIR (similar to public domain SAP -- so dear to our hearts -- but much faster acting) of Phase 2 Distribution is more than handy to have around and use on a regular basis. Used often on all your disks, when the time comes to use UNERASE to recover an accidentally erased file, chances are near 100% for recovery being successful. Remember we told you so. A note about VALUE: Some realize the true-value nature of ZCPR3 and the ZCPR3 System, others do not. Look at it this way. Unix is about 8 megabytes of software costing $40,000.00 for the source; object code goes for $750.00 for single-user systems. ZCPR3 consists of about 3 megabytes of object, source, and online documentation on 16 disks -- the collection costs $173.00! The value represented here is 300 to 1 in favor of ZCPR3 over Unix. AXIOM: Sustained success depends on meeting continuing needs of you, our customers, and spending less than we take in; it's that simple, or that complicated without individual discipline. When David goes up against Goliath, his sling shot must be in good repair! "Sept d'un coup" -- seven in one blow; that's the number of Goliaths out there. Waste no blows. Our motto: Echelon earns before it spends. Adhering to sucg a motto means no financial debt; thus we will never be a candidate for Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Act. Certainly we don't need another company producing what everybody else produces, and we do our best to be different while being useful to you. See you down the lines... Echelon, Inc. 101 First Street Los Altos, CA 94022 Telephone: 415/948-3820 Page 3 ZCPR3 Newsletter 004 Z3 Tips Modem: 408/258-8128 Footnote: Equipment used was AMPRO BOOKSHELF Series 122 computer, Media Distributing Ampex Hard Disk Add-on with Adaptec controlle, and Wyse Technology WY-50 CRT terminal. We believe the Wyse terminal to be of highest value. The Wyseword function key overlay strip makes using WordStar (and T/Maker) a joy. Feel and quality of the unit is super, as is its $695 retail price. And it runs at 38,400 baud! So does the AMPRO -- the two combine to make an attractive combination. Trademarks: CP/M, Digital Research; BOOKSHELF, AMPRO Computers; Z-80, Zilog; Unix, Bell Laboratories; WordStar, WordMaster, MicroPro Int'l; dBASE, Ashton- Tate; SuperCalc, Sorcim/IUS Corp.; T/Maker, T/Maker Company; TERM III, Richard L. Conn; The WORD Plus, Punctuation & Style, Oasis Systems; WY-50, Wyse Technology. Newsletter 004 is Copyright 1984, Echelon, Inc. All Rights Reserved Echelon, Inc. 101 Frist Street o Los Altos, CA 94022