4 November 1985 Z-NEWS 306 Heaven Forbid. We are asked to recommend high level languages (HLLs) for application program development under Z-System. We reply, if you must use an HLL (instead of SYSLIB3, Z3LIB, and VLIB), these are best used: C Language Compilers BDS C BD Software, Inc. Fastest Execution P.O. Box 2368, Cambridge, MA 02238 Good Code Density 617/576-3828 Non-Unix C C/80 Software Toolworks Best Code Density 15233 Ventura Blvd. #1118 Good Speed Sherman Oaks, CA 91403, 818/986-4885 Non-Unix C Aztec C II Manx Software Unix C Compatibility P.O. Box 55, Shrewsbury, NJ 07701 Fair Speed 201/530-7997 Fair Code Density Pascal Compiler Turbo Pascal Borland International High Overall Value 4585 Scotts Valley Drive Interactive Structured Scotts Valley, CA 95066 Program Development 800/255-8008 to order Neither Fast nor Dense 800/556-2283 for nearest dealer New Pascal Standard Z TIPS. There's over a million ways (literally) to configure and assemble ZCPR3! Standard ZCPR3 implementation (which we use here at EI) contains only SAVE, GO, GET, and JUMP as intrinsic CP (command processor) commands; other resident (in-memory) commands TYPE, LIST, ERA, REN, C(o)P(y), POKE, P(eek), ECHO, IF, ELSE, FI (endif) are in dynamically loadable RCPs and FCPs. Normal- ly, DIR is a transient, i.e., from disk. CCP (console command processor, CP for short) occupies fixed 2k-bytes; but resident packages, each of 2k-bytes, can be loaded when functional requirements demand different commands, e.g., DEBUG.RCP (MU3 as segment) for debugging programs versus more common SYS.RCP. A sysop's RCP is different from RCP loaded for public callers. Of Cabbages and Kings. Harvest being in barn, November is season of thanksgiving in USA culture. We wish here to reflect on things for which we are grateful. Our life with continuous good health is one; but mainly we focus on you, especially you who are learning while supporting what we do. By name, Marvin Eyre, Dennis Wright, Dave McCord, Kathy Stough, Patrick O'Connell, Robert Doolittle, Al Hawley, Jay Sage, Al Dunsmuir, Charles McMannis, Robert Peddicord, Richard Mead, and Bruce Aschenbrenner. And Dreas Nielsen, Bruce Morgen, Ted Silveira, Paul Pomerleau, Tim Linehan, Robert Tate, Rea Williams, Doug Thom, Norman Beeler, Norm Gregory, Marilyn Bailey, Richard Jacobson, Terry Smythe, Ed Unrein, Charles Hoffman, Michael Ward, Jud Newell, Armon Tippitt, and finally, Richard Conn. More could be added, but these few we consciously believe have made possible what we do. Those others get our thanks nonetheless, those workers who do in silence without notice. We know they need not their names listed here. But without them, our species would have long ago perished. We applaud our continued, but certainly uncertain, survival! Some few WONDER where our drive, courage (?), enthusiasm, comes from. WONDER no more...we work from natural forces...forces flowing through you, from Eternity... forces beyond TIME and space, beyond Mother Earth, Father Time of E.B. White's classic Charlotte's Web...forces of LAW, law which cannot be broken but which regulates All...we were vague and general, now vivid and particular because of your energy. We Get Letters. " ...[disk format] standardization is indeed much needed for 8-bit world. However, no details on formats were given... " declares Mark Sihlanick, Forest, VA. Sorry Mark, we are working on a standards document now, to be published as soon as finished. Z-News 207 wanted to let everyone know we were fostering a few disk formats we feel are best. Hardware manufacturers designing new 8-bit computers should use existing formats, the ones that are best for speed and capacity. Dale Updegrove writes from Phoenixville, PA, "I find myself looking for your latest Z-News before the two weeks are up...Echelon is more like a club than a business...is interested in supplying more support rather than [in making] more profit." Thanks! we needed that. Dale, our major short-term task is getting you to regard Z-System as we do; profits come from aspirations, attitude (see newsletter 009, pg 7, to know an aspect of our business). Z-Node Activity. A warm welcome to new Z-Node #44 and Sysop Robert Gear. Bob's Phoenix, AZ, number is 602/279-2762 and is a first for us in Arizona. He is interested in ham radio packet networks, as are other noders Bob Finch and John D'Ausilio. Also, Bob's "Doktur's" node serves as central for despending medical information. Ed Unrein wants more non-local callers. His RAS in beautiful central Florida is a wonderland in itself: 305/295-0844. If you can't travel there, you still can telecommunicate (one-day, teleport!). Amateur Z User's Corner. Logging into a directory may be done two ways. 1) Default log-in occurs when performed from command line, and 2) current log-in occurs when performed from within application programs; on returning to command line, default disk/user area is returned to, shows. Current can be made default by declaration, e.g., in VFILER CMD scripts, command clause "%d%u:;" makes current directory the default. While within sketch of VFILER, default is shown when "Z" letter-command is mad hatter with given and command line prompt shows at lower left of quote: screen. Current always shows at upper left, either from Files or built-in Help screens. Of course, "And my current current and default simultaneously may be same became directory. default." When dealing with other than Z-System application programs, determine if application uses current (most don't) or only default directories. Then, write your macro command lines accordingly. Notice, in Z-News 305, bottom of pg 1, selective use of current disk/user "%d" and "%u" and actual drive letter ("a" therein) designation was required to freely move from directory to directory from within VFILER, to have WordStar and The WORD Plus function correctly. When using with such application programs, advanced features of Z-System are absolutely required for full automation and resource-utilization efficiency. Unix and PC-DOS do not have these features. Technically, for you budding hackers, default directory is contained as two nibbles at location 04 of Z-System Page 0, memory space 00 to FF hex. Current is stored locally within ZRDOS buffer area. Our shells with their powerful user interface have made concept of current versus default important. Principle under vanilla CP/M was little developed, not much thought of. Remember what user areas were like before SWEEP--they were simply not used! SWEEP, DISK7 started the ball rolling for FILER, VFILER, MENU, FRIENDLYtm, and VMENU. We now have better flexibility than PC-DOS or Unix! Recap: default (some call it home) directory is the one shown by operating system prompt. Application programs and utilities may move from default by internal command (log-in to new directory, called current) but default is not changed, unless changed at command line prompt, or by declaration in a macro command. Z-System C O M M A N D S Frequently used commands are briefly described here. Online HELP facility gives full details of these and remaining commands. At Z command line, immediate usage and syntax help is available (if information is appropriate) by typing //. AC Archive Copy copies files from one location to another with verification option, while setting file archive attribute. Only changed files need be copied. (V)ALIAS The (V)ALIAS utility is used to create an Alias file and to display its contents. An Alias is essentially a text script, expanded and resolved (with parameter passing) when the Alias program is run. Very complex command lines, complete with Flow Control (IF), can be included within an Alias. ARUNZ Extended command processor used to execute aliases within ALIAS.CMD files. CD CD permits going from one directory to another, simultaneously running environmental file (ST.COM) to establish the desired conditions in a directory. CD may require password to move to new directory. CLEANDIR Removes de-allocated references to files in the disk directory track area, sorts the existing files in ascending or descending alpha order and packs the names together. Used often nearly guarantees successful UNERASE. CMDRUN Default name for extended command processor used, e.g., to execute COM files from COMMAND.LBR file. COMMENT Once entered all text typed at keyboard is ignored by operating system. Useful to output text to printer while not having the computer attempt to act on it, and in local area networks (LANs). Special "COMMENT>" prompt provided. COMP Compare two files displaying byte-for-byte match and difference. Split-screen display, showing match, differences, in both hex and ASCII, eases comparison. CPSEL Selects one of two consoles and one of four printers known to system, and line and page length, and whether form-feeds are available. Used by PAGE and PRINT. CRC Runs a Cyclic Redundancy Check on specified files, optionally creating a file of the values. Useful to make sure files are identical. DIR Sorted default or declared directory files with sizes (lengths) and disk space used and remaining are displayed on console with this command, by file name or type. Displays directory name, if one, and PUBLIC files in directories. DFA Display file attributes: read-only, read-write, archive, wheel byte write-protected, etc. Wild card file declaration permitted. DU3 Disk Utility provides full screen-oriented direct disk editor features. Four screens of command information are internally available by typing "?". ECHO Text entered at the command line is typed to screen without the operating system acting on it. Useful to display messages from Aliases and between commands of a multiple command line. ELSE The ELSE command is FCP-resident and toggles the Flow State. If the current IF condition is TRUE, ELSE toggles it to FALSE, and vice-versa. ERA The ERA utility is used to remove (de-allocate) files from disks. It is resident in either the RCP segment or in the ZCPR3 CCP module. ERASE The ERASE utility is the transient counterpart of ERA. It is more powerful than ERA, containing many more options and features. (V)ERRORn Five error handlers dynamically installed by entering their command name. VERROR and ERROR2 are screen oriented; recovery from a non-executable command in multiple command lines is handled gracefully and quickly. ERRORX The current error handler is disengaged with this command. FI FI is an FCP-resident command which terminates the current IF. FI is the same as ENDIF in concept (there is no ENDIF command in Z-System). FINDF Searches for declared files in all user areas and disks in system. Wild card (? and *) and multiple file names permitted. GOTO Unconditional branch in ZEX files; used in flow-controlled loops. HELP The HELP command provides online documentation. Typing HELP ZCPR3 or ZRDOS1 brings a menu of commands to peruse, covering all aspects of Z- System operation. ZRDOS: and ZCPR3: The Manual are used for further information. IF IF is an FCP-resident command which tests a condition and sets the Flow Control State to True or False. If the Flow Control State is False, only FCP-resident commands are executed with all other commands skipped. LX Run executable files from within library of files. Other library support utilities: LGET, LHELP, and LLF. MCOPY MCOPY copies files to and from directories. It provides an easy way to back-up files. (CP from an RCP also copies and optionally renames files.) (V)MENU These are menu subsystems under ZCPR3. MNU and VMN menus are created with your editor following rules detailed in HELP file system. MKDIR Named directories are created with MKDIR. Any Disk or User Area can be given an up-to-eight-character name. An access password is optionally permitted with each named directory. MU3 Memory Utility provides direct local memory (RAM) editing. Useful to observe immediate changes to selected areas of memory. NOTE Similar to COMMENT, but without special prompt and active for only one line. Text typed is not acted upon by computer. PAGE The PAGE command sends text files to CRT console screen for operator viewing. More than one file may be viewed sequentially, skipped, with screen wordwrap if line length exceeds screen width. PATH Allows display and dynamic change of command-file search path. PRINT The PRINT command provides full page printing of text files on the printer. CPSEL selects the printer characteristics. Page heading and numbering, and sequential file printing, with wordwrap, are available. PROTECT Files are declared Read-Only, System, or Read-Write, singularly or in wild-card file groups, with PROTECT. PUBLIC Utility to declare directories global, files accessible from any directory. PWD The PWD command Prints the names of available Working Directories. QUIET Entering QUIET reduces text output from certain crucial utility programs, CD, LDR, LX, PATH, REG. REN Renaming files is performed with resident REN or with the more powerful transient RENAME. SAK Strike Any Key is interactive glue, used in command lines to suspend execution for a specified time or cancel next operation, alert operator with console bell, cancel, or if operator not available, proceed after delay. SFA Set file attributes: read-write, read-only, archive, wheel byte write-protected, etc. Wild card file declaration permitted. SETFILE Allows declaring up to four system file names to be used with shell programs, MENU, VMENU, SAK, ALIAS, etc. SHOW indicates system files active. SH Model shell program ready-to-use; internal commands are: ? for help, SHCMT for comment entry, SHECHO for message text echo, and SHEXIT for exiting the shell. SHCTRL Shell Control permits getting out of a shell, i.e., popping the stack. SHOW SHOW prints a menu of options to permit recalling the status of the ZCPR3 environment. Buffer address locations, command line length, system cpu speed, maximum drive and user areas permitted, all on 11 screens of information. SHOW E installs Show as an error handler. SHSET Makes any program into a shell; useful to control application program usage. UNERASE The UNERASE command permits recovering accidentally erased files. Recovery must be made before starting any further disk drive activities. VFILER VFILER is Z-System screen-oriented file manipulation utility. Permits pointing to files in directory and performing operations on them: compute lengths, view, print, copy, delete, unsqueeze, or tag (wild cards allowed) for group (mass) processing. Ten macro commands from custom CMD menu, new CMD per directory possible. VTYPE File scanning utility permits forward and reverse text viewing with controlled scrolling rate, string searches, quick goto bottom and top of file movements, etc. Fully screen oriented with built-in in-context command help. WHEEL WHEEL permits changing the system from secure to unsecure. If secure, passwords are needed to access established directories and certain utilities may not be used: ALIAS, MKDIR, PUBLIC, etc. The preset password is SYSTEM. XDIR The XDIR command is most powerful of three supplied file directory listing programs (transients). Optionally shows all files in all directories (normal and public), vertically or horizontally sorted by file name or type, to console, printer, or file. Negate wild-card search and directory-to-file- buffer for directory comparisons are unique features. XIF Exit (terminate) all pending conditionals (IFs) in flow command testing. Useful in ZEX GOTO loops. ZEX Extended command processor for versatile multi-command/program batch processing; interactive, user-prompts and message displays. ######### Quack Separated From Duck. We WONDER who will be first to use Wyse WY-350 color ASCII terminal to upgrade WordStar into a multi-hued word processor. With a little software modifications to the program buffer area, color could be used to indicate status of text entries and changes. Different shades could represent 1) original text, 2) moved text, 3) newly inserted or added, 4) bolded or shadowed, 5) underlined, 6) font style changed, 7) text copied from or written to another file. We can think of many other enhancements that would be valuable to console operators using PropStar (see Z-News 304) to post-process WordStar files into a laser marking machine. How do we overcome, justify cost of color terminal? Straight-line drawing ability of modern ASCII terminals, monochrome or multi-color, permits sharp, graceful menus to be formed--we simply haven't taken advantage of graphics, yet. And sadly, vast crowds these days go only for bit-mapped monitors. We WONDER why! MOSART. November BYTE MOSART (modem synchronous, asynchronous, receiver, transmitter) article gives an idea of where telecommunications is going. TurnKey Bulletin Board System of Micromint, Inc., (see Z-News 207, top pg 5) uses this hybrid module, and includes Z-Msg, Term3, and Z-System to do software chores. Read TKBBS description in December BYTE. Call or write Xecom, Inc., 374 Turquoise St., Milpitas, CA 95035, 408/943-0313) for prices and literature describing MOSART module. FLASH. S-100 board using Hitachi HD64180 high-integration chip announced by Magnum Digital, Inc., Route #2, Box 223, Stover, MO 65078, 314/377-4419. Unusual (perhaps unique) CPU board may be either master or slave in multi- user/processor system. On-board are two serial ports, 64k to 256k-bytes of static CMOS RAM, but co-board extends to 2 megabytes, I/O port drop-out timer for fail-safe operation, bus controller for multi-processing, and many more features. Priced at $469.00 with support software; call Mr. Dion Vaugh, MDI President, for additional details. Industry Brief. Five (5) Japanese companies are currently sampling one- megabit DRAMs; Hitachi, Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu, and Mitsubishi. The sixth, Oki Electric, starts next month. Toshiba has licensed Siemens (Regensburg, West Germany) to produce their design. (Remember, you read it here first.) Many British people say, "We will not change our life style to compete with Japanese industry." We say to these, "Your life style can only be maintained if you adapt to your changing environment. World is effectively smaller and more accessible now then when you were philosophically (politically) Number One." What do USAians say? Let's hear from matter releasing energy, from s- u-b-s-t-a-n-c-e moving towards e-s-s-e-n-c-e! By the Way, third force of triad active in Cosmos, in case you still WONDER, is represented by instability. This force is like a wedge applied at a tangent, never orthogonally, near an object's base. Such directed energy permits, causes local and Cosmic change (see logo/eagle discussion in Z-News 303, pg 5.) Anyone care to label this particular force? Historically, it's been called by many names! Now we taste Zinfandel wine and hear zydeco music, that marvelous mixture of French, Cajun, Creole, Celtic, and African rhythms. Real people-music, this zydeco! Brought to our attention long ago, we believe in 1953, by Clifton Chenier (king of the music), but made popular by Ida Guillory (Queen Ida). Chris Strachwitz, of Berkeley radio station KPFA fame and founder of Arhoolie Records of El Cerrito, CA, 415/525-7471, records and produces zydeco pressings and tapes for sale. It's our bon-temps-roulet music, along with music of Polish rebel Frederic Chopin. Zinfandel is native California. 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; Friendly, Ampro; 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; CP/M, Digital Research; Unix, AT&T; MOSART, XE1201/03, Xecom; PropStar, Civil Computing; WordStar, MicroPro. small eagle + here Z i s t h e T E A C H E R ! + * Z-News 306 is Copyright 1985 Echelon, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint, wholly or partially, automatically granted if source credit is given to Echelon.