Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Quoting the wub : Great work Chris, I'm another person looking forward to playing Hitchhikers on the Sam. Thanks! Its a great game,but if you can get out of the vogon hold without cheating you deserve a prize! On 5/30/14, Chris Pile wrote: The date on the letter/instructions I sent to Brian to accompanying the disks was March 1993. So, yep, 21 years old! They were cheap bulk-buy non-branded disks too, so it's amazing the data survived!
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Quoting Chris Pile : Hi Howard, On 28/05/2014 22:57, Balor Price wrote: Wow, Chris this looks exceptional. I really wish I knew more about CP/M already, but the amount of logical disks available just on SDHC cards just blew my mind. I know what you mean - probably a little bit of overkill really! ;-) Intriguing final comment too - you have more fun projects coming as well? Happy birthday Sam... I've picked up a project I started around 16 years ago, and I'm a good way though it. Sadly I haven't done anything with it for a month or so as I've kind of lost motivation really. :-( Need to give myself a kick up the arse and push on to a finish! Cheers, Chris. Well done Chris, this is the first thing I will be installing when my PC is back up and running again!
RE: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
There is a copy of the cp/m 2.2 manual here http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk/drcpmmanual.html -Original Message- From: owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] On Behalf Of Chris Pile Sent: 31 May 2014 21:01 To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Subject: Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released > On 31/05/2014 19:42, Tommo H wrote: > I'm late to the party but congratulations from me! Thank you! >Now we can all more easily word process just like George R.R. Martin. I think I'd still sooner user a PC these days! ;-) > Presumably you've got, or once had, some real, physical documents? The original version of Pro-DOS was written before the large amount of reference material now available on the 'net. Back in 1991 my local reference library had a copy of the original CP/M 2.2 user manual, so I photocopied the "System Interface" section and used those photocopies as my reference material. It was all I had to go on at the time. I no longer have those photocopied sheets. Today there is far more CP/M reference material available, including the original CP/M 2.2 user manual as a .PDF. As with *all* of the programs I have ever written it was all trial and error really! Certainly no formal methods and no real planning. I just wrote the code as I went along. Something I've always done and still do! One website I found useful for technical reference was: http://www.seasip.demon.co.uk/Cpm/index.html Perhaps the biggest difference between doing this rewrite and writing the original back in 1991 was the availability of CP/M programs with which to perform system testing. Back in '91 I relied on CP/M test programs collected by Wayne Weedon, with many of those arriving on floppy disks from software libraries in the US. For this rewrite I had access to the huge "OAK" and "WALNUT CREEK" archive CDs which are both freely available on-line. These gave me much more scope for CP/M 2.2 compatibility testing. It might be worth remembering that Pro-DOS isn't actually CP/M 2.2 but rather my interpretation of it. For example, it doesn't have separate BIOS/BDOS sections like "real" CP/M and is pretty much all one large(ish) program. These days I imagine it would be far simpler to take the original CP/M 2.2 and get that running on the SAM. But "cheating" by using other people's code has never been for me. Perhaps I'm a masochist! In the future I'll be sticking to games. Far simpler, and no need to write a user manual either! ;-) Chris.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
On 31/05/2014 19:42, Tommo H wrote: I'm late to the party but congratulations from me! Thank you! Now we can all more easily word process just like George R.R. Martin. I think I'd still sooner user a PC these days! ;-) Presumably you've got, or once had, some real, physical documents? The original version of Pro-DOS was written before the large amount of reference material now available on the 'net. Back in 1991 my local reference library had a copy of the original CP/M 2.2 user manual, so I photocopied the "System Interface" section and used those photocopies as my reference material. It was all I had to go on at the time. I no longer have those photocopied sheets. Today there is far more CP/M reference material available, including the original CP/M 2.2 user manual as a .PDF. As with *all* of the programs I have ever written it was all trial and error really! Certainly no formal methods and no real planning. I just wrote the code as I went along. Something I've always done and still do! One website I found useful for technical reference was: http://www.seasip.demon.co.uk/Cpm/index.html Perhaps the biggest difference between doing this rewrite and writing the original back in 1991 was the availability of CP/M programs with which to perform system testing. Back in '91 I relied on CP/M test programs collected by Wayne Weedon, with many of those arriving on floppy disks from software libraries in the US. For this rewrite I had access to the huge "OAK" and "WALNUT CREEK" archive CDs which are both freely available on-line. These gave me much more scope for CP/M 2.2 compatibility testing. It might be worth remembering that Pro-DOS isn't actually CP/M 2.2 but rather my interpretation of it. For example, it doesn't have separate BIOS/BDOS sections like "real" CP/M and is pretty much all one large(ish) program. These days I imagine it would be far simpler to take the original CP/M 2.2 and get that running on the SAM. But "cheating" by using other people's code has never been for me. Perhaps I'm a masochist! In the future I'll be sticking to games. Far simpler, and no need to write a user manual either! ;-) Chris.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
I'm late to the party but congratulations from me! Now we can all more easily word process just like George R.R. Martin. I've been reimplementing CP/M for a non-Sam platform on and off; as it's also now relevant here can you comment on which CP/M reference resources you'd recommend? There are some voluminous pages near the top on Google but they all seem to leave certain ambiguities lingering. Presumably you've got, or once had, some real, physical documents? On 31 May 2014, at 10:31, the wub wrote: > Great work Chris, I'm another person looking forward to playing > Hitchhikers on the Sam. > > Thanks! > > > On 5/30/14, Chris Pile wrote: >> The date on the letter/instructions I sent to Brian to accompanying the >> disks >> was March 1993. So, yep, 21 years old! They were cheap bulk-buy >> non-branded >> disks too, so it's amazing the data survived! >>
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Great work Chris, I'm another person looking forward to playing Hitchhikers on the Sam. Thanks! On 5/30/14, Chris Pile wrote: > The date on the letter/instructions I sent to Brian to accompanying the > disks > was March 1993. So, yep, 21 years old! They were cheap bulk-buy > non-branded > disks too, so it's amazing the data survived! >
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
The date on the letter/instructions I sent to Brian to accompanying the disks was March 1993. So, yep, 21 years old! They were cheap bulk-buy non-branded disks too, so it's amazing the data survived!
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
On 29/05/2014 13:26, Chris Pile wrote: Cheers Wayne, I wouldn't have given a Pro-DOS rewrite a second thought if you hadn't managed to reclaim my original source disks - so thanks for that... I think! ;-) On 28/05/2014 23:15, Wayne Weedon wrote: Well done Chris. Will take a look when I get some time this weekend. Chris Well frankly it's a little miracle that we were able to extract non corrupted data off those old floppies. How old they were I have no idea. Over 20 years I would imagine. Wayne..
RE: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Ahem... yes - just before reading this I opened the hh.cpm image as disk 1 in SimCoupe by accident and it worked... Cheers. -Original Message- From: owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] On Behalf Of Chris Pile Sent: donderdag 29 mei 2014 14:26 To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Subject: Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released Hi Stefan, > On 28/05/2014 23:37, Stefan Drissen wrote: > Cool! Not that Ive ever used it, but just booted it into simcoupe and > it worked instantly Cool! > However after skimming through the manual how do I read from a .cpm image (using simcoupe)? > I opened the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy .cpm as floppy 2. > > A0>B: > > B0>DIR > > 256 entries of ?.??? files are shown That's because drive B: is actually the left floppy - or "floppy 1" in SimCoupé! So you're trying to DIR a standard SAM format disk - in fact probably the Pro-DOS boot disk. The 256 .??? DIR entries is standard response to an "unknown" format - as far as CP/M goes. > B0>A: > > A0>fatread b: > > That disk doesnt appear to be fat12/16/32 formatted. Because it's not! It's most likely a SAM format disk! ;-) The drive layout on a SAM with two floppy drives as seen by a freshly booted Pro-DOS v2.0 is: Drive A - Internal RAM drive Drive B - Left-hand floppy drive on a real SAM (floppy 1 in SimCoupé) Drive C - Right-hand floppy drive on a real SAM (floppy 2 in SimCoupé) So to run HHGTTG if you loaded the .CPM image to "floppy 2" in SimCoupé means you should have moved to drive C: and not drive B: Of course you could also use the SWAP command to switch the drives around if you so wish. So Drive C: could be Drive A: or any other drive on your system. Note to everyone reading this: The manual tells you all of this... So it's well worth reading at least once! ;-) > On another note - how does it play with z88dk which has a CPM > target? (which Ive also never really used since I dont do C, but it fascinates me and I had some fun getting it to build). I'm not a 'C' programmer either, so have never heard of or played with z88dk. However, if its target builds are generic CP/M 2.2 then I see no reason why the builds wouldn't work. I might have a look later and see. I think I could just about manage a "Hello World" program in 'C'! Cheers, Chris.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Hi Stefan, On 28/05/2014 23:37, Stefan Drissen wrote: Cool! Not that I’ve ever used it, but just booted it into simcoupe and it worked instantly Cool! However – after skimming through the manual – how do I read from a .cpm image (using simcoupe)? I opened the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy .cpm as floppy 2. A0>B: B0>DIR 256 entries of ?.??? files are shown That's because drive B: is actually the left floppy - or "floppy 1" in SimCoupé! So you're trying to DIR a standard SAM format disk - in fact probably the Pro-DOS boot disk. The 256 .??? DIR entries is standard response to an "unknown" format - as far as CP/M goes. B0>A: A0>fatread b: That disk doesn’t appear to be fat12/16/32 formatted. Because it's not! It's most likely a SAM format disk! ;-) The drive layout on a SAM with two floppy drives as seen by a freshly booted Pro-DOS v2.0 is: Drive A - Internal RAM drive Drive B - Left-hand floppy drive on a real SAM (floppy 1 in SimCoupé) Drive C - Right-hand floppy drive on a real SAM (floppy 2 in SimCoupé) So to run HHGTTG if you loaded the .CPM image to "floppy 2" in SimCoupé means you should have moved to drive C: and not drive B: Of course you could also use the SWAP command to switch the drives around if you so wish. So Drive C: could be Drive A: or any other drive on your system. Note to everyone reading this: The manual tells you all of this... So it's well worth reading at least once! ;-) On another note - how does it play with z88dk – which has a CPM target? (which I’ve also never really used since I don’t do C, but it fascinates me and I had some fun getting it to build). I'm not a 'C' programmer either, so have never heard of or played with z88dk. However, if its target builds are generic CP/M 2.2 then I see no reason why the builds wouldn't work. I might have a look later and see. I think I could just about manage a "Hello World" program in 'C'! Cheers, Chris.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Hi Marcos, On 29/05/2014 09:31, Marcos Cruz wrote: I have used v1.9 several times in order to try CP/M programs. I've just tried v2.0 with SimCoupe, following the manual step by step (except the hardware interfaces), and it works great. The feeling is it's a different system than v1.9, more powerful and comfortable. I find it very impressive. Congratulations. Thank you! That was the feeling I was aiming for, so I'm glad you think it so! I remember you saying you were interested in CP/M text adventures? Well v2.0 makes playing them a whole lot smoother/slicker. Let's face it, forget all the office stuff - it's text adventures that CP/M was really designed for. ;-) I find the manual clear and detailed. But anyway I'm not a native speaker :) That's good to know - thanks! Thank you for all this work. You're most welcome - we've got to keep the SAM alive! Cheers, Chris.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Cheers Wayne, I wouldn't have given a Pro-DOS rewrite a second thought if you hadn't managed to reclaim my original source disks - so thanks for that... I think! ;-) On 28/05/2014 23:15, Wayne Weedon wrote: Well done Chris. Will take a look when I get some time this weekend.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Hi Howard, On 28/05/2014 22:57, Balor Price wrote: Wow, Chris this looks exceptional. I really wish I knew more about CP/M already, but the amount of logical disks available just on SDHC cards just blew my mind. I know what you mean - probably a little bit of overkill really! ;-) Intriguing final comment too - you have more fun projects coming as well? Happy birthday Sam... I've picked up a project I started around 16 years ago, and I'm a good way though it. Sadly I haven't done anything with it for a month or so as I've kind of lost motivation really. :-( Need to give myself a kick up the arse and push on to a finish! Cheers, Chris.
RE: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .cpm is a disk formatted to the cp/m format. Best version to play with pro-dos is hitc128.com Steve(spt) From: owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] On Behalf Of Stefan Drissen Sent: 28 May 2014 23:38 To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Subject: RE: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released Cool! Not that I've ever used it, but just booted it into simcoupe and it worked instantly J However - after skimming through the manual - how do I read from a .cpm image (using simcoupe)? I opened the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .cpm as floppy 2. A0>B: B0>DIR 256 entries of ?.??? files are shown 256 Files, 706k free. B0>A: A0>fatread b: That disk doesn't appear to be fat12/16/32 formatted. On another note - how does it play with z88dk - which has a CPM target? (which I've also never really used since I don't do C, but it fascinates me and I had some fun getting it to build). Cheers, Stefan From: owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] On Behalf Of Chris Pile Sent: woensdag 28 mei 2014 22:29 To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Subject: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released Hi Folks, Some of you may remember last year I mentioned I was rewriting Pro-DOS? Well, it's now finished and Steve (SPT) has kindly provided a permanent home for it on his Pro-DOS website. You can grab a copy of v2.0 here: http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk/index.html <http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk> I've tried to make v2.0 look and feel more professional and polished than its older relative, and several areas dealing with CP/M 2.2 compatibility have been improved. A large portion of the rewrite was spent developing "official" mass-storage support for the ATOM-Lite and Trinity interfaces. Much needed attention was given to the performance and responsiveness too, which was an area that has been begging for a kick up the arse since 1991! There is now no reason to use Pro-DOS <= v1.9. Pro-DOS v2.0 was designed to supersede all previous versions, including the "unofficial" ATOM-Lite (AL-Patch) version. Pro-DOS v2.0 is now the "official" ATOM-Lite (CF) and Trinity (MMC/SD/SDHC) version. Inside the release .ZIP you will find a .DSK image and also a .PDF copy of the user manual. The user manual has also received a complete rewrite, so please take the time to read it as there are a number of additional features found in Pro-DOS v2.0 not found in previous versions. Most of the features will not be immediately obvious until you read the manual! Apologies if the user manual is a little difficult to read or grammatically awkward. I'm a not a user-manual author, which will become all too clear! However, I hope the information is clear enough to introduce the additional features Pro-DOS v2.0 has to offer over its predecessor. Here is a list of "highlights" taken from the updated user manual: * Better CP/M 2.2 compatibility * Up to eight simultaneously visible disk drives - Drives A: through to H: * CompactFlash support using the ATOM-Lite (right-hand drive bay) * Dual CF adapter support in the ATOM-Lite - seen as two separate drives * MMC/SD/SDHC flash support using Quazar's Trinity Ethernet Interface * 100% compatible with the AL-Patch format used by AL-Pro-DOS v1.9 * Pro-DOS can optionally boot from its own format 720k CP/M disks * If your SAM has an AL-BOOT ROM Pro-DOS can also boot from CF cards * Up to 64-Gigabytes (65535 logical disks) on CF/MMC/SD/SDHC cards * Will use any external RAM packs to provide up to four 1MB RAM Drives * Improved performance, with particular attention paid to screen output * More accurate Heath/Zenith H19/Z19/DEC VT52 terminal emulation * Better command-line editing functions * Command-line can accept user areas - so DIR A4:*.COM is valid * Can simultaneously change drives and user areas at the command prompt * MS-DOS-like command history buffer for the eight most recent commands * Retro green-screen look with funky flashing cursor - changeable of course! * Will save/restore your chosen screen colours to/from the Trinity EEPROM * System bell sound makes a better "ding" and no longer pauses the system * The DIR command now outputs in alphabetically sorted columns * Better memory use to allow v2.0 to retain v1.9's internal RAM Drive sizes * A large (63238 byte) Transient Program Area for external programs * The separate system files disk used by v1.9 is no longer required * All system files are pre-installed to the internal RAM Drive at boot * COPY and DUMP commands are now built-in, and not external programs * All internal commands accept wildcards, including REName and COPY *
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
En/Je/On 2014-05-28 21:29, Chris Pile escribió / skribis / wrote : >I've tried to make v2.0 look and feel more professional and >polished than its older relative, I have used v1.9 several times in order to try CP/M programs. I've just tried v2.0 with SimCoupe, following the manual step by step (except the hardware interfaces), and it works great. The feeling is it's a different system than v1.9, more powerful and comfortable. I find it very impressive. Congratulations. >Apologies if the user manual is a little difficult to read or >grammatically awkward. I find the manual clear and detailed. But anyway I'm not a native speaker :) Thank you for all this work. -- Marcos Cruz http://programandala.net
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
On 28/05/2014 21:29, Chris Pile wrote: Hi Folks, Some of you may remember last year I mentioned I was rewriting Pro-DOS? Well done Chris. Will take a look when I get some time this weekend. Wayne...
RE: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Cool! Not that I've ever used it, but just booted it into simcoupe and it worked instantly J However - after skimming through the manual - how do I read from a .cpm image (using simcoupe)? I opened the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .cpm as floppy 2. A0>B: B0>DIR 256 entries of ?.??? files are shown 256 Files, 706k free. B0>A: A0>fatread b: That disk doesn't appear to be fat12/16/32 formatted. On another note - how does it play with z88dk - which has a CPM target? (which I've also never really used since I don't do C, but it fascinates me and I had some fun getting it to build). Cheers, Stefan From: owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] On Behalf Of Chris Pile Sent: woensdag 28 mei 2014 22:29 To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no Subject: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released Hi Folks, Some of you may remember last year I mentioned I was rewriting Pro-DOS? Well, it's now finished and Steve (SPT) has kindly provided a permanent home for it on his Pro-DOS website. You can grab a copy of v2.0 here: http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk/index.html <http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk> I've tried to make v2.0 look and feel more professional and polished than its older relative, and several areas dealing with CP/M 2.2 compatibility have been improved. A large portion of the rewrite was spent developing "official" mass-storage support for the ATOM-Lite and Trinity interfaces. Much needed attention was given to the performance and responsiveness too, which was an area that has been begging for a kick up the arse since 1991! There is now no reason to use Pro-DOS <= v1.9. Pro-DOS v2.0 was designed to supersede all previous versions, including the "unofficial" ATOM-Lite (AL-Patch) version. Pro-DOS v2.0 is now the "official" ATOM-Lite (CF) and Trinity (MMC/SD/SDHC) version. Inside the release .ZIP you will find a .DSK image and also a .PDF copy of the user manual. The user manual has also received a complete rewrite, so please take the time to read it as there are a number of additional features found in Pro-DOS v2.0 not found in previous versions. Most of the features will not be immediately obvious until you read the manual! Apologies if the user manual is a little difficult to read or grammatically awkward. I'm a not a user-manual author, which will become all too clear! However, I hope the information is clear enough to introduce the additional features Pro-DOS v2.0 has to offer over its predecessor. Here is a list of "highlights" taken from the updated user manual: * Better CP/M 2.2 compatibility * Up to eight simultaneously visible disk drives - Drives A: through to H: * CompactFlash support using the ATOM-Lite (right-hand drive bay) * Dual CF adapter support in the ATOM-Lite - seen as two separate drives * MMC/SD/SDHC flash support using Quazar's Trinity Ethernet Interface * 100% compatible with the AL-Patch format used by AL-Pro-DOS v1.9 * Pro-DOS can optionally boot from its own format 720k CP/M disks * If your SAM has an AL-BOOT ROM Pro-DOS can also boot from CF cards * Up to 64-Gigabytes (65535 logical disks) on CF/MMC/SD/SDHC cards * Will use any external RAM packs to provide up to four 1MB RAM Drives * Improved performance, with particular attention paid to screen output * More accurate Heath/Zenith H19/Z19/DEC VT52 terminal emulation * Better command-line editing functions * Command-line can accept user areas - so DIR A4:*.COM is valid * Can simultaneously change drives and user areas at the command prompt * MS-DOS-like command history buffer for the eight most recent commands * Retro green-screen look with funky flashing cursor - changeable of course! * Will save/restore your chosen screen colours to/from the Trinity EEPROM * System bell sound makes a better "ding" and no longer pauses the system * The DIR command now outputs in alphabetically sorted columns * Better memory use to allow v2.0 to retain v1.9's internal RAM Drive sizes * A large (63238 byte) Transient Program Area for external programs * The separate system files disk used by v1.9 is no longer required * All system files are pre-installed to the internal RAM Drive at boot * COPY and DUMP commands are now built-in, and not external programs * All internal commands accept wildcards, including REName and COPY * Ability to software-swap a pair of drives, so A: can be B: and vice versa * FATREAD.COM for importing files from PC formatted FAT12/16/32 media v2.0 is more like the version I should have written back in 1991! And with that in mind it's probably time to move on to other (more fun) SAM projects! Cheers, Chris.
Re: Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Wow, Chris this looks exceptional. I really wish I knew more about CP/M already, but the amount of logical disks available just on SDHC cards just blew my mind. Intriguing final comment too - you have more fun projects coming as well? Happy birthday Sam... Howard On 28/05/2014 21:29, Chris Pile wrote: Hi Folks, Some of you may remember last year I mentioned I was rewriting Pro-DOS? Well, it's now finished and Steve (SPT) has kindly provided a permanent home for it on his Pro-DOS website. You can grab a copy of v2.0 here: http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk/index.html I've tried to make v2.0 look and feel more professional and polished than its older relative, and several areas dealing with CP/M 2.2 compatibility have been improved. A large portion of the rewrite was spent developing "/official/" mass-storage support for the ATOM-Lite and Trinity interfaces. Much needed attention was given to the performance and responsiveness too, which was an area that has been begging for a kick up the arse since 1991! There is now no reason to use Pro-DOS <= v1.9. Pro-DOS v2.0 was designed to supersede _/*all*/_ previous versions, including the "/un//official/" ATOM-Lite (AL-Patch) version. Pro-DOS v2.0 is now the "/official/" ATOM-Lite (CF) and Trinity (MMC/SD/SDHC) version. Inside the release .ZIP you will find a *.DSK* image and also a *.PDF* copy of the user manual. The user manual has also received a complete rewrite, so please take the time to read it as there are a number of additional features found in Pro-DOS v2.0 not found in previous versions. Most of the features will not be immediately obvious until you read the manual! Apologies if the user manual is a little difficult to read or grammatically awkward. I'm a not a user-manual author, which will become all too clear! However, I hope the information is clear enough to introduce the additional features Pro-DOS v2.0 has to offer over its predecessor. Here is a list of "/highlights/" taken from the updated user manual: * Better CP/M 2.2 compatibility * Up to eight simultaneously visible disk drives - Drives *A:* through to *H:* * CompactFlash support using the ATOM-Lite (right-hand drive bay) * Dual CF adapter support in the ATOM-Lite - seen as two separate drives * MMC/SD/SDHC flash support using Quazar's Trinity Ethernet Interface * 100% compatible with the /AL-Patch /format used by AL-Pro-DOS v1.9 * Pro-DOS can optionally boot from its own format 720k CP/M disks * If your SAM has an AL-BOOT ROM Pro-DOS can also boot from CF cards * Up to 64-Gigabytes (65535 /logical disks/) on CF/MMC/SD/SDHC cards * Will use any external RAM packs to provide up to four 1MB RAM Drives * Improved performance, with particular attention paid to screen output * More accurate /Heath/Zenith H19/Z19/DEC VT52/ terminal emulation * Better command-line editing functions * Command-line can accept user areas - so */DIR A4:*.COM/* is valid * Can simultaneously change drives and user areas at the command prompt * MS-DOS-like command history buffer for the eight most recent commands * Retro /green-screen/ look with funky flashing cursor - changeable of course! * Will save/restore your chosen screen colours to/from the Trinity EEPROM * System bell sound makes a better "/ding/" and no longer pauses the system * The */DIR/* command now outputs in alphabetically sorted columns * Better memory use to allow v2.0 to retain v1.9's internal RAM Drive sizes * A large (63238 byte) *T*ransient *P*rogram *A*rea for external programs * The separate /system files/ disk used by v1.9 is no longer required * All /system files/ are pre-installed to the internal RAM Drive at boot * */COPY/*//and */DUMP/* commands are now built-in, and not external programs * All internal commands accept wildcards, including */REN/*ame and */COPY/* * Ability to software-swap a pair of drives, so */A:/* can be */B:/* and vice versa * */FATREAD.COM/*for importing files from PC formatted /FAT12/16/32/ media v2.0 is more like the version I should have written back in 1991! And with that in mind it's probably time to move on to other (more fun) SAM projects! Cheers, Chris. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com
Pro-DOS v2.0 (CP/M 2.2) released
Hi Folks, Some of you may remember last year I mentioned I was rewriting Pro-DOS? Well, it's now finished and Steve (SPT) has kindly provided a permanent home for it on his Pro-DOS website. You can grab a copy of v2.0 here: http://www.samcoupe-pro-dos.co.uk/index.html I've tried to make v2.0 look and feel more professional and polished than its older relative, and several areas dealing with CP/M 2.2 compatibility have been improved. A large portion of the rewrite was spent developing "/official/" mass-storage support for the ATOM-Lite and Trinity interfaces. Much needed attention was given to the performance and responsiveness too, which was an area that has been begging for a kick up the arse since 1991! There is now no reason to use Pro-DOS <= v1.9. Pro-DOS v2.0 was designed to supersede _/*all*/_ previous versions, including the "/un//official/" ATOM-Lite (AL-Patch) version. Pro-DOS v2.0 is now the "/official/" ATOM-Lite (CF) and Trinity (MMC/SD/SDHC) version. Inside the release .ZIP you will find a *.DSK* image and also a *.PDF* copy of the user manual. The user manual has also received a complete rewrite, so please take the time to read it as there are a number of additional features found in Pro-DOS v2.0 not found in previous versions. Most of the features will not be immediately obvious until you read the manual! Apologies if the user manual is a little difficult to read or grammatically awkward. I'm a not a user-manual author, which will become all too clear! However, I hope the information is clear enough to introduce the additional features Pro-DOS v2.0 has to offer over its predecessor. Here is a list of "/highlights/" taken from the updated user manual: * Better CP/M 2.2 compatibility * Up to eight simultaneously visible disk drives - Drives *A:* through to *H:* * CompactFlash support using the ATOM-Lite (right-hand drive bay) * Dual CF adapter support in the ATOM-Lite - seen as two separate drives * MMC/SD/SDHC flash support using Quazar's Trinity Ethernet Interface * 100% compatible with the /AL-Patch /format used by AL-Pro-DOS v1.9 * Pro-DOS can optionally boot from its own format 720k CP/M disks * If your SAM has an AL-BOOT ROM Pro-DOS can also boot from CF cards * Up to 64-Gigabytes (65535 /logical disks/) on CF/MMC/SD/SDHC cards * Will use any external RAM packs to provide up to four 1MB RAM Drives * Improved performance, with particular attention paid to screen output * More accurate /Heath/Zenith H19/Z19/DEC VT52/ terminal emulation * Better command-line editing functions * Command-line can accept user areas - so */DIR A4:*.COM/* is valid * Can simultaneously change drives and user areas at the command prompt * MS-DOS-like command history buffer for the eight most recent commands * Retro /green-screen/ look with funky flashing cursor - changeable of course! * Will save/restore your chosen screen colours to/from the Trinity EEPROM * System bell sound makes a better "/ding/" and no longer pauses the system * The */DIR/* command now outputs in alphabetically sorted columns * Better memory use to allow v2.0 to retain v1.9's internal RAM Drive sizes * A large (63238 byte) *T*ransient *P*rogram *A*rea for external programs * The separate /system files/ disk used by v1.9 is no longer required * All /system files/ are pre-installed to the internal RAM Drive at boot * */COPY/*//and */DUMP/* commands are now built-in, and not external programs * All internal commands accept wildcards, including */REN/*ame and */COPY/* * Ability to software-swap a pair of drives, so */A:/* can be */B:/* and vice versa * */FATREAD.COM/*for importing files from PC formatted /FAT12/16/32/ media v2.0 is more like the version I should have written back in 1991! And with that in mind it's probably time to move on to other (more fun) SAM projects! Cheers, Chris.
