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From: etrmg@levels.sait.edu.au
Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm
Subject: Re: ZCPR
Message-ID: <15408.26ee7e24@levels.sait.edu.au>
Date: 12 Sep 90 18:27:48 GMT
References: <1990Sep11.021851.9985@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
Organization: Sth Australian Inst of Technology
Lines: 40

In article <1990Sep11.021851.9985@ccu.umanitoba.ca>, umlecla3@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Brian Leclair) writes:
> Im new to CP/M systems, and i've seen alot of references to ZCPR, can anyone
> give me a brief description of exactly what it is?


Sure, ZCPR is a replacement CCP (Console Command Processor) for CP/M systems.
It's difficult to grasp if you're not familiar with CP/M and how it's
structured, so I'd suggest that you find a quick descriptive article on it
(CP/M that is) to see how the rest will sit with you.  CP/M has access to
basically a 64Kbyte address space using a Z80 (That's where the Z comes from
in ZCPR) and parts of the operating system (CP/M) use various parts of it.
There is the BIOS, BDOS, CCP and TPA. . .
BIOS is the routines that allow interface to the particular hardware you've
got.  They come with the machine (hopefully) and are written by the computer's
manufacturer, originally.  You may replace this with specialty code if you can
find something for your machine still available.
BDOS are simple routines used for manditory functions.  They are all standard
by number & use so any CP/M program can call them to get something common
accomplished.  You can replace it with some thing like ZRDOS or ZSDOS I
believe.
CCP is what interfaces the User (you) to the BDOS & other things.  So ZCPRx
really is the front end of choice for many users since it's newer, faster,
nicer and generally more capable of keeping you sane while operating the micro
at hand.  It's can have many things in it depending upon which version you
have.  It's up to 3.4 now & you can buy an auto-install version (NZCOM) from
many places (ALPHA, etc.) for about $69.00 US.  Some of the features you may
find valuable are: Named directories, Standard Video Terminal Capabilities,
Aliasing and Shells (allows history of command line inputs & lots of other
labour saving features), multiple command lines & so much other stuph that it'l
spin you out.  It's definitely worth 69 bucks.  I understand NZCOM is so simple
to use that there is no excuse to run ZCPR over the stock CP/M CCP (except for
poverty or apathy)  you can also have the older versions (3.3) for free if you
can slog thru alot of system programming (tedious).  
Any ways,  That's probably more than you wanted to know except that the TPA is
the Transient Program Area, Basically it's what is left over that you run
applications in. (Wordstar, etc)  
Good luck,  go & get some issues of The Computer Journal or Microcornucopia if
you want to go further.

Ronn