[Contents] [Commodore] [New] [Search] [Home]

CPM1.TXT rev 1a 96-11-01
THIS DOCUMENT IS COPYRIGHT (C) 1988, 1996 BY HERNE DATA SYSTEMS LTD. THE MATERIAL CONTAINED HEREIN MAY BE FREELY USED FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION ONLY. IF YOU REPRODUCE IT, THIS COPYRIGHT NOTICE MUST NOT BE REMOVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE EXPLOITED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.
Herne Data Systems Ltd.,
PO Box 250, Tiverton, ON N0G 2T0 CANADA.
Voice/fax 519-366-2732,
e-mail herne@herne.com
internet: http://www.herne.com

An Introduction to C-128 CP/M

What is CP/M?

CP/M stands for 'Control Program/Monitor'. It is not a programming language, the way BASIC or Fortran is, but a micro computer operating system, much like the KERNAL used in C-128 native mode and other 6502 based Commodore computers. CP/M was developed in the 1970's by Digital Research Inc. (DRI) for Intel 8080 micro processor based computers that allows a given program to run on a wide variety hardware configurations with little or no changes. It was later extended to run on Zilog Z80 based computers as well as others. (The Z80 used in the C-128 is 'upwardly compatible' with the 8080. That is, its machine language instruction set includes everything that the 8080 has and more.) With CP/M, a software developer has a uniform set of basic operating system functions to work with (such as screen output, keyboard input and disk access routines). To the end user, these system functions remained fixed, no matter what computer the program is actually running on, thus providing a very high degree of portability. (You need only develop one version of a program which operates under the CP/M system instead of having a different version for brand x, y, and z computers.) For those who may be interested, there is also a 16-bit version of CP/M designed to run on 8086/88 type computers called CP/M-86, a multi user version called MP/M and a 16/32 bit version for the MC68000 chip series called CP/M-68k.

CP/M is divided up into four main components: the BIOS (Basic Input Output System); the BDOS (Basic Disk Operating System), the CCP (Console Command Processor) and the TPA (Transient Program Area). Each of these parts will be discussed in later chapters. Of the four parts, only the BIOS is hardware dependent. It acts as the messenger between the other parts of the system and the actual hardware. That is, a separate custom BIOS must be created for each system that runs CP/M.

CP/M on the C-128

The version of CP/M used on the C-128 is termed 'CP/M Plus' or 'CP/M version 3'. This is the latest 8-bit CP/M version, and is also used on other recent CP/M based computers such as the Epson QX-10, and TRS-80 Model 4.

The minimum configuration for running CP/M on the C-128 is the C- 128, one disk drive, and a 40 or 80 column monitor. For speed and ease of use, a fast disk drive (i.e. the 1571 or 1581) is recommended along with the 80 column monitor. For disk intensive programs (many CP/M programs are), a 1700 or 1750 RAM expansion unit is highly recommended as it can be used as a super fast RAM disk. A printer (device 4 or 5) along with a modem will round out your system. (Use of the modem requires CP/M release dated DEC 85 or later.)

To start up CP/M on the C-128 or 128 D, put the CP/M BOOT disk in disk drive device 8 and turn on the drive and then the computer (in that order). If the computer and drive are already on, insert the boot disk, then press the reset button on the C-128 or type in BOOT followed by pressing the <return> key. After a few moments and some sign-on status message screens, you will see a prompt on the screen in the form of the letter A followed by a 'greater than' sign and a flashing cursor. (A>_)

Congratulations! You have just started up CP/M successfully and are ready to enter your first CP/M command. Just for fun, type in the letters D I R then press the key marked <return> at the right side of the main keyboard. A 'directory' or 'catalog' of the contents of the boot disk should be displayed on the screen.

The Status Line

The bottom line of the screen display (i.e. the 25th line) on either the 40 column or 80 column screen is used by CP/M as a status line to display various system messages. These are outlined below.

Disk Status

C-128 CP/M has an optional disk status window displayed at the bottom right corner of the screen. The format of the status window is as follows:
O Dtt ss
where: O =Operation, either R or W indicating a Read or Write
  D =the logical drive (A,B,C,D, etc)
  tt =the track number currently being read or written
  ss =the sector number currently being read or written

Normally, the track and sector numbers are separated by a space. If the disk is formatted in MFM, and the track and sector are separated by a '-', then the second side of the disk is currently being accessed.

You can toggle this status window on or off by typing the <:CONTOL>-<RUN/STOP> key key combination. Note that window is also erased temporarily, i.e. until the next disk access, when you (or your application program) perform a screen clear.

The disk status window is not used for RAM disk operations (i.e. 1700/1750 RAM expansion unit). You may also note that, due to a bug in the fast bus GCR sector translation routine, the sector numbers displayed during reading and writing of both single and double sided C-128 native GCR type CP/M disks are incorrect when using a 1571 drive. Correct numbers are, however, displayed when using a 1541 drive to access these disks.

MFM Disk Type Selection

C-128 CP/M supports a number of industry standard MFM disk types (such as KayPro, Osborne, IBM, Epson, etc.) when used with a 1571 disk drive. However, CP/M sometimes cannot automatically distinguish between two very similar disk types such as KayPro II and KayPro IV. For example, although the KayPro II is a single sided disk and the KayPro IV is a double sided one, CP/M can confuse the two because both have ten sectors of 512 bytes per track, numbered 0 to 9 on side 0. CP/M looks at the physical format of side 0 to determine the foreign disk type. When two or more matches are found in its internal parameter table, you are asked to manually chose which one you want.

When CP/M cannot uniquely identify the foreign disk format being accessed, the program will pause momentarily and the disk type window will open up at the center of the bottom line of the screen to display the name of the first match, such as KayPro II, in reverse video. At this point there are several things that you can do.

First, if you are sure that the disk is of the type displayed, simply press <return> or <enter>. This will select the currently displayed entry. If you change disks, you will have to go through the selection process over again.

Second, if you are going to be using this disk format repeatedly and do not wish to re-select each time you change disks, you can 'lock in' the selected type by pressing <control>-<return>. This action has the effect of performing a burst mode 'forced login' on the drive each time you change disks. If you insert a new type of disk while locked in, you will go back to the selection window.
Note: The forced login commands are different for the 1571 and 1581 drives and therefore, <control>-<return> should not be used with a 1581 drive. If you do use it on a 1581 and change disks, the results may be unpredicatble, even resulting in system crash.

The third option is used to display and select the alternate disk choices. Use the cursor left and cursor right keys in the cursor control keypad (above the main keyboard) to scroll through the list of choices. In the example used above, the display should change between KayPro II and KayPro IV. When the correct entry is highlighted, you can use either of the two methods outlined above for making the selection. Note that because you are in a suspended program loop, nothing else can be done until you make a selection.

PAUSE

The key labelled NO SCROLL executes a PAUSE function. Although this key appears to have the same effect as typing <control>-s (stop) and <control>-q (start) for pausing to read screen dumps, it is not actually related in terms of the internal workings of the operating system. Using NO SCROLL sends the program into an endless loop while displaying the message 'PAUSE' on the status line. Because of this, NO SCROLL cannot be used to pause a display before pressing <control>-p to toggle the printer, or <control>-c to abort execution of a program.

To resume execution after a PAUSE function, press NO SCROLL again (for AUG or DEC release only) or RETURN (for MAY release only).

Disk Drives

C-128 CP/M supports a variety of different disk drives (virtually any serial bus drive is either supported directly or can be easily adapted). However, since CP/M tends to be a disk intensive operating system (i.e. it makes heavy use of temporary disk files, overlay files, working files, etc.), a fast bus drive (i.e. a 1571 or 1581) is highly recommended for maximum disk access speed.

CP/M in general can support up to 16 disk drives, usually labelled A: to P:. On the C-128 implementation, normally only a maximum of 6 drives are actually supported. In the default system configuration, these are:
DRIVE DEVICE
A: serial port device 8, drive 0
B: serial port device 9, drive 0
C: serial port device 10, drive 0
D: serial port device 11, drive 0
E: serial port device 8, drive 0 (see 'Virtual Disk Drive' below)
M: 17xx RAM expansion unit (see 'RAM Disk' below)

Virtual Disk Drive

The physical disk drive A can be used as logical drive A or as the 'virtual' or 'phantom' logical disk drive E. Whenever you access drive E (for example by doing DIR E:, or PIP E:=A:FILE1), the system will display a prompt on the status line asking you to insert the diskette for drive E (respond by putting whatever diskette you want into physical drive A, then type <return>). The next time you access logical drive A, the system will prompt you to insert the A diskette in drive A. Again, insert the desired diskette and type <return>. Note that CP/M does not actually check to see if you in fact changed the disk. It will accept whatever is in the drive when you press <return> as being the correct disk.

RAM Disk

When the 1700 (128k byte) or 1750 (512k byte) RAM expansion unit (REU) is connected to the C-128 in CP/M mode, it becomes an ultra fast RAM disk, normally assigned to CP/M drive M:. That is, any CP/M command or transient utility can access the REU as drive M:, just like it can any other 'disk drive' connected to the system. Note that this is totally separate from the virtual disk drive discussed above.

Unlike a physical disk drive, the contents of the RAM disk are not preserved when the C-128 is turned off. However, the contents are preserved when the reset button is pressed momentarily to re-boot the system, even if you enter C-128 native mode or C-64 mode before returning to CP/M mode (providing, of course, you do not alter the contents either accidentally or intentionally by running some other program while in one of these other operating modes).

Note that in order to use the RAM disk, you must have the C-128 CP/M release dated 6 DEC 85 or later.

The Screen

C-128 CP/M supports both the 40 column and 80 column display screens. The screen which is initially active is determined by the position of the 40/80 switch on boot up. After booting, the screen can be selected using the DEVICE utility (see Chapter 3) or equivalent. The screen can be changed during the execution of a user program by setting the CONOUT redirection flag in the system control block (see Chapter 9).

The 40 column screen is configured as a window on a larger 80 column 'virtual' screen. This allows commands and programs to think that they are dealing with an 80 column wide screen (the default width for most CP/M programs). Use <control>-<left arrow> and <control>-<right arrow> to scroll the window across the virtual screen (see Arrow Keys, below).

Printer Support

C-128 CP/M can support two printers, serial port devices 4 and 5. In its default configuration, device 4 (CP/M physical device PRT1) is assigned to the logical LIST device with a secondary address of 7 and ASCII to PET-ASCII translation enabled. To change to a device 5 printer, use the DEVICE utility (see Chapter 3). To disable ASCII to PET-ASCII translation, use the CONF utility.

The Keyboard

The operation of the C-128 keyboard is slightly different in CP/M mode than it is in native mode. For one thing, it uses the standard 7 bit ASCII character set rather than the PET-ASCII set used in native mode. In addition, each key is completely programmable as to its character codes or other special functions. Other differences in keyboard operation are outlined below.

Alpha Keys

The alpha keys on the main keyboard (e.g. A, B, C, D, etc.) generate the standard lower case, upper case, CAPS LOCK and control values. The CAPS LOCK value defaults to the upper case value and is used as a software shift lock. It is not related to either the SHIFT LOCK key or the CAPS LOCK key. To turn the CAPS LOCK mode on, press the Commodore logo C= key at the lower left of the main keyboard. Pressing the same key again, will turn off CAPS LOCK mode.

Numeric Keys

The numeric keys (the row of keys above the alpha keys) produce the appropriate number as the unshifted value and the CAPS LOCK value, the symbol above the number on the key as the shifted value and the color on the side of the key (the top one of the two colors shown) as the control value. These colors are defined as 80 column foreground colors. The control value produced by the numbers on the numeric keypad are defined the same as those on the numeric keys, except that they generate 80 column background colors.

Arrow Keys

The arrow keys are located in the cursor keypad above the top right portion of the main keyboard. The functions and character codes assigned to these keys in CP/M mode are different to those assigned to the cursor control keys at the lower right of the main keyboard. The default values for the arrow keys are those use used by most application programs which feature full screen cursor movement, such as text editors, etc.

The up arrow key generates the value 05 (<control>-e) as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values; it generates the hexadecimal 12 (<control>-r) as the control value.

The down arrow key generates the hexadecimal value 18 (<control>- x) as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values; it generates the value 03 (<control>-c) as the control value.

The left arrow key generates the hexadecimal value 14 (<control>- s) as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values; it executes the 40 column screen left function as the control value.

The right arrow key generates the value 04 (<control>-d) as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values; it executes the 40 column screen right functions as the control value.

Additional ASCII Characters

The key labelled as a British pound sign generates the character '#' as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values. The reverse apostrophe character ` is generated as the control value.

The up arrow key next to the <RESTORE> key generates the caret character '^' as the shifted and control values. The pipe character '|' is generated as the unshifted and CAPS LOCK values.

The '=' key generates the character '=' as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values. The tilde character '~' is generated as the control value.

The '/' key generates the character '/' as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values. The back slash character '\' is generated as the control value.

The key labelled 'INST DEL' generates the hexadecimal value 7f (ASCII rubout) as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values; the hexadecimal value 16 (<control>-v) is generated as the control value.

Special Key Functions

The key labelled NO SCROLL executes a PAUSE function. To resume execution, press NO SCROLL again (for AUG or DEC version only) or RETURN (for MAY version only). The control value of the NO SCROLL key toggles between two modes (on/off) of automatically tracking the CP/M screen on a 40 column monitor.

The right and left arrows at the top of the keyboard initiate the special functions screen right and screen left respectively (40 column screen tracking) as their control values.

The key labelled <ENTER> generates a Carriage Return as the unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values. The control value initiates the special function boot, which reboots the system as if the reset button has been pressed. If a CP/M boot disk is in drive A:, the CP/M system will be re-started, otherwise normal C- 128 native mode will be started.

The key labelled <RUN/STOP> is undefined as its unshifted, shifted and CAPS LOCK values, and toggles the display/nondisplay of the disk status window as its control value.

The key labelled CRSR with up and down arrows (bottom right on main keyboard) generates the hex value 17 (<control>-w) which causes the latest CP/M command line to be re-typed on the screen. The key next to this (CRSR with right and left arrows) allows you to move right (<control>-f) and left (<control>-a) (unshifted and shifted, respectively) through a command line to edit it.

The key labelled F1/F2 generates the two character string 'F1' in the unshifted and CAPS LOCK modes and the string 'F2' in the shifted and control modes.

The key labelled F3/F4 generates the four character string 'dir <return>' in the unshifted and CAPS LOCK modes and the string 'dir' in the shifted and control modes.

The key labelled F5/F6 generates the two character string 'F5' in the unshifted and CAPS LOCK modes and the string 'F6' in the shifted and control modes.

The key labelled F7/F8 generates the two character string 'F7' in the unshifted and CAPS LOCK modes and a string representing the date that the system files were assembled in the shifted and control modes (i.e. the date which is displayed in the sing-on message).

The key labelled HELP generates the string 'Help' in all modes.

The Command Line

CP/M commands and transient programs are accessed from the system prompt by typing in a sequence of characters called a command line. A CP/M command line is composed of a command, an optional command tail, and a carriage return. The command is the name or filename of a program to be executed. The optional command tail can consist of a drive specification, one or more file specifications, and some options or parameters.

        A>COMMAND {command tail} <cr>

Command Conventions

The following special symbols define the syntax of a normal command line.
{} surrounds an optional item.
| separates alternative items in a command line.
<cr> indicates a carriage return.
^ indicates the Control Key.
n substitute a number for n.
s substitute a string (group) of characters for s.
o substitute an option or option list for o.
[] type square brackets to enclose an option list.
() type parentheses to enclose a range of options
within an option list.
RW Read-Write attribute - opposite of RO
RO Read-Only attribute - opposite of RW
SYS System attribute - opposite of DIR
DIR Directory attribute - opposite of SYS
... preceding element can be repeated as many times as desired.
* wildcard: replaces all or part of a filename and/or filetype.
? wildcard: replaces any single character in the same position of a filename and/or filetype.

Command Line Editing

The resident CP/M command interpretter (CCP) allows a certain degree of editing of the CP/M command line before pressing the <return> key. The editing keys are outlined below along with their usage. It should be noted that these editing keys are totally independent from the control codes used by the terminal emulation for the video display.
Control Character Function
CTRL-A moves cursor one character to the left.
CTRL-B moves cursor from beginning to end of command line and back without affecting command.
CTRL-C stops executing program when entered at the system prompt or after CTRL-S.
CTRL-E forces a physical carriage return without sending command.
CTRL-F moves cursor one character to the right.
CTRL-G deletes character at current cursor position if in the middle of a line.
CTRL-H delete character to the left of cursor.
CTRL-I same as the TAB key.
CTRL-J moves cursor to the left of the command line and sends command to CP/M. Line feed, has same effect as carriage return.
CTRL-K deletes character at cursor and all characters to the right.
CTRL-M same as carriage return.
CTRL-P echoes console output to the list device.
CTRL-Q restarts screen scrolling after a CTRL-S.
CTRL-R retypes the characters to the left of the cursor on a new line; updates the command line buffer.
CTRL-S stops screen scrolling.
CTRL-U updates the command line buffer to contain the characters to the left of the cursor; deletes current line.
CTRL-W recalls previous command line if current line is empty; otherwise moves cursor to end of line. CTRL-J,-M,-R,-U and RETURN update the command line buffer for recall with CTRL-W.
CTRL-X deletes all characters to the left of the cursor.

Filespec

CP/M identifies every file by its unique file specification, which can consist of four parts:

the drive specification,
the filename,
the filetype and
the password.

The term "filespec" indicates any valid combination of the four parts of a file specification, all separated by their appropriate delimiters. A colon must follow a drive letter. A period must precede a filetype. A semicolon must precede a password.

The general symbols and rules for the parts of a file specification follow:

  d:              drivespec   optional    single alpha character (A-P)
  filename        filename                1-8 letters and/or numbers
  typ             filetype    optional    0-3 letters and/or numbers
  password        password    optional    0-8 letters and/or numbers

If you do not include a drive specifier, CP/M automatically uses the default drive. Valid combinations of the elements of a CP/M file specification are:

                filename
                d:filename
                filename.typ
                d:filename.typ
                filename;password
                d:filename;password
                filename.typ;password
                d:filename.typ;password

Some CP/M commands accept wildcard (* and ?) characters in the filename and/or filetype parts of the command tail. A wildcard in the command line can in one command reference many matching files on the default or specified user number and drive. This is sometimes refferred to as an 'afn' or amibiguous filename. If no wildcards are present, an 'ufn' or unambiguous filename results.


[Contents] [Commodore] [New] [Search] [Home]
This page has been created by Sami Rautiainen.
Read the small print. Last updated August 17, 1999.