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
