RCONN@SIMTEL20.ARPA (03/28/84)
From: Rick Conn <RCONN@SIMTEL20.ARPA> In all of my excitement during the past several months, I have been making references from time to time on the creation of ZCPR3. ZCPR3 is now well underway, and beta testing by a volunteer test group out in Silicon Valley will begin in the next few days. ZCPR3 is not yet complete, but it is quite operational in terms of its major features. Only one minor bug with 8-character passwords exists at this time (to my knowledge), and I am using it daily now in 5 different versions (2 different versions for software development, each version on a different machine, 2 applications-oriented versions running dBASE II and Multiplan, and one RCP/M version). I have received a lot of interest and support from a number of people and groups in this project, and, to satisfy your own curiosity and answer many of the questions I have been receiving, I have prepared ten messages (not counting this one) which will be transmitted to INFO-CPM today on the subject of ZCPR3. For those of you not interested, each message will reference ZCPR3 and a message number in the subject line, so you can flush it without reading it. The first message is an introduction to ZCPR3 which simply states an outline of the contents of the following messages. It is not detailed at all. Each of the following 9 messages concentrates on one topic area of ZCPR3. Live terminal sessions are included in these messages to illustrate by example the concepts discussed. You are invited to study these messages, and I believe many of your questions will be answered. For those of you who want to know even more, I will be providing a service (for a brief time) which I haven't tried before. Sometime within the next two weeks, I will be bringing a ZCPR3 remote access system online. When it comes up, I will post the phone number and access code to the net with some instructions on its use. You will be invited to log onto it and try out the demonstrations prepared on it. There will also be an electonic mail facility which you may use to send me comments and suggestions, etc. The tenth message which follows is an example of a "secure" ZCPR3 system, and the remote access system you will be using will support features very similar to the "secure" system you see discussed in the 10th message. For those who have even more interest in the topic, I will be speaking on ZCPR3 at the Trenton Computer Festival on Saturday, April 14 at 11:00AM. This presentation will be more of an overview in nature, but the opportunity to ask technical questions will present itself. Also, there will be a closed meeting of RCP/M SYSOPs at the festival, and I'll be giving a brief talk on the use of ZCPR3 for RCP/M application for those of you invited to this meeting. Enjoy the time to come! Rick Conn -------
RCONN@SIMTEL20.ARPA (06/28/84)
From: Rick Conn <RCONN@SIMTEL20.ARPA>
Some time ago, I sent out a rather lengthy intro to ZCPR3 to INFO-CPM.
I am including the first of 10 messages which made up that intro here
in response to your question. This is carboned to INFO-CPM in case there
are others with the same question. If you would like more detail than what
this provides, I will send all ten messages to you at your request.
Re your specific questions, ZCPR3 is CP/M 2.2 compatible, as ZCPR1 and ZCPR2
were. Since full source code is provided, the potential exists for adapting
it to CP/M 3.0. In order to take advantage of the extended capabilities
of ZCPR3, a BIOS modification (which is optional) is required. If you do
no chose to make the BIOS modification, most of the features are lost and
you may as well use ZCPR1.
AN INTRODUCTION TO ZCPR3 FROM THE USER'S PERSPECTIVE
by Richard Conn
The ZCPR3 System is a collection of programs based around
the ZCPR3 Command Processor. Forming an integrated system of
tools, the ZCPR3 System offers a number of convenient and
sometimes more user-friendly features to the CP/M 2.2 user.
Maintaining CP/M 2.2 compatibility at all times (all known
commercial CP/M 2.2 programs run under ZCPR3 without
modification), the ZCPR3 System brings to its users a variety of
tools which conceptually implement features found in other
operating systems, including TOPS-20 (1), UNIX (2), NOS (3),
MULTICS (4), and VMS (5), and tools which implement features
unique to the ZCPR3 System (to my knowledge).
This Introduction is intended to outline some of the key
features of the ZCPR3 System from the user's perspective. More
complete technical details of implementation and use will follow
later. Knowledge of CP/M 2.2 is assumed, and some experience
with ZCPR2 is useful, in order to understand the following
presentation in detail. The major features of the ZCPR3 System
which are described in this Introduction include:
o Directories o Wheel Users and Passwords
o Command Lines o Command Processing
o Resident Command Packages
o Flow Command Packages
o ZEX Command Files
o Error Handlers o Aliases
o Shells o Z3TCAP
o Variable o Screen-Oriented Terminal
o MENU Configuration
o VFILER
o "Secure" Systems
---- Trademarks ----
(1) TOPS-20 - Digital Equipment Corporation
(2) UNIX - Bell Laboratories
(3) NOS - Control Data Corporation
(4) MULTICS - Honeywell
(5) VMS - Digital Equipment Corporation
Rick
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