SAGE@LL.LL.MIT.EDU (03/02/90)
Gary P. Gray asked:
A) Is ZCPR a public domain (or shareware) program?
B) Is ZCPR worth bothering with on a non-hardisk system...
C) Is Turbo Pascal still available for CPM?
D) What is the bye program?
As the author of the most recent versions of ZCPR, I think I can answer
(A): yes and no. Versions of ZCPR up to and including version 3.3, though
copyrighted, may be used freely for noncommercial purposes. Version 3.4 is
available commercially only. However, all of these ZCPR versions work only
on CP/M-2.2 computers and require modifications to the BIOS to install them.
The modern way to install ZCPR (now called Z-System) is with the commercial
programs NZCOM (for CP/M-2.2 systems) and Z3PLUS (for CP/M-Plus systems).
They install (and remove) automatically under the host CP/M system, and they
offer a great deal more flexibility.
In my opinion, the answer to (B) is yes. At the time I developed ZCPR31
(and perhaps even the first cuts at ZCPR33), I did not own a computer with a
hard disk. Z-System is much nicer with a hard disk (and a RAM disk), but
what software isn't! There are plenty of people using Z-System on floppy-
only computers, and there are tricks that can significantly improve
performance under those circumstances.
The answer to (C) is also yes. It even comes with a nice, new, loose-
leaf manual (yea! we can leave it open to a page while working).
BYE is a resident system extension program that allows the computer to
operate as a remote-access system. Basically, BYE handles answering calls
and redirecting console I/O through the modem port. I wrote about BYE in
one of my columns in The Computer Journal, and the file (TCJ##.WZ or
TCJ##.MZG) should be available from SIMTEL20 or Royal Oak (and surely must
be on my Z-Node BBS). Unfortunately, I do not remember the volume number
(## in above file name templates).
-- Jay Sage
Disclaimer: I am not a disinterested party regarding ZCPR, Z-System, or
Turbo Pascal.