#cpm80 #retrocomputing

This post is mostly gossip, totally skippable.

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I've been looking for months for copies of the Phoenix Software macro assembler and linker, for CP/M-80, with no luck. Never did find them.

BUT! I did find the TDL macroassembler and linker, also written by Neil Colvin, and it is virtually identical: only pseudo ops .PAGE and .PROGID (so far) aren't supported. All of it's peculiar syntax and behavior is identical.

My 1979..1982 Z80 sources compile. About all I have from that era, in machine readable source, is a nice little ROM debugger that does breakpoints and crude disassembly, and fits in 2K. I spent some obsessive time on that back then so it's pretty decent. I'll modernize it slightly and deploy with the Friendly eZ80.

TDL (Technical Design Labs) merged with Xitan, who sold hardware. That arrangement went bust, accellerated when in a big all-company meeting it was revealed that various folk in the co. had been sleeping with each other, spouses found out, blah blah. Lol.

Neil Colvin, of TDL/Xitan, left and formed Phoenix Software (Phoenix, as in "rising from the ashes"). I was hired after Dave Hirschman, but also worked with others, notably Mike Aronson (MATE editor: "Mike Aronson's Text Editor").

This wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_Design_Labs) says Carl Galletti and Roger Amidon got all the rights to TDL's software; but the TDL ZASM code and docs are out there, and almost page for page identical to the Phoenix PASM manual, and TDL compiles PASM source, but for a few pseudo-ops... so umm who cares.

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Trying to debug an errant CP/M system when all you've got is PIP ...
(I honestly think the BIOS isn't built correctly somehow, as commands seem to fail silently)

#RetroComputing #Intel8080 #cpm80

My Apple 2 clone is fully assembled and operational  

Most of the apple 2 parts pile are test and repaired and is in fully working condition, except for mainboard, psu (the one I already repaired but it kind of broke again lol) and keyboard, which need some ancient parts that I don't have rn or have to 3D print one in case of keyboard key caps.

Currently running Apple DOS 3.3 (for saving Applesoft BASIC programs on disk) and CP/M stuff, like WordStar, SuperCalc, Z80 Assembler, MBASIC/BASIC Compiler, FORTRAN-80, COBOL-80 and Turbo Pascal.
I using c2t (https://github.com/datajerk/c2t) to create Apple 2 disk from 140K disk image on new floppy disk and some old Apple 2 games flippy disk that suffered from bit rot (the game are available in various Apple 2 software archive).

And yes, This Apple 2 equip with a Thai 80 column card (the card have Thai font ROM installed in inverse ROM socket of Vindex Videoterm clone).
As I try to experiment with various keys combination to get it to type and display Thai but it seems both firmware didn't support it at all :c
I have to resort to a BASIC program to print all characters for it to display any Thai text.

Look like in the past, this kind of Thai system in Apple II didn't build Thai support in to the firmware of 80 column card, they just modify the font ROM to add Thai characters and code custom software for it. Possibly to reduce hardware modification as much as possible and for compatibility with western made software.

There was Thai software for Apple 2 that run on CP/M that I known, the first Thai word processor first released in 1982 called Thai Easy Writer (ขวัญใจนักพิมพ์ดีด) from Kasetsart University, with Yuen Phuworawan as the project leader. This program was written in BASIC and have been ported to various micro computers in that era.
I do have v4.1 and non working v4.2 PC DOS version from 1986, but the Apple 2 CP/M version might be lost, unless me or someone found the disk somewhere and archive it...

Seems I'll have to write software my self if I want to demonstrate it 
Maybe port my unfinished Rajavithi Word PC recreation in C (https://github.com/kytulendu/RajavithiWordPC) from DOS to CP/M would do it, If only I have time and energy to start re-implement the editor...
(Rajavithi Word PC is Thai WordStar clone that run in DOS, first release in 1986, which version 1.x display in Thai 8 line text mode like Thai Easy Writer)

Also, I reverse engineered the PSU schematic used in my Apple 2 clone https://github.com/kytulendu/AppleII-GIANT-PSU incase someone found this PSU in their Apple 2 clone and want some documentation for it.

#apple2 #retrocomputing #cpm80

After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of #Vezza - my #z80 high speed #zmachine is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for #M4ZVM #M3ZVM and #Vezza. Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

What this all means is that your favourite #infocom #punyinform and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 #retrocomputing platforms even faster than before!

More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
#TRS80 versions https://sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
#CPM #CPM80 versions https://sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

+++ Important information for all DX Forth users +++

There is a #new #release v4.60 available for CP/M and DOS since january 7th, 2025 !!

Get it here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kh2WcPUc3hQpLcz7TQ-YQiowrozvxfGw

#Forth
#DXForth
#CPM80
#MSDOS

Season's Greetings - Ho! Ho! Ho!

RC-BBS the world's first and (currently) only RC2014 based Bulletin Board System wishes you happy holidays!

Connection information can be found in the #Alt #Text and on my profile page.

#rcbox
#rc2014bbs
#rc2014
#bbs
#cpm80
#rcbbs
#seasonsgreetings

Update on #dxbbs which now allows the user to enter multiple lines of text until enter is pressed on an empty line.

The text is stored in a temporary ASCII file, line by line. This will later allow for additional line editing before saving - at least that is what I plan to do.

The final message is appened to the message base file and a new index record is written as can be seen in the screenshots.

#forth
#dxforth
#retrocoding
#rc2014
#cpm80
#bbs

Random memory: Some 45-50 years ago, my dad sold and serviced #CPM machines, specifically #GeminiMicrocomputers from the #UK. His customers seemed to be primarily people connected to printing and the press. One guy represented a printing house, which I believe also doubled as a #Buddhist #monastery, and visited my dad's shop quite frequently.

The thing that triggered this memory, was that apart from #Buddhism and printing, my dad's customer - friend if I'm not mistaken - also did a bit of recreational programming. He was in fact the author of a Danish #Pacman clone called "Gufferen" which translates to something along the lines of "the muncher". At the time, it was a breath taking action game in 80x25 character resolution, and I'm absolutely gutted that I will probably never see it again.

Good times.

#vintagecomputing #cpm80 #z80