Configuring Typical CP/M Programs

This appendix describes the installation procedures for a number of common commercial CP/M programs. The purpose of the installation is to configure the program to the screen handling control codes within HUNTER.

The control codes used by the HUNTER screen are.

Function

Code (Hex)

Clear Screen

01

Home Cursor

02

Cursor Addressing

0F, x co-ord, y co-ord

Cursor Right

0C

Cursor Left

08

Cursor up

0B

Cursor down

0A

The installation procedure is generally carried out on a standard CP/M desk-top machine prior to downloading information, see Loading Files.

MBASIC

Standard disk-based Microsoft Basic can be down-loaded into HUNTER with no installation or modification.

The only file to transfer is MBASIC.COM. MBASIC may now be run.

Wordstar Version 2

The standard disk from MicroPro has the following files:

  • INSTALL.COM

  • WSU.COM

  • WSMSGS.OVR

  • WSOVLY1.OVR

The INSTALL program is used to configure the main Wordstar program WSU.COM or an existing Wordstar file (WS.COM).

The two overlay files, WSMSGS.OVR and WSOVLY1.OVR, do not need any alteration.

When using the INSTALL program, refer to the Wordstar manual for further information - INSTALL is fairly self explanatory. The main features of the procedure are explained below:

  1. Type INSTALL to load and run INSTALL on your desk-top unit.

  2. Select the appropriate Wordstar file, e.g. WSU.COM.

  3. Terminal MENU: select “Z” for “none of the above.” This will be described later when patching in the exact controls.

  4. Printer MENU: select you own type of printer - typically, selection “A” will be compatible with most types of printer.

  5. Communications Protocol MENU: select “N”, this will enable HUNTER’s own communications package to handle any necessary protocol.

  6. Driver MENU: select “L” for the standard CP/M list device.

  7. You are now prompted for:

    ARE MODIFICATIONS TO WORDSTAR NOW COMPLETE?:

    Answer “N” for No, as it is now necessary to patch the codes for the terminal selection.

    INSTALL will prompt with:

    LOCATION TO BE CHANGED (0=END):0248 ADDRESS:0248H OLD VALUE:00H NEW VALUE:18

    In the above example, location 0248 was entered and the New Value 18H entered. This procedure should be repeated for the following locations:

    Location (Hex)

    New Value (Hex)

    Function

    0248

    18

    Screen Height (24 lines)

    0249

    50

    Screen width (80 characters)

    024A

    01

    Clear screen

    024B

    0F

    Cursor positioning

    0253

    00

    “

    0258

    00

    “

    025D

    FF

    “

    025E

    00

    “

    025F

    00

    “

    0260

    00

    “

    0264

    00

    “

    02AA

    00

    Inhibit scrolling

    After engineering these patches, terminate the procedure by entering 0 when the next location is requested.

    After confirming the selections and exting from INSTALL, the three files:

    • WS.COM

    • WSMSGS.OVR

    • WS0VLY1.OVR

    are ready to be loaded and run, see Loading Files for details of the procedure.

SuperCalc Version 1

The standard disk from Sorcim has the following files.

  • INSTALL.COM

  • SC.COM

  • SC.OVL

  • SC.HLP

The INSTALL program is used to configure the main program SC.COM. The two other files SC.OVL and SC.HLP do not need any alteration.

It will be helpful to refer to the SuperCalc manual when using INSTALL.

However, below is set out the response to each menu choice to install for the HUNTER, after running the “INSTALL.COM” program.

Terminal Selection Menu

No automatic installation is provided for HUNTER. Type in ‘x’ (not specified on the screen) for manually setting up the various options.

A second menu is displayed showing options A-F. Each option should be configured as described.

A. EDIT SCREEN CONTROLS

Another menu is displayed. Choose each option in turn and modify as prompted until the following is displayed:

  1. ClearScreen : 1,01

  2. Clear to EOL : Unconfigured

  3. Home cursor : Unconfigured

Return to the main selection and run by pressing x.

dBase II

The well known data base package, dBASE II, can be installed to run on the HUNTER. Described below is the sequence of to the install program to give full functions to the software package.

The version described is V2.3B, which is supplied as 13 individual files. They are:

  • DBASE.COM

  • DBASEMSG.COM

  • DBASEMAI.OVR

  • DBASEAPP.OVR

  • DBASEBRO.OVR

  • DBASEJOI.OVR

  • DBASEMOD.OVR

  • DBASEMSC.OVR

  • DBASERPG.OVR

  • DBASESRT.OVR

  • DBASETTL.OVR

  • DBASEUPD.OVR

  • INSTALL.COM

The first three files are vital to any dBASE program, but the rest are separate overlay files each supporting a particular function.

For example, if a sort facility is required, then the DBASESRT.OVR file will be required on the HUNTER.

Installing dBASE

On your host CP/M machine, type:

INSTALL

to run the install program.

The first question will ask whether you require full screen operations. Type ‘Y’

A menu of different types of VDU will then appear. Select ‘Z’ for user supplied terminal commands.

The next question refers to the type of data to be entered. All data will be in hex, so answer accordingly.

  1. DELETE A CHARACTER SEQUENCE

    The correct sequence is 03,00,20

  2. DIRECT CURSOR POSITIONAL SEQUENCE

    Column number position = 02
    Line number position = 03
    Constant bias = 00
    The skeleton is 0F, 00, 00

  3. CLEAR AND HOME SCREEN COMMANDS

    01

  4. BRIGHT/STD VIDEO COMMANDS

    None

  5. DIM/REVERSE VIDEO COMMANDS

    None

  6. INITIALISATION SEQUENCE

    None

  7. EXIT SEQUENCE

    01

  8. RESET TO STANDARD VIDEO MODE

    None

  9. ALTER SCREEN SIZE

    Screen width = 40
    Number of lines = 08

Completion of Installation

To complete installing, default the macro character to “&” and key-in a space for no error dialogue.

The CP/M operating system is version 2. 2. , therefore: Enter “A” to complete the installation. The above files are now ready for installation.