80-Bus News

master catalogue in RAM. At that point I added a routine to save the original drive and user numbers and then do a hierarchical search similar to CCPZ for the master catalogue. The same as CCPZ with the exception that it always ends it search for the file at drive A: USER 0 as it was too much like hard work to make the thing search CCPZ for the final DFU number (and what about if CCPZ wasn’t there anyway, it could do all sorts of wierd and wonderful things). Having found the master catalogue, this is updated from the names list. CATUD then restores the original drive and user and then goes home. I didn’t need to update the catalogue search program CAT as I reckon that it will naturally be on the same drive/​user as the master catalogue.

Of late GEMPEN/​Diskpen has being undergoing a face lift with the addition of lots of new features, two of which involve looking for overlay files, the master HELP overlay and the master MENU overlay, a quick word with Peter and PEN grew the hierarchical search as well.

So having found a way of cataloguing the software on various user areas, how to get it there? Even when using CCPZ, PIP is only capable of PIPing software from one drive to another with the same user number, so that’s not a lot of use. [Ed. – wrong, Wrong, WRONG. If you actually READ the doc. that came with the GM835 Winnie that you have at work you will find it refers you to the ‘G’ option of PIP. Now go and read up on PIP at once!!] The answer came with SWEEP, another find from the CP/M User Group library. This is an all laughing dancing utility which not only allows movement from one user area to another (even on the same disk) but allows you to tag a load of files (and of course not tag others) for bulk movement or bulk erase. It also has the ability to rename files and a sneeky command for allowing you to ‘TYPE’ ASCII files to the screen to find out if it is the one you wanted. All clever stuff. I think it was written in some high level compiling language because of its size, 26K, but even so it earns its keep.

Lastly, having gained the disk capacity, implemented a means of ready access, fixed up a means of cataloging the files and got a means of putting the files where I wanted them, comes the way of organising then. The cataloging suite requires you to give the disk a name, and with my mod, the user areas on the disk can all be given different names. So let’s say I want to sort out a disk full of source files into different groups. Now my disks live in books of 20 plastic wallets made for the job, a bit pricey at about £13.00 each, but ideal. Anyway, for sake of argument, the disk we are to play with is disk number 6. So I decide the CCPZ source suite with its .DOC files will live on USER 0, so I SWEEP them across and give that user area the name -CCPZASM.060. The next lot is the suite of .MAC files for taking the cataloging suite apart and putting it back together again. These are ‘SWEPT’ across to USER 1 and given the name -CATMAC.061. Next comes a suite of .MAC files about the RTC, a couple of mine, and Richards lot, these go on USER 2 and are called -RTCMAC.062. --- And so on --- Notice that the file type starts with .06, meaning disk 6, and the last number is the user area used for the particular suite. So when I ask CAT where the devil did I put the file called TIME.MAC the reply:

    File           Disk
TIME.MAC       RTCMAC.062

immediately tells me that the file is on disk 6, USER 2, get the idea?

It’s all very simple, and of course entirely unoriginal, but it’s surprising those I’ve mentioned it to have all seemed very impressed, hence the preceding 34K of file describing the system and how I use it.

Now for the commercial, the utilities I’ve mentioned are advertised someplace in this magazine and CCPZ is available from the same source for a tenner + VAT (state disk format when ordering). Of course the suppliers aren’t going to accept responsibility if you muck up your CP/M master disk, that’s your problem and serve you right for doing it on the master disk. Also, if you intend to have a go at fitting CCPZ you’ll have to find your own copy of DRI MAC.

Overall CCPZ is well worth it and a well designed piece of software.