>>>Early on, CP/M computers with primiive software and floppy disks really slowed software development. But that's all I had; I didn't know any better. It sure as heck beat a CPU manufacturer's development system with paper tape and a teletype! So I was in heaven. :-)<<<
I hear an Amen!? ?
For any system running off TTY and slow storge and minimal tools was a serious
handicap.
PRE CP/M development with SYS-8 (or the PT equivilent) was slow and awkward.
Same for any of the other CPUs.? The 1802 has the potential but most systems are?
low end so paper tape (cassette tape) wis about it and the tools are weak too.? I can?
say the exact same for 6800, 6502, Signetics 2650,8085, Ti9900, PDP-8, and many?
others.
FYI I believe the first break though was UCSD Pascal Psystem, in my case on
Northstar Horizon.? IT got me several things a language faster than interpreted
BASIC and better structured, a real IDE with a solid P-compiler and a real
screen editor.? In 1979 that was a big deal!? ?CP/M I'd been running since V1.3
and all of the neet stuff had to be transferred from 8"SSSD to NS* hard sector
5.25. With S100 it was easy to add a fairly low cost controller card and scrounge
up an 8" SC800 (loud and heavy) as a added disk and transfer media.? ?After that
C compilers started to appear (BDS-C was one of the good ones) and decent
configurable full screen editors like Vedit and programming became faster
and more efficient.
After 1977 (late in the year) I'd switched ot glass terminal and next year a real
printer (anadex DP800).? When CP/M that was a solid development platform and?
was mostly turnkey (no toggling in a boot).? From then to early 1980 I move from?
CPM V1.3, 1,4 then 2.2 and added third party tools.? The scheme was the box?
with a power switch and maybe reset and mass storage.? Front panel was passe.
AS to CP/M 86 on new hardware... that would be a task and a half.? IT was written
in base 8086 and did run well on any 8086/88 based XT class box.? It would morph
to CCPM.? DRI also had a version for Z8000 and its written in C (K&R dialect) and
that would be easier to port to newer or non x86 hardware.
For those really into it... go here???
also see?
My idea of a compact Z80 system would be 4mhz or faster (10mhz parts are easy to find)
64K ram mappable (and boot) 256K eprom (boot, system, base utilities (small romdisk) and
a larger mass storage such as uSD 1gb is far more than needed.? two serial port such as
Z80 dart).
Allison
