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From: cem@intelca.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm
Subject: The ideal CP/M environment
Message-ID: <462@intelca.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Dec-84 19:40:54 EST
Article-I.D.: intelca.462
Posted: Tue Dec 11 19:40:54 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Dec-84 04:54:29 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Intel, Santa Clara, Ca.
Lines: 49

I think the ideal CP/M environment is slowly but surely taking form.
Of course the feeling is subjective and wouldn't appeal to everybody
but then again it would be flexible enough to change.

The O/S would be of course CP/M, or possibly ZRDOS, from the people 
who brought you ZCPR3. ZCPR3 of course, and the following tools
(in addition to the ones ZCPR3 supplies)

SLR Systems Assembler and Linker. 
    This is certainly the fastest assembler/linker around with the most
    compatibility with other software vendors (aka uSoft and DRI)

Borland Turbo Pascal and Modula 2
    With these two languages you can write most if not all of your utilities 
    and applications. Would be nice if Borland would agree to use the TCAP 
    that ZCPR3 provides as a reference. Making installation much simpler.

Eco - C
    This is quite excellent for those tasks that are between assembler and
    a HLL. Some would have it be used exclusively, I prefer the portability
    of the Borland products to MS-DOS machines.

An Editor
    Coming originally from TOPS-20 I found Mince/Scribble to provide 90%
    of all of the things (besides programming) that I did in a TOPS environment
    with a RAM disk the swapping that Mince does is not a problem, As for
    scribble I would prefer additional capabilities to be specified for the
    printer (eg why can't I use a start superscript, end superscript seq
    other than the Epson half linefeed or something a Diablo uses) 
      The Editor is of course the most prone to personal preference, many
    people I know use Wordstar for both editing and formatting.

With the above tools and the ZCPR series of tools a CP/M system becomes 
a lot less aggravating to use and even fun for those of us who program
recreationally. I have waxed and waned over the future of CP/M often in
my thoughts on the future of microcomputers, I think it has a chance to
become quite a tool. Where else can someone get what 10 years ago existed
only on a $60,000 mini for $1500. 

Comments are appreciated, random flames are not. 

--Chuck
 

-- 
                                            - - - D I S C L A I M E R - - - 
{ihnp4,fortune}!dual\                     All opinions expressed herein are my
        {qantel,idi}-> !intelca!cem       own and not those of my employer, my
 {ucbvax,hao}!hplabs/                     friends, or my avocado plant. :-}