                                                             22 September 1986
                                  Z-NEWS 601

Z  Tips.    Latest version of CLEANDIR, 1.3c, has a directory  status  feature
some  may  find useful, and also a check-only without  writing  option.   Much
slower  than  Version  1.1, especially on big disk  systems,  1.3c  should  be
considered a complement to 1.1, not a replacement.  On Z-Nodes and on SUS  #5.
See below.
          ----------------------------------------------------------
     If you can't remember ASCII character hex values, a short little  program
called  ASCII displays value of character typed--neat...on many RCP/M  systems
and SUS #5.
     Soon  available  programmer's  tool, PPAL, Pretty  Printer  for  Assembly
Language,  is three times faster than AN source code filter written in  C  (on
SUS #2).  Extreme flexibility along with speed are featured, converting source
to  form desired.  Pretty viewing and printing!  One of four built-in  default
formats  is  new  proposed  Z-System  standard.   Optional  directives  change
defaults.   Control  appearance of labels, op codes,  operands,  and  comments
(both embedded and stand-alone).  Upper and lower case, case of first  letter,
space  or not between comment-beginning semicolon, colon or not after  symbols
and  labels, make no change, blank line removal, macro and conditional  nested
indenting,  and  more.   Over 100 million combinations  in  seven  categories.
Works  from command lines, aliases, and menus.  And format directives  may  be
placed  within  source code itself.  Thus, one portion of source can  be  for-
matted  differently  for  another.   PPAL  is  one  of  several  utilities  in
PROGRAMMER'S TOOLBOX to be offered by Echelon.

Announcements.    For Echelon software delivery, baseline now is  double-sided
(double-density) 5.25" diskette.  We can still handle single-sided, for  $5.00
download  fee; but, if not specified, we ship Ampro, Kaypro,  Osborne,  Heath,
etc.,  as DSDD.  Because of money considerations, we had either to do this  or
up  our  software  package prices.  Hopefully, DSDD can be  handled  by  great
majority of our present and future customers.  Thank you.
     Z-News 504-5, 30 June 1986, stated our overseas (International)  Shipping
and  Handling (S&H) policy not reflected in PRICES11.RAS file or  subscription
edition  of Z-News 509.  PRICES12.RAS corrects this oversight.  (Overseas  S&H
is actual postal charges plus $2.00.)
     ZRDOS, Version 1.7, is shipping.  Many new utilities support it features.
DISKRST  (reset  disk system), LOGGED (show read-only, fixed-  and  removable-
media drives), SRO (set drive read-only), DRO (display read-only drives),  and
SRW (set drive read-write).  We believe version to be bug-free.  Very fast for
fixed  media  memory, RAM and hard disk.  Should be last change  until  banked
version comes out.  Update for $20.00 plus S&H.

SUS  Report.    Fifth  Software  Update  Service  diskette  contains  programs
discussed  or  mentioned in this or in previous newsletters.   The  beat  goes
on...

 XDIR III, Version 2.0    Horizontal Listing by File Name/Type
  Disk: F  User:   0 Name: BACKUP, File Attributes:  Non-System
 Filename.Typ Size K RS   Filename.Typ Size K RS   Filename.Typ Size K RS
 -------- --- ------ --   -------- --- ------ --   -------- --- ------ --
 -SUS    .005      0 R    AC42    .COM      6      ALIAS   .CMD      2   
 ASCII   .LBR      2      CLNDR13C.COM      4      CLNDR13C.ZQ0     18
 ERADIR10.LBR     14      FINDF25 .LBR     22      FINREP22.LBR     14
 MCOPY43C.COM      6      MCOPY43C.ZQ0     18      PRICES12.RZS     10
 SAK22A  .LBR      8      SIEVE   .C        2      SIEVE   .COM     18
 SIEVEZ80.COM     10      TALIAS16.LBR     38      TXT2ASM .LBR     12
 VF41H   .LBR     28      VMENU20A.LBR     74      WF      .COM      2
 ZHELPR17.RQS      4      ZNODES34.LQT      4
            23 Files Using 316K, 23 Files on Disk and 74K Left

PRICES12.RZS requires using UNCR(unch), efficient un-compress tool, to  obtain
readable ASCII text file.  (Middle letter of file-type signals crunched if  Z,
squeezed  if  Q.)   Find UNCR.COM in CRUNCHnn.LBR of SUS  #2  and  on  Z-Nodes
everywhere.   Eventually, Z utilities will be upgraded to handle  conveniently
both squeezed and crunched files.  Full details of SUS concepts are in  Z-News
507 (and 506).  If you cannot economically contact Z-Nodes, here's the way  to
stay current with Z-System community for $85.00 per year.

From  Our  Mail Box.   Testimonial from R. Barry Lewis, Champaign,  IL,  "This
past  Friday morning you kindly helped me to get my copy of ZRDOS+  installed.
I was very impressed by the highly professional manner in which you  diagnosed
the problem and guided me to a solution over the telephone.  It was a pleasure
to  talk  with someone who clearly knows what they are doing and who  has  the
skill  and  the patience to help a novice.  Thanks again./  "I must  also  add
that the good things that I have heard and read about Echelon are borne out by
my  experience  in the couple of instances that I have bought  something  from
your  company.  I will buy more from you and will try to promote your  company
and ZCPR3 locally."  Thank you, Barry...we do our best...what more can we say?
     David Vergin, Elma, WA, writes, "'...if we are to continue...?'  [from Z-
News 408-5.]  My gosh!  Z-News die?  No.  Here's $24.00.  Keep it up."

Z-User's  Corner.   Here, meanings of words and expressions dealing with  file
names  and trailing attributes and parameters, as used in ZCPR3  and  Z-System
command  lines,  by common usage and by convention.  Meanings  established  by
assignment, program requirements, and accepted by majority of people active in
the community:

 field --
     A file has two fields: name and type.  Example: VFILER is the name field,
     COM the type field for file VFILER.COM.  Up to eight characters are
     allowed for names and up to three for types.  Either field may be empty.
     A period, ., separates name field from type field.
 wild card --
     Either an asterisk, *, or a question mark, ?, used within field.  "?"
     matches any character; "*", all characters from position to field's end.
 afn --
     Ambiguous File Name.  Name and type fields may contain wild cards.
     VFILER.*    All files with name VFILER and any type.
     ?V*.COM     All files of type COM with any first character for name,
                 secondcharacter a V, and with any remaining up-to-six
                 characters.
     ?V?         Any three character file name without a type.
     *.TXT       Any file name of type TXT.
 ufn --
     Unambiguous File Name.  Exact name and type of file to be acted upon.
     VFILER.COM  ECHO.LBR  Z-NEWS.502   Only exact file names and types.
                 Wild cards not permitted.
 file_list --
     A declaration of more than one file name, separated by comma delimiters.
     File names may include wild cards.
     ECHO.COM,?FILER.*,*.D?C   The file ECHO.COM, all seven-character files
     with FILER occupying positions two through six in name field with
                 any type field, and all files of any name with type starting
                 with D and having C for last character.
 fn.ft --
     File name and file type of file used in an example.  Same as "ufn."
                 Wild cards may be used to declare file in actual use, if
                 program accepts them.
 string --
     A series of characters made up of one or more words.
     "This is an example string."    Several words in quotes.
     This is a string                Words without quotes.
     This_is_a_string                Words handled as one word using
                                     underline character as delimiter,
                                     connective.
 cmd --
     Command.  May take the form of cmd;cmd2;cmd3;... .  Spaces between
                 semicolon command delimiter and next command are
                 ignored.  cmd; cmd2;   cmd3;  ...  is accepted.
 <text> --
     Necessary operator input.
 [text] --
     Optional input, as desired by operator.

Please  refer  to Z-News 309-4 (Z-News, Volume 3, Number 9,  page  4,  Z-Index
reference  convention) for more details regarding ZCPR3 and Z-System  convent-
ions.

Lunch Break.   Symmetric 375 (Z-News 409-2) reduced in price to $4,995.00.  If
interested in a 22-pound portable, personal Unix bsd v4.2 computer using 10mHz
National  32016 chip and 50-megabyte hard disk, now is time to  buy.   Machine
comes  with  8 languages: C, Fortran, Pascal, LISP, Prolog,  BASIC,  APL,  and
Assembler.   And  SPICE, TEX, INGRES, and EMACS!  Plus  2-megabytes  of  DRAM,
parallel Centronics and 4 serial ports at up to 38.4k-baud.  Call 408/279-0700
for literature.
     Zedcor, 4500 E. Speedway, #93, Tuscon, AZ 85712, and ZBasic appear to  be
doing  well.  At $89.95, their interactive compiler gives new life  to  BASIC,
and  portability  between  machines (Apple IIc, IIe,  Macintosh;  IBM  PC  and
compatibles,  TRS-80 Models 1, 3, 4/4p; Kaypro Graphics; and  Z-80/HD64180  Z-
System,  CP/M  v2.2  computers).   As Zedcor says,  "Works  the  same  on  all
computers."   Sieve benchmarks, BYTE's prime number classic, prove  compiler's
efficiency  (29  seconds  versus 1490 seconds  for  MBasic,  compiler  against
interpreter, 34.7 seconds for Aztec CII, 7.4 for assembler, all on 4mHz  Z80).
Compiler  translation speed is 40 lines per second!  Features put ZBasic  into
structured-language class giving C and Pascal a run for it.  More information,
call toll-free 800/482-4567.
     ====================================================================
Of Angles and Eagles.   "Yes, machines think--if you disagree, wait another  2
years for evidence even 'flat-earthers' won't be able to repudiate!"  From  Z-
News  109-3, 8 April 1985.  Machines remember, better than  humans.   Machines
manipulate  data  and return information.  Machines  reach  conclusions.   But
machines  do  not  generate knowledge from information,  from  its  decisions.
Machines  do not understand ideas.  Machines do not create ideas.   (What  are
ideas?)
     Information-overloaded  society,  that's us!  Computers  have  been  main
force  behind data explosion in our industrial, international culture.   Post-
printing  press era, where information increases have been so great we  cannot
keep  up  with  overwhelming amount of  semi-paralyzing  data.   Some  believe
information is power.  It is not.  But knowing how to convert information into
knowledge is.  Knowledge requires human assessment (and knowledge is worthless
unless  acted  upon) and here is where we fall apart.  (See Z-News  501-4  for
more  details relating data, information, knowledge, and  understanding.)   We
continue  like  nothing has changed--more data is on the way, too  much  data.
Who  learns  to assimilate such ever increasing amounts of data  for  rational
action to follow?
     Learning   to   understand  how  machines  think,   task   for   computer
users...making  machines  think,  job of designers and  engineers.   (What  is
thinking?)  By April 1987 we should see computers thinking beyond what most of
us  ever thought they would or could.  Man quickly learns how mankind  thinks!
Presently, whole subcultures dealing with how-do-we-think harvest fruits  from
earlier  blossoms,  fruits go into ripening-baskets,  fruits  from  Artificial
Intelligence  (AI)  community  nearly ready to be  eaten.   Banquet  prepared,
spread once-eaten surely changes the world!  What hath man wrought!  A servant
superior  to  its  master, creator?  Yes,  and  beyond...a  machine  answering
mankind's burning questions: What is life, what are humans?

     "Man's mind stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original
    dimensions."--Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1809-1894, physician and author.

Experience is one thing, openness to new ideas is quite another.
     From a multitude of realities, each real for a particular observer, comes
an understanding of the oneness of all.  We need only to learn other realities
to  come  to this view.  But a bend in our thought process  is  necessary  for
learning  to  occur.  Myth dwarfs truth...major problem that  slows  progress,
forward  movement  of mankind.  You see, we must change our  thinking  habits,
both  style and pattern, to see more or differently than we see now.  See  you
down the lines...
                                                                 Echelon, Inc.
                                                       885 N. San Antonio Road
                                                       Los Altos, CA 94022 USA
                                                       Telephone: 415/948-3820
                                            Z-Node Central (RAS): 415/489-9005

Trademarks:   Bookshelf,  Ampro Computers; SB180, Micromint;  PRO-180,  Magnum
Digital;  ON!, Oneac; DT42, The SemiDisk, Deep Thought 42,  SemiDisk  Systems;
TR-XL180,  M.A.N. Systems; HD64180, Hitachi; Z-System, ZCPR3, ZRDOS,  Z-Tools,
Zas,  Zlink,  Z-Msg,  Term3,  Quick-Task, FINDS, PPAL, Lasting-Value Software,
Echelon; GT180,  Turbo Modula-II,  Borland International;  Lotus 1-2-3,  Lotus
Development;  MBasic,  Microsoft;  TWP,  The Word Plus,  Oasis Systems;  SIFT,
Siftsoft; Electra-Find, O'Neill Software.



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                               Z sets you FREE!



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Z-News  601 is Copyright 1986 Echelon, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.   Permission
to  reprint,  wholly or partially, automatically granted if source  credit  is
given to Echelon.
hts Reserved.   Permission
to  reprint,  wholly or partially, automatically granted if so