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| | |  Phlog: Eightbitswide
| | |   
| | |  Date: 6/19/24
| | |  Subject: ZINC Expanded
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  v    Created on the Agon, a z80 based single board computer.
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Once again, I'm returning to ZINC, the project for the Agon single
board computer which allows you to run CP/M applications directly.
Once again, this entry will be created using WordStar 3.0 for CP/M.

ZINC has had it's core features expanded recently with the addtion
of access to the Agon's VDU features.  By sending a simple ESC code,
you can toggle it's access to the Agon's VDU.  For instance, in
BBC BASIC outside of ZINC, you can use a simple PRINT statement
to clear the screen: PRINT CHR$(12)  To perform the same statement
in MBASIC or BBC BASIC in CP/M running under ZINC, you need to
send ESC 255, to toggle VDU access, send your command, then ESC 255
to switch ZINC back to it's normal mode.  In MBASIC this would look
like this: PRINT CHR$(27)+CHR$(255)+CHR$(12)+CHR$(27)+CHR$(255)

While this seems like a lot of extra code, (and perhaps it is) this
opens a door for other more interesting languages to both access
the VDU, creating subroutines that can be called from a single 
command.  

Turbo Pascal 3.0 for CP/M also works with ZINC.  Pascal is a very
tidy, structured language (unlike BASIC) which allows you to create
library files which can be included in your code.

A simple CLS command can be created in Turbo Pascal as follows:

procedure CLS; begin
 write (#27, #255, #12, #27, #255);
end;

Including this in your program or even a separate library file
will allow you to access this subroutine by simply calling the
command: CLS

Turbo Pascal also allows you to compile your final programs as 
.COM files.  Your programs can be executed as ZINC <FILENAME.COM>
to load and run them.

I'd highly recommend taking the time to discover Turbo Pascal.
Search Google for the "Turbo Pascal V3.0 Reference Manual".  It's
been posted as a PDF document and will give you all the info
you need to get started with the language.

I'm currently working on a ZINC library for Turbo Pascal 3.0 which
will allow access to popular VDU commands for graphics.  By
including a single line of code to the start of your program,
you can use all of the commands in the library.

Another new ZINC feature is it's access to the UART.  Those WIFI
modules can be accessed using KERMIT for both BBS and file transfer.

Before you start, use the new ZINC command ZINC-SETUP from MOS and
configure your WIFI module settings for baud, speed, etc.

Then launch KERMIT-80 with the command ZINC KERMIT.  
At the KERMIT-80  0A:> prompt type the following:

SET PORT TTY

At the second KERMIT-80  0A:> prompt type:

C

This will connect KERMIT to your MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 module.

Use your AT commands, etc to access the module as well as the
outside world.   Could a CP/M BBS running on the Agon be
a possibility in the future?  Why not?

ZINC Github: https://github.com/nihirash/ZINC

Eightbitswide