Hans Franke wrote:
>
> >> But after all where is the sense of having a Z80 as 64 Bit
> >> processor ? It's a well usable 8/16 Bit processor. Even the
> >> 380 isnt realy an advantage - you just don't realy need this
> >> 32 Bit instructions. A set consecutive 16 Bit instructions
> >> can do it in almost the same time. From my point of usage
> >> a 16 Bit uP is anything you need - compact code, compact data
>
> > Well, it might be fun to redo TRS-80 Level I BASIC with 32-bit
> > instructions. (No way would I try to do that with LDOS/LS-DOS --
> > it's already perfect).
>
> But just tell me where 32 Bit instructions can be usefull ?
> In fact, I can't think of any part inside a BASIC. But the
> higher clockrates are a nice thing - and maybe the z180 for
> 3.0 style bankswitching.
Note my choice of wording -- "fun", not "useful". Level I BASIC
was never very useful on its best day except for learning and
playing. It's hard to do serious programming with a limit of 26
numeric variables, two string variables and one array. But it
_is_ fun to see what you can do with it with twenty more years of
sneaky programming tricks (most of mine having involved the Unix
Bourne shell and its descendants) under your belt.
> BTW: LDOS - I have a Modell III with external HD - hasn't
> there been an LDOS to boot from ? (I'm not the deep TRS guy).
The only "official" operating system for a Model III with a hard
drive _was_ LDOS. Also for the Model One. TRSDOS 6, later called
LS-DOS, was written by Logical Systems for the Model 4. (There
was also a version of LS-DOS for the Model II/12 series [8" drives]
but all of my copies were lost years back in a move, along with a
lot of other material related to those systems -- as Ben Franklin
once said, three moves equals one fire).
--
Ward Griffiths <mailto:gram_at_cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/>
WARNING: The Attorney General has determined that Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms can be hazardous to your health -- and get away with it.
Received on Thu Oct 22 1998 - 12:30:39 BST