AMSTRAD CPC464 Technical Information

This document is a PDF version of the AMSTRAD DDI-1 USERINSTRUCTIONS manual.This version has been scanned and OCRed from the original and as a result

IMPORTANT1) For maximum data reliability, do not position your disc drive(s) closer than 20cm(8 inches) to the monitor, see Figure 5. It is recommende

AMSTRAD Disc Drive & Interface DDI-1 Manual Appendix 2.4

APPENDIX 3 INDEX|A F4.1 Ch2.7 Copying files F4.7 Ch2.10 Ch3.5Aborting CP/M functions F4.10 COS Ch4.8AMSDOS F4.1 Ch2.1 COUNT Ch4.6AMSDOS command summ

ER Ch4.17 Logical operations Ch4.9ERA Ch3.3 Logical operators (= > <) Ch4.10|ERA Ch2.9 LOGO Ch4.1ERN Ch4.17 LT Ch4.15ERRACT Ch4.23 MAKE Ch4

SETPOS Ch4.17 Workspace management commands Ch4.17SETSPLIT Ch4.12 WRAP Ch4.15 Setting Up 171.1 Write protection F2.1 SETUP Ch3.7 XSUB Ch3.9SF Ch

Foundations 2: About DiscsThe Amstrad disc drive uses 3 inch compact floppy discs. We strongly recommendthat for reliable data-to-disc transfer, you u

When the hole is closed, data can be 'written' onto the disc by the computer. When thehole is open however, the disc will not allow data to

To open the Write Protect hole on this type of disc, slide the lever towards the middleof the disc, using the tip of a ball-point pen or similar objec

Indicator Lamp The red indicator lamp has two functions: If only one disc drive is connected (Drive A), the lamp indicates that data is being readfrom

Foundations 3: Loading Software/GamesSoftware/Games available on disc for the Amstrad system are loaded many times morequickly than their cassette cou

Bad commandmeans that you have incorrectly named the program, either by exceeding the numberof permitted characters in a field, or by introducing an u

Foundations 4: Introducing AMSDOS and CP/MWhen you switch your system on, the computer automatically runs internal checks tosee which peripherals are

The commands |a and |b tell the computer which drive to direct any subsequentdisc command.Typing in for example:|aload "filename"will te

Storing Data Onto DiscBefore writing any data onto a new blank disc, the disc itself must first be formatted.Formatting can be likened to building a s

AMSTRADDISC DRIVE & INTERFACEDDI-1Congratulations on becoming the proud owner of the AmstradDDI-1. You will soon discover the wisd

After a few seconds you will see the following message on the screen:CP/M 2.2 - Amstrad Consumer Electronics plc. A>This is a 'Sign on' m

Please insert a CP/M system disc into drive A then press any key:After doing so, the computer will return you to direct mode CP/M (console mode), andw

under the sections concerning AMSDOS and CP/M.As an example of saving to disc, write a short program into the memory, insert aformatted disc, then typ

Copying Programs From Disc to DiscUsing the commands already learnt in this section, it can be seen that disc to discprogram copying is performed simp

then type in:load "filename"After the program has loaded and the Ready prompt appears, save the program ontocassette by typing in:|tape.outs

When the source disc is inserted and you have pressed a key, the computer will displaythe message:Copying startedReading track 0 to 7After which, you

Follow the instructions on the screen, and the contents of your source disc will becopied onto your destination disc 8 tracks at a t

To conclude this 4-part Foundation course, here is a brief summaryof the Important points covered so far:INSTALLATION1. Always connect the Mains

AMSTRAD Disc Drive & Interface DDI-1 Manual Foundation 4.12

CHAPTER 1Making Working Discs.This chapter discusses how to make discs to use from day to day,and introduces some facilities of CP/M and its Utility p

Two operating systems are supplied:AMSDOS is an extension of the cassette filing system in CPC464 BASIC, and allowsaccess to the BASIC interpreter.CP/

1.2 A working SYSTEM/UTILITY disc.You will find that, as well as making a day-to-day copy of your Master System/Utilitydisc and Dr LOGO disc, it is mo

1.4.1 Turnkey BASIC using disc supplied.Simply copy the master disc, with COPYDISC or DISCCOPY, preserve the master discand use the copy. Follow the i

Although the instructions below are for a single drive disc system, it is in general,simplest to follow them also if you have a twin disc system (by i

Value Hex Value Decimal Operation&1420Clear from and including the current cursor position toend of window.&18 24 Toggle into/out of Inverse v

1.5.4 Autostarting a Turnkey CP/M Package.It is possible to arrange for the CP/M operating system to automatically run apart

CHAPTER 2 AMSDOS PrimerThis chapter describes AMSDOS, covering all the availablecommands and their uses. It details the format of fil

2.2 Disc DirectoryEvery disc has two sections, the directory and the data area. The directory contains alist of all the filenames and a 'map&apos

2.3.2 AMSDOS headersAMSDOS automatically SAVEs files with a suitable type identifier so it is notnormally necessary to specify

2.3.3 Wild cardsIt is often required to perform some disc operation (Cataloguing, copying, erasing etc)on a number of disc files. When a filename is s

10 DIM colour(2)20 MODE 1:ORIGIN 0,0,0,640,0,400 : REM reset screen 30 dumpfile$="flagdump.srn" 40 FOR i=0 TO 2 50 READ colour(i): REM Get

ContentsFoundation CourseF1 Setting UpF2 About DiscsF3 Loading Software/GamesF4 Introducing AMSDOS and CP/MChapter 1 Making Working DiscsBackup master

The second example (EX2.BAS) is a general purpose screen dump displayingprogram, using a parameter file to control its action. Not

2.5.1 Summary of BASIC commandsThe following AMSTRAD BASIC commands are intercepted to operate on the discsystem rather than the datacorder. Apart

|CPM|CPMCOMMAND: Switch to alternative disc environment by loading operating systemfrom a system disc. The operating system supplied with th

|ERA|ERA,<string expression>a$="FRED.BAK"|ERA,@a$COMMAND: All files which match the filename and are not read-only are erased.Wild car

2.6 Copying FilesWe have already described the use of the CP/M program FILECOPY to make workingutility discs and package discs. This section describes

Copying files from one disc to another in a two drive system is normally easier withthe CP/M utility PIP, see CP/M primer.COPY FROM:COPY TO:AMSTRAD BA

COPY FROM:COPY TO:AMSTRAD BASIC on disc *ASCII data on disc *AMSOS Binary on disc *All other discAMSTRADBASIC ontape *LOAD”FILE”|TAPESAVE “FILE”|DISCB

2.7 Reference guide to AMSDOS Error Messages.When AMSDOS cannot carry out a command for some reason, it will display an errormessage. If there is a pr

Drive <DRIVE>: disc missingNo disc in drive, or disc is not seated and spinning properly. Recommended action isto eject and re-insert the disc a

Chapter 3 CP/M PrimerOperating with CP/MSubjects covered in this chapter:• Booting CP/M• Configuration sector• Direct console mode• Transient programs

Chapter 4 Introduction to LOGOWhat is LOGODr LOGO proceduresEditing programs and proceduresOperating hintsSummary of Dr. LOGO primitivesWord and list

Firstly the AMSDOS command |CPM loads the first sector of track 0 into the CPC464.On a system disc this sector has been arranged to be a program which

3.6 Direct Console CommandsThere are five direct console commands which can be typed at the A> or B> prompt.The first of these; SAVE, is for spe

ERA PIP.COMwill erase the file PIP.COMERA B:PIP.COMwill erase the file PIP.COM on drive BERA *.BAS will erase all .BAS files3.6.5 REN commandREN allo

examples:PIP B:=A:*.COMcopy all .COM files from drive A: to drive B: PIP SAV.BAS=EX1.BASmake a copy of EX1.BAS, calling it SAV.BASPIP CON:=EX1.BASsend

CLOAD can take two parameters, the first is the source (Cassette) filename, enclosed indouble quotes, and the second the destination (di

Set a file to 'Directory' status, reversing the 'System' assignment: STAT *.COM $DIR STAT SECRET.BAS $DIR3.7.3.2 SETUPThis utilit

3.7.3.3 AMSDOSThis program relinquishes control from CP/M and returns to the built-in AMSTRADBASIC, from which the AMSDOS disc commands will be availa

3.7.4.2 MOVCPMSometimes it is required to construct a version of CP/M which does not load intomemory in the standard position. This may be beca

AMSTRAD Disc Drive & Interface DDI-1 Manual Chapter 3.10

CHAPTER 4 Introduction to LOGOThis Section is intended to introduce the subject of LOGO, withexamples, and provide a guide to the commands available

4.2 Dr. LOGODr LOGO is a thoughtful implementation of Logo which has been speciallycustomised for the AMSTRAD CPC464,

4.5 DR. LOGO PROCEDURESA procedure is a list of instructions that tells Dr. Logo how to do a task.You will probably write your first procedures by add

When we use procedure squareanysize :side must have a value. Hence aninstruction squareanysize 150 would produce a square with sides of 150 units.

[CLR] deletes the character under the cursor, [DEL] deletes the character to the leftof the cursor.[ENTER] tells Dr.Logo that you have finished editin

4.10.1 WORD AND LIST PROCESSING:(Note that prompts ? and > are shown in the following examples)asciiOutputs the ASCII value of the first character

emptypOutputs TRUE if the input object is an empty word or an empty list; otherwise outputsFALSE.?emptyp "TRUE ?emptyp [] TRUE ?emptyp [x]FALSE ?

se(sentence) Outputs a list made up of the input objects, removes list's outer brackets(compare with list).?make "instr_list rl repeat 4 [fd

+Outputs the sum of the input numbers.?+ 2 2 4 ?2+2 4- Outputs the difference of the two input numbers.?- 10 5 5 ?10-5 5*Outputs the product of input

notOutputs TRUE if the input expression is FALSE; FALSE if the input expression isTRUE.?not (3=4)TRUE ?not (3=3) FALSEorOutputs FALSE if all input exp

4.10.4 VARIABLES:localMakes the input-named variable(s) accessible only to the current procedure and theprocedures it calls. >(local "x "

AMSTRAD DDI-1FOUNDATION COURSEFoundations 1: Setting UpConnecting the Mains LeadThe Amstrad disc drive operates from a 220-240V ~50Hz Mains Supply.The

toIndicates the beginning of a procedure definition.?to square >repeat 4[fd 50 rt 90] >end square defined4.10.6 EDITING:ed(edit) Loads the

ts (text screen) Selects a full text screen. ?tstypeDisplays the input object(s) on the text screen, removes list's outer brackets, does notfollo

fs(full screen) Selects a full graphic screen. ?fspal(palette) Outputs numbers representing the amount of red, green, and blue colourassig

wrapMakes the turtle reappear on the opposite side of the graphic screen when it exceedsthe boundary.?cs wrap ?rt 5 fd 1000 ?cs window ?rt 5 fd 10004.

pe(pen erase) Changes the turtle's pen colour to 0, the background colour; the turtleerases drawn lines.?fd 50 ?pe ?bk 25 ?fd 50 ?pd fd 25pu(p

setpos(set position) Moves the turtle to the position specified in the input coordinate list. ?setpos [30 20]st(show turtle) Makes the turtle visible

recycleFrees as many nodes as possible and reorganizes the workspace. ?recycle ?nodes4.9.11 PROPERTY LISTS:glist(get list) Outputs a list of all the o

4.10.12 DISC FILES:dir(directory) Outputs a list of Dr. Logo file names on the default or specified disc;accepts wild-cards.?dir [STARTUP STAR

paddleReturns the state of either joystick 0 or 1. The positions of the joystick are indicated asfollows:Value returned Meaning255 Nothing pressed0 Up

4.10.14 SOUND:The sound commands are unique to the AMSTRAD implementation of Dr. LOGO andare similar to their AMSTRAD BASIC counterparts. Refer to Cha

Connecting the DDI-1 to the Computer1. Check that the computer and disc drive(s) are switched off.2. Plug the Interface Unit firmly into the edge-conn

goExecutes the line within the current procedure following a label expression with thesame input word. >go "LoopifExecutes one of two instruct

4.10.16 EXCEPTION HANDLING:catchTraps errors and special conditions that occur during the execution of the inputinstruction li

TOPLEVEL throw "TOPLEVEL will exit all pending procedures.TRUE System value4.10.19 SYSTEM PROPERTIES.APVAssociated property value; the value of a

CHAPTER 5 Technical information for the user –FirmwareThis chapter assumes prior knowledge of the CPC464 firmware.Some knowledge of the fundamentals o

Unprotected ASCII files do not have headers. All other AMSDOS files have a singleheader in the first 128 bytes of the file, the header record. These h

5.4 Error MessagesAMSDOS uses the CP/M BIOS in order to access the disc. Thus BIOS messages willbe displayed in the event of a disc hardware error.In

Typing R for retry causes the BIOS to repeat the operation.Typing I for ignore causes the BIOS to continue as if the problem had not occured.Typing C

5.5 Disc OrganisationThe BIOS supports three different disc formats: SYSTEM format, DATA ONLYformat and IBM format. Under A

5.6 Jump Block Interception - by AMSDOSWhen AMSDOS is initialised it copies the relevant cassette jumpblock entries into itsown data area. When DISC i

Errors detected by the floppy disc controller are reported as a bit significant valuebetween #40..#7F, i.e. bit 6 is always set. The other bits are r

4. If you are operating with one disc drive only, connect the computer and disc driveas shown in Figure 3.Figure 35. If you are operating with 2 disc

APPENDIX 1 GLOSSARY OF TERMSAmbiguous File Name:A file name containing one or more wildcard characters. Ambiguous filenamesrefer to more than on

Cold start:The process of booting and initialising an operating system. A cold start of CP/M isperformed when the |CPM command is used.Console mode:CP

Dr.Logo:Digital Research's version of Logo, a programming language with a graphics turtle.Edit:To correct or make changes to data, a program or t

Page zero:This refers to the region of memory in a CP/M environment between 0000Hex and0100Hex that is used to hold vital system parameters.Physical d

System tracks:Tracks reserved on the disc for the CP/M system.TPA:Transient Program Area. An area in memory commencing at 0100Hex where CP/Muser progr

AMSTRAD Disc Drive & Interface DDI-1 Manual Appendix 1.6

APPENDIX 2DIGITAL RESEARCH & AMSTRAD END USERPROGRAM LICENCE AGREEMENTNOTICE TO USER - PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.DO NOT OPEN THE DISKETTE

4. Transfer the program and licence to another party if you notify DRI of name andaddress of the other party and the other party agrees to a) accept t

5. LIMITATIONS OF REMEDIESAMSTRAD's entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be the replacement ofany diskette not meeting this "Lim