Porting CP/M software to a MicroOffice Roadrunner

[falter]

I'm hoping this is the right forum for this. I've got this RoadRunner laptop - it's a clamshell style laptop that runs a version of CP/M and is cartridge based. It has battery backed RAM carts that can be used as disk drives.

According to the documentation, it is should be capable of running most any CP/M software, and at one time there were plans to 'port' (not sure if that's the right term here) software to the machine by way of cartridge. The machine has a built in terminal - you can totally connect via serial to something and potentially download software to the RAM carts. The problem is, there is no way I can find to actually run outside CP/M software. The only software the machine recognizes as software you can operate, is software that comes on ROM carts (like BASIC, etc). I've examined the contents of these carts using the internal utility's DIRECTORY function, and BASIC for example shows up as BASIC.PGM

Since the ROM carts actually contain EPROMs, I'm wondering - what would potentially be involved conceptually in trying to, say change out the EPROM in one of the carts with an EPROM loaded with other software? Would something like, say, Zork, have to be modified to accomodate the machine's hardware, or is that covered by the OS? How would, or could, you approach taking something like ZORK over to an EPROM and make it usable by the system? Or is it way too complicated?

As far as I can see from the built-in OS, there is no way to run a program manually, ie. by just executing a .COM file.

Anyway, just wondering if this would be in the realm of possible, given this is a CP/M based system.

 

[krebizfan]

Have you extracted one of the PGM files and compared it with the matching software's COM file? That might give an idea of what needs to be changed. If "all" CP/M software would work, then the changes needed to create a PGM out of a COM should be minimal*. Given what I have seen about it, the program will likely needed to be modified to work with the tiny screen.

* I am guessing based on the BASIC description that there is a wrapper that informs the system about the program so it can be listed with the function key needed to launch.

 

[falter]

I haven't extracted it.. was debating the best way to do that. I did dump one of the cart ROMs (they're HN4827128Gs) but I think I need to actually send the PGM file to my PC via transfer right?

For example I have SuperCalc on cart.. I'm assuming I could compare it to a generic CP/M version to see what's different about the two.

I suspect the PGM file extension is custom for MicroOffice and as you said probably contains a wrapper that allows the program to appear in the menuing system for execution. It's too bad they didn't allow you to drop to a CP/M command prompt. That would have made the machine a lot more useful.

 

[GeoffB17]

So, PGM could just be an alternative for .COM?

If you run BASIC, and SAVE a prog, what is the file saved as. .BAS? How does this .BAS compare to a normal CP/M .BAS for, say, MS-BASIC?

The 22NICE system allows for the running of CP/M progs on a PC. There is a util to convert the prog, which converts prog.COM to .CMD, which adds a header (wrapper if you like) to the file so it can access the .LIB file. In reality, the CP/M prog is little changed, most happens at run time. If I remember correctly?

Yea, you need to extract something that can be compared. Ideally, something that there is the genuine CP/M version to compare with. ZORK is OK, not too big, fairly widespread. Most progs will have have quickly recog signs re data being put at &H80, and start point being &H100

Geoff