GDOS-80

Complete ROMed Operating System

for cards with Z80 code compatible

GDOS-80 English Tech. Manual PDF format.

Ver.5.40 - Rel.. 19 April 1999.

G E N E R A L

GDOS-80 is a software tools developed for all grifo® industrial cards based on the wide Z80 family of microprocessor.

This software tools allows programmation of these cards through high level environments that doesn't require a closely knowledge of the used hardware. With GDOS-80, the user exployes high level programming languages and many other resources, not available in other different software tools. It is possible to develop, debug and install any kind of user programs obtaining complete applications in a fast and confortable way.

GDOS-80 is a simple and efficient operating system for industrial application. It derives from famous Digital Research CP/M operating system and it has similar command and similar programming mode. For those users that don't know the CP/M, these modes can be compared to the MS-DOS famous ones, in fact GDOS-80 preserves its philosophy of use.

As well as all the operating systems, GDOS-80 interfaces hardware to the user, so this one never must develop low level firmware but he can directly use hardware with high level instructions, commands and languages. The power of GDOS-80 is the result of two features: the possibility to choose between many programming environments (theoretically all CP/M softwares) and the possibility to use the hardware resource of an external personal computer to simplify the develop and debug phases.

For example GDOS-80 manages the following hardware resource: serial lines, printers, mass memory devices, user interfaces that can whole be used by programmers through simple instrunctions of the selected programming language. Normally the operating system uses a little space of memory and it shares the use of one serial line. If this features are not acceptable, there are some hardware solution that solve the problem.

GDOS-80 is composed by some subsistems that create a confortable develop environment provided of: notes, guides, on line help, examples, etc.

The GDOS-80 is composed by software on disks, a user manual and a memory device (EPROM or FLASH EPROM) for the used card.

GDOS-80 REQUIREMENTS

Z80 based control card

It is the electronic card that belong to grifo® industrial set, based on Z80, Z180, HD64180 and compatible microprocessors, as:

• Single Europe Size (100x160)
  • GPC® 15A
  • GPC® 80F
  • GPC® 81F
  • GPC® 150
• BLOCK Type (100x195 mm e 100x245 mm)
  • GPC® 011
  • GPC® 15R
• 3 Type (100x145 mm)
  • GPC® 153
  • GPC® 183
• 4 Type (100x50 mm)
  • GPC® 154
  • GPC® 184

Independently from the application to develop, the target card must be provided of:

• EPROM or FLASH EPROM with GDOS-80 operating system
• at least 64K bytes of RAM
• one asyncronous RS 232 serial line

Personal Computer

A personal computer provided of:

• 3 1/2" floppy disk drive
• at least 640K RAM
• one RS 232 serial line with V24 standard
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system version >= 3.3 or WINDOWS version >= 3.11

An hard disk is not necessary but recomended to speed all the files management operations.

Programming software

This is the software that must be used to write and test the application program to develop. In details the programming software is one of the following programming languages :

• BASIC interpreter (NSB8)
• BASIC Compiler (CBZ-80)
• PASCAL compiler (PASCAL 80; Embedded PASCAL)
• C Compiler (HiTech C 80, DDS MICRO C)
• FORTRAN
• ASSEMBLY
• MODULA 2

GDOS-80 FEATURES

The GDOS-80, when combined with a programming software, can be used to develop embedded code for the selected control card. It has many features that are below summarized

• It includes a start up code that defines stack, initializes some on board peripheral devices and it plans the operating system resources management.
• It uses about 6K of memory, initially placed in EPROM or FLASH EPROM and after in RAM.
• It manages the EPROM or FLASH EPROM that exceed the 16K bytes as an high level ROM Disk drive, where data are organized in read only files.
• It manages the RAM that exceed the 64K bytes as an high level RAM Disk drive, where data are organized in read and write files.
• It is a non intrusive operating system, in fact it doesn't use interrupts and it doesn't execute operations autonomously.
• It is a determinable operating system: the execution times of its functions are fixed, therefore it can be used even in real time applications.
• It loads and executes the application programs, developed by the user, on RAM.
• It manages the FLASH EPROM programmation with the code developed by the user.
• It generates the EPROM immage with the code developed by the user. This immage must be burned through a proper EPROM programmer.
• It manages one console serial line necessary every time GDOS-80 is used also for the application develop and debug phases.
• It manages one auxiliary serial line available for an high level characters reception and transmission with a predefined physical communication protocol.
• It manages 14 TTL I/O lines to drive a CENTRONICS parallel printer (connected for example with IAC-01 or DEB-01 modules).
• It includes driver for the on board serial EEPROM managed at high level as a buffer where data can be loaded and saved in a byte form.
• It manages 16 TTL I/O lines at high level to drive a RAM CARD PCMCIA (interfaced with MCI-64), as a large RAM DISK drive, where data are organized in read and write files.
• It manages 16 TTL I/O lines at high level to drive a local operator interface panel (for example QTP 24P, KDL x24, KDF-224, QTP 16P, etc) equipped with alphanumeric display, LEDs and matrix keyboard. With GDOS-80 the user can use these resources through the console instructions of the selected programming language.
• It retriggers the Watch Dog circuit.
• It includes a list of utility program and commands that increase the versatility of the system. Among these: DIR, SAVE, REN, ERA, COPY, FORMAT, VER, etc.
• It includes many utility functions that allows the use of all GDOS-80 features either at high or low level, directly from the user application program.
• It is prepared to operate also with application programs that manages vectorized interrupts.
• It is available a reach list of example for each control card and each programming language. These examples are supplied in source and executable form, they are well documented and they show how to use the card hardware section through the operating system.
• It has No License nor additional costs. The user is free to develop all the applications that he requires even without advise grifo®.

GDOS-80 VERSION

To satisfy all the different requirements of the customers, the GDOS 80 is available in the following versions:

GDOS xxx
Operating system for target card GPC® xxx on EPROM.

FGDOS xxx
Operating system for target card GPC® xxx on FLASH EPROM.

GDOS xxx MCI and FGDOS xxx MCI
Operating system for target card GPC® xxx on EPROM or FLASH EPROM, with memory card RAM disk management, through MCI 64.

FGD xxx and FGD xxx MCI
FLASH EPROM for target card GPC® xxx with the operating system saved on its first sector.

Page up-dated at January 24, 2009

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