Difference between revisions of "Cosmos"

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There were many serious business applications available for the CPC6128 running under [[CP/M]]-80: [[WordStar]], [[Protext]], [[Multiplan]], [[SuperCalc 2]], [[DBase II]], [[Cashbook Accounts]], [[DR Draw]], [[DR Graph]], [[2 in 1]], [[PAWS]], to name a few. Furthermore there were many high level languages ([[Programming software]]) available for the CPC6128 running under CP/M-80 that were used for research and development. <br><br> '''COSMOS''' is a personal '''COS'''t '''MO'''nitoring '''S'''ystem developed by [[KSL|KSL]] for CPC6128 which runs under CP/M-80. It is a personal business application similar to the MSDOS-era PC applications and one of the most recent (2020) projects developed for CP/M-80. Unlike most business applications for CP/M, COSMOS is built upon the '''mouse based graphics user interface''' as pioneered by Xerox at Palo Alto and popularized by Apple with the Lisa and Macintosh computers. COSMOS can be used on an everyday basis in order to edit the daily income, plan the monthly expenses and perform trial and error analyses aiming at maximizing the annual profit. COSMOS requires the [[Dobbertin]] 63 KB TPA version of [[CP/M|CP/M 2.2]] and an external disk drive (min 360 KB). Moreover, it supports the 512 KB [[Dobbertin Memory Expansion]], the 20 MB [[Dobbertin Harddisc]], the [[Amstrad Serial Interface]], the Amstrad Parallel [[Printer Port]], the [[CTM640/CTM644]] color monitor for the 16-color screen saver and the [[AMX Mouse]]. In addition to its main functions, COSMOS also contains the latest version of [[ASCII Tools]] in order to deal with the COSMOS large output files. By executing the setup installation utility (A>SETUP) that is included in the COSMOS original disk, the user can initialize any annual project or start a temporary project in order to  become familiar with the COSMOS user interface and functions. As far as the controls are concerned, '''Cursor keys''' or '''Mouse''' can be used in order to control the pointer. '''[F0]''' key simulates the left  button of the mouse, whereas '''[F.]''' key simulates the right button of the mouse. Left button can be used for (Yes), whereas the right button can be used for (No),(Next) or (On-Board) help. ESC key can be used to quit. <br><br>
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'''COSMOS''' is a personal '''COS'''t '''MO'''nitoring '''S'''ystem programed by [[KSL|KSL]] for the CPC6128 and [[CP/M]]-80 operating system, the latter being the industry standard of the late 70s - early 80s. This budget monitoring system is a business application similar to the MSDOS-era PC applications and one of the most recent (2021) projects developed for CP/M. Unlike most applications for CP/M, COSMOS is built upon the '''mouse based graphics user interface''' as pioneered by Xerox at Palo Alto and popularized by Apple with the Lisa and Macintosh computers. Nowadays,  COSMOS can be used on an everyday basis (using [[CaPriCe]] or [[WinCPC]] or a real CPC) in order to edit the daily income, plan the monthly expenses and perform trial and error analyses aiming at maximizing the annual profit. Notice that COSMOS also contains the latest version of [[ASCII Tools]]. <br><br>
'''To download the latest version of COSMOS (v.26/Winter 2020) use the link located at the bottom of this page.'''
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'''Boot CP/M using the original COSMOS disk and execute A>SETUP.COM.''' <br><br>
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Upon installing COSMOS in drive B or HD20 it is suggested to execute COSMOS using all the available extra RAM (no RAM load minimization) and to use a new empty boot disk in drive A as the redundant disk (user level software RAID-1 operation). Notice that a full annual project of COSMOS, including the user attachments, the user block of invoices, the summary files as well as the user agenda notices requires minimum 350 KB of disc space. <br><br>
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<br><br>
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<br><br>
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'''History of COSMOS''' <br><br>
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COSMOS has been developed on the basis of the hardware peripherals as well as the software that were (contemporary) available for the  CP/M and the CPC6128: the 512 KB [[Dobbertin Memory Expansion]], the [[ParaDOS]] or [[X-DDOS]] ROMS for the external (800 KB) floppy drive, the 20 MB [[Dobbertin Harddisc]], the [[Amstrad Serial Interface]], the Amstrad Parallel [[Printer Port]], the [[CTM640/CTM644]] colour monitor, the [[AMX Mouse]], the [[MicroScript]] (142 KB), the [[WordStar]] (706 KB), the [[Protext]] (406 KB), the [[Multiplan]] (208 KB), the [[SuperCalc 2]] (240 KB), the [[DBase II]] (272 KB), the [[DR Draw]] (235 KB), the [[DR Graph]] (306 KB), the [[MAXAM]] (206 KB), the [[Atlast Plus]] (224 KB) and other [[Programming software]]. COSMOS includes its own graphics routines (similar to [[GSX]]), is based on the [[Dobbertin]] version of CP/M 2.2 (v1.2) which provides 59 KB TPA, supports the RAM expansion and the 20 MB hard disk.  <br><br>
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In addition to the command and chain files, COSMOS original disc also contains the CP/M 2.2 (v1.2) boot sectors as well as an installation utility. By executing the latter utility (A>SETUP) the user can initialize any annual project or start a temporary project in order to  become familiar with the COSMOS user interface and functions.  Upon installing COSMOS in drive B or HD20 it is suggested to execute COSMOS using all the available extra RAM (no RAM load minimization) and to use a new empty CP/M 2.2 (v1.2) boot disk in drive A as the redundant disk. A full annual project of COSMOS, including the user attachments, the user block of invoices, the summary files as well as the user agenda notices requires minimum 350 KB of disc space. <br><br> As far as the controls are concerned, '''Cursor keys''' or '''Mouse''' can be used in order to control the pointer. '''[F0]''' key simulates the left  button of the mouse, whereas '''[F.]''' key simulates the right button of the mouse. Left button can be used for (Yes), whereas the right button can be used for (No),(Next) or (On-Board) help. ESC key can be used to quit. <br><br>
  
May 2005 <br>
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'''To download the final version of COSMOS (v.27/November 2021) use the link located at the bottom of this page.''' <br>
Starting COSMOS coding during Military Service (Limnos Island) <br><br>
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'''Boot CP/M 2.2 v1.2 using the original COSMOS disk and execute A>SETUP.COM.''' <br><br> The project is completed.
 
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January 2006 <br>
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COSMOS first release (v.18)! <br><br>
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June 2006 <br>
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Improved COSMOS documentation <br>
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COSMOS OverView added in COSMOS Tools <br>
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Transfer function added in OverView module (Overview -> Month processor) <br>
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Number of hits added in search (SRC) module <br>
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New editor added for user attachments (NotePad-like) <br>
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Added support for attachments: *.ATT extension files only <br>
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Added the ability to modify text attachments with built in editor (ATT files) <br>
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All in-progress ASCII bars converted to real graphic bars <br>
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Verification of Cost matrix added in tools module <br>
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Improved speed for SUM module <br>
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Option added for <End Of Month> Calculations and 2D Graph <br>
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Added the ability to install COSMOS in HD-0 (Dobbertin/Vortex/Campursoft ?) <br>
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Small graphic icons added at specific procedures and locations <br>
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Option for 5 sequential inputs added in month processor (instead of calc.) <br>
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Annual agenda module included in COSMOS OverView (view and edit) <br>
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Full Agenda Search support added in search module <br>
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Individual Annual Agenda module added (this requires a lot of memory...) <br>
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Improved Month editor <br>
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Alarm signal added in SUM module <br>
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Warning Meassages added in case of negative cash availability <br>
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Optimized Ram Expansion management for multiple projects <br>
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COSMOS second release (v.19)! <br><br>
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July 2007 <br>
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Improved Verify procedure to check Net annual costs and income <br>
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Skip Option added in SUM module providing faster execution time <br>
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Save icon added in advanced mode (3.5" disc) <br>
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Printer support for TXT review file (instead of using CP/M PIP) <br>
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Printer function checked with EPSON Stylus Color 640 printer, Hewlett Packard 410 Laser printer and EPSON 6200L laser printer <br>
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Auxiliary logical device support for review file (PUN: and RDR:) <br>
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Improved Agenda editor <br>
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In-progress  bars  added  while Printing or transferring <br>
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Left margin added on printed hard copy in SUM print function <br>
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All CRT frames and logos tuned for reasons of uniformity <br>
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Calculation of maximum profit added in SUM module <br>
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Previous year residual added in TXT review file <br>
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VDU bugs fixed in Overview, Annual and Constant module <br>
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Help modules homogenized in one executable <br>
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All modules renamed for easier backup using wild cards (module.*) <br>
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Improved management of temporary files <br>
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Free disk space and free RAM space added <br>
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Added control of destination disk space in Setup <br>
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Each comment variable size reduced by 1 byte <br>
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Day and Date added in Agenda in Overview module <br>
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Graphic bar added in month module <br>
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Sequantial month analysis added for faster processing <br>
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Added comments length check <br>
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New low level routines added (some provided by Werner Cirsovius :) ) <br>
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New TAX module added to control TAX <br>
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Virtual matrices reduced to allow COSMOS execution in 169 kB disks <br>
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Alert function implemented in COSMOS Main, Overview, Agenda and SUM <br>
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Code checked for its validity for more than 2 years on a daily basis <br>
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Automatic tracking of income or expenses added in Search module <br>
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COSMOS third release (v.20) <br><br>
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September 2008 <br>
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Improving software processing speed: <br>
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Improved speed for End of Month calculations (+ 700 %) <br>
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Improved speed for project Verification (+ 700 %) <br>
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Improved speed for Constant module (+ 700 %) <br>
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Adding available cash in month module <br>
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Improving management of memory resources: <br>
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Improved memory management for AmsDOS/X-DDOS/ParaDOS ROM machines <br>
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Improved TPA memory resources <br>
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Adding the ability to compress (ZIP) projet, releasing disk space <br>
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Adding the ability to Retrieve project from ZIP file <br>
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ZIP effect:Up to 16 projects for X-DDOS/ParaDOS users on the same disk! <br>
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Compressed Tools source code to gain 5 kB of RAM <br>
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Improving Graphics User Interface: <br>
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Added 2D graph support for very large profits (larger than MaxInt) <br>
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Improving software performance: <br>
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System bug fixed for drive B: free disk space in Tools <br>
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Added user defined delay parameter in SUM module and option for page mode <br>
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Escape function implemented using ESC key for on board help <br>
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Improved robustness of SETUP installation utility <br>
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Included Currency support (Euro, USD, GBP, or other) for all modules <br>
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Added the ability to edit any ASCII char (127-255) in Attachments <br>
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Printer support: <br>
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Adding drivers for Windows dot matrix printers (EPSON LX-300) <br>
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Added the ability to directly print attachments <br>
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Added the ability to directly print each month data <br>
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Added the ability to directly print constant income / expenses <br>
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Added the ability to directly print End of Month Cash <br>
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Introducing CNTRL key functions in Tools Module for drive contents <br>
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Added on board calculator in Tools Module <br>
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Move function added in Month Module <br>
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Forward/Backward move added in Month Module <br>
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Improved GUI in OverView module <br>
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Added new Screen Saver (the graphics example included in Turbo Pascal v.3.00 MSDOS disk, modified to 16 colors to run on CPC) <br>
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Added full suport for small-RAM extension machines (64-256 kB) <br>
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Mixed running mode implemented (part of project in RAM extension) <br>
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Implementing Amstrad CPC - Windows XP HyperTerminal communication <br>
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COSMOS v.21 released! <br><br>
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March 2013 <br>
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Improving all modules and algorithms to make software run faster on real CPC systems <br>
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Improving Screen Saver <br>
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Improving Tax module <br>
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Fixing I/O errors <br>
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Adding drive/RAM disk access warnings in all modules <br>
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Improving Alert function for continuous monitoring of the alert day <br>
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Added warning for improper installation target media <br>
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Added ASCII Code of extended range charachters in Attachment editor <br>
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Making application look like an Amtrad PC 1512/1640 MS-DOS application <br>
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January 2014..January 2015 <br>
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Testing the software using WinCPC emulator <br>
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COSMOS final release <br><br>
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May 2017 <br>
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COSMOS Calculator User Interface (UI) bug fixed <br>
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COSMOS Annual UI bug fixed <br>
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COSMOS Constant UI bug fixed <br>
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COSMOS Agenda UI bug fixed <br>
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CP/M version check added at initialization of Setup.com and Cosmos.com <br>
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COSMOS TAX modified according to general taxation laws <br>
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Alternative printer driver UI bug fixed <br>
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Screen Saver added in COSMOS Agenda <br>
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Keys and Mouse operation explaination added in SETUP.COM <br>
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COSMOS Month and COSMOS Agenda linked <br>
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Transformation function Y=Ax+B option added in COSMOS Tools <br>
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Export function added in COSMOS Agenda <br>
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Export function added in COSMOS TAX <br>
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Alert symbol in COSMOS main improved <br>
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Demo version option added in installation <br>
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UI bug fixed in COSMOS Month <br>
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ASCII code error in COSMOS Tools/Att corrected<br>
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Block.Att attachment included (template of block of receipts or invoices) <br>
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Printer connection warning added in COSMOS Prn <br>
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RS232 Serial Interface connection warning added in COSMOS Srl <br>
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Improved support added for 2D Graph in case of higher cash than MaxInt <br>
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New graph added depicting the available cash per day (366 days) <br>
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Seargent - major graphics removed and replaced with a bar chart <br>
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On board help revised<br>
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File name included in attachment editor <br>
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October 2017 - version 23 released. <br><br>
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Agenda soft copy option added <br>
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Enter hit inputs considered as zero inputs in all modules <br>
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All COSMOS modules renamed for uniformity of directory especially in 800 KB <br>
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Disks and Dobbertin Hard disk HD20 <br>
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Added a second screen saver (randomly plotted triangles) <br>
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Added Cmp (Comparison) module in COSMOS Tools in order to compare up to 15 projects on the basis of the 15 different Summary annual reports. <br>
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ASCII Tools (previously released as ASCII Tools v3) adapted accordingly and added in COSMOS Tools in order to provide support for the COSMOS output text files. <br>
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I/O error check added for all ASCII Tools (source file) <br>
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DEMO.TXT included to depict ASCII Tools output <br>
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Screen saver added in ASCII Tools <br>
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December 2017 - Version 24 released. <br><br>
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May 2020 (Covid-19 era) - Preparing v.25 <br>
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SETUP utility imporved and modified in order to prepare the adaptation of its source code to other CP/M-80 systems (future project, CP/M plus version) <br>
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Demo project improved - 15 annual demo projects added for Cmp module <br>
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Message for the benefits of CP/M-80 systems added in SETUP utility <br>
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Input and output of all modules improved and optimized <br>
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Efficiency of the main and most useful modules (Cst, Month, Annual) strongly improved. <br>
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COSMOS Annual module redesigned for optimal performance and efficiency <br>
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Flags of the selected operation mode added in all modules (FD/HD, RS232C, MIN/MAX Ram expansion) <br>
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Redundant mode operation implemented (similar to user level software RAID-1) in order to provide option for real-time back-up of the current project <br>
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Added further support of the Dobbertin 20 MB hard disk - option to work as the redundant drive and ability to show drive contents (CNTRL-D..G in Tools) <br>
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All COSMOS Tools sub-modules improved <br>
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July 2020 - Version 25 released. <br><br>
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August 2020 - Preparing version 26. <br>
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Spelling mistakes corrected in COSMOS Help <br>
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Instructions in COSMOS Help improved regarding CPC - PC communication via the serial RS232 interface <br>
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Real-time communication of COSMOS with external devices added using the Serial or the Parallel port <br>
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Function tested using CPC and WinXP/Win7 <br>
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December 2020 - Version 26 released during the second Lock-Down (Covid-19). <br><br>
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== Download ==
 
== Download ==

Latest revision as of 16:13, 7 July 2022

COSMOS is a personal COSt MOnitoring System programed by KSL for the CPC6128 and CP/M-80 operating system, the latter being the industry standard of the late 70s - early 80s. This budget monitoring system is a business application similar to the MSDOS-era PC applications and one of the most recent (2021) projects developed for CP/M. Unlike most applications for CP/M, COSMOS is built upon the mouse based graphics user interface as pioneered by Xerox at Palo Alto and popularized by Apple with the Lisa and Macintosh computers. Nowadays, COSMOS can be used on an everyday basis (using CaPriCe or WinCPC or a real CPC) in order to edit the daily income, plan the monthly expenses and perform trial and error analyses aiming at maximizing the annual profit. Notice that COSMOS also contains the latest version of ASCII Tools.

COSMOS has been developed on the basis of the hardware peripherals as well as the software that were (contemporary) available for the CP/M and the CPC6128: the 512 KB Dobbertin Memory Expansion, the ParaDOS or X-DDOS ROMS for the external (800 KB) floppy drive, the 20 MB Dobbertin Harddisc, the Amstrad Serial Interface, the Amstrad Parallel Printer Port, the CTM640/CTM644 colour monitor, the AMX Mouse, the MicroScript (142 KB), the WordStar (706 KB), the Protext (406 KB), the Multiplan (208 KB), the SuperCalc 2 (240 KB), the DBase II (272 KB), the DR Draw (235 KB), the DR Graph (306 KB), the MAXAM (206 KB), the Atlast Plus (224 KB) and other Programming software. COSMOS includes its own graphics routines (similar to GSX), is based on the Dobbertin version of CP/M 2.2 (v1.2) which provides 59 KB TPA, supports the RAM expansion and the 20 MB hard disk.

In addition to the command and chain files, COSMOS original disc also contains the CP/M 2.2 (v1.2) boot sectors as well as an installation utility. By executing the latter utility (A>SETUP) the user can initialize any annual project or start a temporary project in order to become familiar with the COSMOS user interface and functions. Upon installing COSMOS in drive B or HD20 it is suggested to execute COSMOS using all the available extra RAM (no RAM load minimization) and to use a new empty CP/M 2.2 (v1.2) boot disk in drive A as the redundant disk. A full annual project of COSMOS, including the user attachments, the user block of invoices, the summary files as well as the user agenda notices requires minimum 350 KB of disc space.

As far as the controls are concerned, Cursor keys or Mouse can be used in order to control the pointer. [F0] key simulates the left button of the mouse, whereas [F.] key simulates the right button of the mouse. Left button can be used for (Yes), whereas the right button can be used for (No),(Next) or (On-Board) help. ESC key can be used to quit.

To download the final version of COSMOS (v.27/November 2021) use the link located at the bottom of this page.
Boot CP/M 2.2 v1.2 using the original COSMOS disk and execute A>SETUP.COM.

The project is completed.

Download