Emulating CP/M 80 - MyZ80 instead of x128

[BillBuckels]

An Overview of MyZ80

This could also be titled "An Underview of x128". I said x128 is "OK"... I am simply being polite and appreciative of the WinVICE Team's tremendous and great quality effort in C64 and C128 emulation modes etc. but think that the CP/M and Z80 stuff on the C128 might not have been all that great and if it was, it doesn't seem to be reflected by x128's emulation.

Depending on your goals of course, if you are a vintage computing fan you won't care as long as it is historically correct, and the vintage part of me also enjoys the rough and ready nature of x128's CP/M Z80 emulation with the long yawns between programs and the many repeated characters that stream in from a single key press.

"MYZ80 - Virtual Z80 Reality for today's computers."

For developing or running Z80 software, myZ80 is the best emulator that I could imagine. Even if your eventual development target is the C128, whatever you do in MyZ80 will work as efficiently as anything else you might do even today regardless of what your programming tools or target platform might be.

I just thought I should mention this. The rest of this missive is a portion of the text from MyZ80.DOC followed by a link to the rest of it. Yes it sounds like blatant advertising but even though this program is already quite dated it really does work as well as Simeon Says...

You can download MyZ80 from the following link and this is all I think I will say on the subject (unless asked).

Download MyZ80
MyZ80 Tutorial

MicroFast Z80 Emulation Engine code,
MYZ80 API,
and The MYZ80 Emulator Package Versions 1.xx are each:
Copyright 1991,1992,1993,1994 Simeon Cran.

M Y Z 8 0

by Simeon Cran.

Welcome to MYZ80!

MYZ80 is a Z80/64180 emulator package. It was written to allow you to finally get rid of those old Z80 computers which  have done  so many fine years of service.  The new 80486, 80386 & 80286 machines with the fast hard drives and  the snazzy  OS/2 operating  systems are such a delight... but for many, the Z80 machines still have to be fired up from to time in order to develop code for CP/M and the Z80 chip. Well, not any more, thanks to MYZ80.

Other  emulators  on  the  market  are   less  than   satisfactory solutions.  Of  the small  number which  can actually  run without causing system errors under the later versions of  DOS, apparently none is capable of running real CP/M. Instead they use an emulated version of CP/M which is only as accurate  as the  developers have bothered to make it.

None can run CP/M  3.0, and  none can  run ZCPR  (which is  such a useful Z80 developer's environment).  Add to that their  less than perfect  Z80  emulation and  slow overall  performance, and  until MYZ80, the  'real' Z80  machines were  destined to  remain in  the office.

MYZ80 provides the solution being conceived, born and  nurtured to the point where it  is now  the most  useful Z80  emulator package ever!

MYZ80 features.

MYZ80 emulates the instruction set of the 8080, Z80 and Z180/64180 CPU chips. It does this with the "MicroFast Z80 Emulation  Engine" which is a very highly tuned piece of code designed to be as fast and as accurate as technically possible on 80286, 80386 and  80486 CPUs.

MYZ80 provides an interface (the MYZ80 API) to  the host  computer which allows real Z80 BDOSes to run in the MYZ80 environment. This interface provides disk and character I/O as well as two banks of 64k RAM (with common  area) and  a large  RAM disk.   These unique features allow MYZ80 to run 'real'  CP/M 2.2,  CP/M 3.0,  Z-System and ZPM3.

MYZ80  is  designed  for  the  latest  host computer  multitasking operating systems and makes Z80 programs  'host friendly'.   MYZ80 will  share  time  very  fairly  with  the  host.   Even  multiple instances of MYZ80 are supported.

MYZ80  can  take  advantage  of the  latest computer  hardware for increased performance. The Microfast Z80 Emulation Engine operates in either 16 (80286) or 32 (80386/80486/P5) bit mode depending  on the capabilities of the host computer.

MYZ80 runs beautifully on IBM AT compatible (or  better) computers under  DOS  3.3  compatible  (or later)  operating systems.   This includes running under OS/2 2.x, Desqview, and Windows 3.x.


Click Here for the Full Text of This Document

[Blacklord]

I've attached version 1.24 here. This was the last release in 1998. The author isn't contactable anymore unfortunately.

This version will run under Windows XP but will not run under Vista (it's a 16 bit application).

[commodorejohn]

Ooh, many thanks. I prefer doing the CP/M stuff on my 128 (it's a lot better if you're using the replacement BIOS on zimmers.net,) but this is such a handy program to have around.

[Blacklord]

Ooh, many thanks. I prefer doing the CP/M stuff on my 128 (it's a lot better if you're using the replacement BIOS on zimmers.net,) but this is such a handy program to have around.

I have a soft spot for CP/M - still have a lot of old software floating around that I still like to play with, using the current PC makes it a damn sight easier (& faster) as, unfortunately, I don't have a hard drive for the 128. Plus this is a very good emulator. I haven't found anything yet that I've thrown at it that it won't run.

Lance