Version 2.0 of CP/M, plus a few other changes in the micro world, has merited a second edition of the CP/M primer.

For quite a lot of money, you get nine chapters and a couple of appendices, all with diagrams, screen-prints and cartoons spread liberally throughout.

Why there's a need for an operating system, through to descriptions of CP/M's utilities such as SUBMIT and XSUB are covered. Each section goes over the operation of the different aspects of CP/M, and for the inquisitive this book is a treat.

Sounds good, doesn't it? But I'm dubious.

My point is this. If I had just bought a CP/M system for my business, I would want a primer to get me, my machine and my software working in harmony.

Though the primer covers the operation of CP/M and its associated utilities in excellent detail, it fails to explain how to interact with the machine or other software. It baffles me why the authors haven't included relevant sections.

As it is, this primer gives readers interested in the technical information a good (but expensive) read: for those who haven't a clue, it might be wise to shop around.

Peter Worlock