It may seem a contradiction in terms to talk about a comprehensive guide to using CP/M that is easy to read. Digital Research's new guide which reaches the world under the snappy title CP/M Plus Handbook: Operator's and Programmer's Guide for the Amstrad CPC 6128 and PCW82S6 only goes part of the way to proving this wrong. The book has been about for some time (it has been published in one form or other since 1983) but the publishers have recently launched a new 'Revised Paperback Edition'. Digital Research are the designers of CP/M, and so their 'official' book should be pretty definitive. It attacks CP/M on two fronts - first, explaining how to use all the CP/M commands, and second a technical description of the internals of CP/M for the benefit of hackers. On the plus side it provides comprehensive information on all the subjects you will be interested in, and more importantly you can find all the information you want pretty easily. For once here is a CP/M book adequately indexed both at the beginning and the end of the book - something of a rarity. The main revision of the book seems to be summed up in the words 'Now with GSX Supplement' proudly proclaimed on the front cover - a bit like a toothpaste advert. For all those who are interested in the mysterious world of GSX this 40 page appendix will be worth the £14.95 alone. For those who are not yet into GSX it is not written in a style that will tempt them to dabble in graphics from BASIC. It is comprehensive in its descriptions of the CP/M commands, with a number of examples to help you through, and even has a section 'How To Start CP/M Plus' reminding you to check that the computer's power is on. However, this is not really a book for the beginner to dip into. The 'User's' part takes up considerably less than half the book and is written in a way that it would be more use to someone wanting to fill in gaps in their knowledge of CP/M than a complete beginner. The people who will get most out of the CP/M Plus Handbook are those who are interested in programming. It does have something for the beginner here - practical examples to look at — but of course the chance to lay hands on such comprehensive information about the PCW will make it vital reading for programmers. 8000Plus | 
