Software:KAMAS (program)
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| Original author(s) | Adam Trent |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Compusophic Systems Kamasoft |
| Initial release | 1984 |
| Operating system | CP/M |
| Platform | Zilog Z80 |
| Type | Outliner |
KAMAS, an acronym for Knowledge and Mind Amplification System, from Compusophic Systems, then Kamasoft (Aloha, Oregon), was, in the 1980s the most influential outliner or outline processor, and the first for CP/M.[1][2] It was a type of word processor that edited outline elements, enabling showing, hiding, promotion, demotion, and moving (cutting and pasting) of outline trees ("branches"). Each string of text occupied a "leaf". While some modern word processing programs include limited outline capability, none has the features of KAMAS. A number of outline processors exist for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, and the Apple Mac platforms.[3] None has achieved a significant market share, or the enthusiastic user base which supported KAMAS.[citation needed]
Adam Trent was president of Kamasoft and the central figure in the development of the program. The initial price was $147.
In addition to the outline processor, KAMAS was also released with a programming language, a threaded interpreter most similar to FORTH. It was found to be "complex and not easily learned," and most purchasers of KAMAS never used it.[4]
A simpler version without the programming facilities, Out-Think, was released in 1986.[5] The code was retooled for 8080 and NEC V20 and V30 compatibility (KAMAS required a Zilog Z80). The price was $69.95; the price for KAMAS had dropped to $99.95.
Some disks of auxiliary utility programs were sold.[6]
KAMAS, released in 1984, was the last important application written for the CP/M operating system.[citation needed] Its "home" computer was the Kaypro. An MS-DOS version was released, without the programming language.
The only output was print, or an untagged file image of the printed output, which required extensive editing to import into a word processing program. Except for a limited export in the MS-DOS version to other outline processors such as ThinkTank, there was no file export mechanism preserving the outline structure, nor did any third party develop a converter.
References
- ↑ James LaRue (September 2001). "A Blast from the Past: Classic Outliners". http://www.jlarue.com/blastfrompast.html. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ↑ James LaRue (February 18, 2002). "Outliners Redux". http://www.jlarue.com/outlinersredux.html. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ↑ They are reviewed by Allen Kent, "Computer Programs: Outliners", Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Volume 48, Supplement 12, CRC Press, 1991, ISBN:0256116997, pp. 175-220, by John Redmood, "Overview of Windows Outlining Programs," no date, but states "not updated since 2004," http://john.redmood.com/organizers.html, retrieved 2014-09-07, and the two articles of LaRue already cited.
- ↑ Mark Renne, "KAMAS. The first outline processor for CP/M machines", Infoworld, October 8, 1984, pp. 64-66, retrieved September 2015 and http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/content/computing/Kamasoft/KamasInfoWorldAarticleFlyerOct8_984.pdf, retrieved September 2015
- ↑ Advertisement published in Profiles (Kaypro Corporation's magazine), Volume 4, No. 1, July, 1986, p. 19, archived at https://archive.org/stream/PROFILES_Volume_4_Number_1_1986-07_Kaypro_Corp_US#page/n19/mode/2up, retrieved September 2015. It was reviewed in the same issue, Ted Silveira, "Idea Processors", pp. 21-26.
- ↑ Untitled, http://gopherproxy.meulie.net/gopher.floodgap.com/0/archive/walnut-creek-cd-simtel/LAMBDA/CATALOG.TXT, retrieved September 2015; untitled, http://www.retroarchive.org/cpm/cdrom/_BBS/WC30/ALLFILES.TXT, retrieved September 2015
Further reading
- Jonathan Price, Outline Goes Electronic, Ablex, 1999, ISBN:1567503780
External links
- "Brochure advertising the program". http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/content/computing/Kamasoft/KAMAS_TheClassicVehicle.pdf. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- "Letters from publisher to purchaser; technical specifications". 1985. http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/content/computing/Kamasoft/Kamas_Letters.pdf. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- "Brochure advertising Version 2, the MS-DOS version, price $69.95". http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/content/computing/Kamasoft/KamasV2flyer.pdf. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- [1] 80 Micro review of KAMAS running on TRS-80 Model 4 under Montezuma CP/M
- [2] Byte product preview of KAMAS including short example of KAMAS program code
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