KAMAS (program)
 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (September 2016) |
| Original author(s) | Adam Trent |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Compusophic Systems Kamasoft |
| Initial release | 1984 |
| Operating system | CP/M |
| Platform | Zilog Z80 |
| Type | Outliner |
| Website | http://kamasoft.com |
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
[edit]- ^ James LaRue (September 2001). "A Blast from the Past: Classic Outliners". Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ James LaRue (February 18, 2002). "Outliners Redux". 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
[edit]- Jonathan Price, Outlining Goes Electronic, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1999, ISBN 1567503780
External links
[edit]- "Brochure advertising the program" (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- "Letters from publisher to purchaser; technical specifications" (PDF). 1985. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- "Brochure advertising Version 2, the MS-DOS version, price $69.95" (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