CFOG's PIP, March 1988, Volume 7 No. 2, Whole No. 64, page 17
History Shells
by Benjamin H. Cohen
Copyright 1987 by Benjamin H. Cohen. All rights reserved.
If you ever make any entries on the CP/M command line a "history" shell might nice. This is simply a way of retrieving and editing previous commands. For example, sometimes I want to check out a bunch of floppy disks to make sure what's on them. Enter SD B: /ASR[RETURN]. The "/ASR" tells the super directory program to check all user areas, to list system files, and to perform a reset before checking the disk. I could retype this command over and over, or define a function key or use a 'keys' program like GKX, or, with a history shell I could press a single key combination like CTRL-B or CTRL-W to recall it, and then simply press the [RETURN].
When I print files for PIP I use Magic Print. When I see a typo I have to edit the file again and then print it again. Two more commands. With the Paul Pomerleau's EASE, a ZCPR3 history shell and error handler, I just hit [CTRL-B] twice to get back the previous edit command. On exit, I hit [CTRL-B] two more times to get the print command. On my Osborne Executive with CP/M+, the command is [CTRLW], but in either case the effect is the same.
There are a number of different solutions to this problem, depending on whether you're using ZCPR, CP/M 2.2, or CP/M+. If you think this type of program might help you, look around.