CP/M-86 4.1: Internal representation of directories

PROC_dirname

Each process has a pointer to a structure describing that process's current directory on all 16 drives; I have called this structure a "PROC_dirname". There is a fixed number of these structures; at any moment in time, each one can be "in use" or "free". In CP/M-86 4.1, there are four, corresponding to the limit of four runnable processes.

Offset  Size    Data  	          Description
============================================================================
00	DW	drv_a, drv_b,...; Pointers to the current directory on all
				; 16 drives (near pointers in CP/M data 
				; segment)
20	DW	refcount	; 0 if this structure is free, 
				; otherwise number of processes using
				; this structure.
22	DW	nextfree	; If this structure is free, then it's 
				; part of a linked list. This is the 
				; address of the next element, 0 if the
				; structure is in use or last in the chain.	

All the pointers are near pointers within the CP/M data segment.

The pointer to the first free PROC_dirname is at 0192h in the CP/M data segment.

If a process is using a PROC_dirname structure, the word at 0011h in its process table entry will hold its offset relative to the CP/M data segment.

Pointers to directory definitions for a drive will be zero if the process is not using that drive.

PROC_drvdir

There will be one of these structures for each drive that a process has logged in; it is pointed to by the PROC_dirname structure above.

Offset  Size    Data              Description
============================================================================
0	DW	nextfree	; If this is on the free list, next 
				; entry in the list, 0 if last.

0	DB	drive		; If in use, drive letter this structure
				; applies to
1	DB	fs		; If in use, filesystem type on this drive
				; (bit 7 set for DOS FS)

2	DW	parent		; Cluster of parent directory, 0 for root
4	DW	count		; Offset of this directory's entry in 
				; parent directory?
6	DW	cluster		; Cluster of this directory
8	DW	refcount	; Reference count

Again, PROC_drvdir structures are allocated from a linked list; the head of the list is pointed to by the word at 0194h in the CP/M data segment. CP/M-86 itself allows 8 of these structures (two drives for four processes), but the XIOS can add more. For example, in PC1512 DOSPLUS, the XIOS allocates another 19, making 27 in total. (3 drives + 3 "assignable" drives (N: O: P:) per process; 3 spare, perhaps N: O: and P: for the DOS module).

John Elliott 14 May 2007