Comparing a Control Program for Microcomputers file to a Portable Document File is an apples-to-oranges comparison. The original CPM files came from a disk-operating program in the 1980s for 8-bit computers used to manage a computer’s hard drive. Adobe created the PDF format to allow people to share documents from most any software application in a secure format. Most files with a CPM extension are program commands, while PDF files are not.
Background of CPM
- The origination of CPM dates to 1974 and Dr. Gary A. Kildall, who worked for Intel and invented the disk operating system for use with the new microcomputers, now known as personal computers or PCs. Microsoft built its disk operating system on the CPM architecture and released MSDOS in 1981 on IBM computers. The original CPM files, built on the 8-bit technology of the time, later advanced for use with computers built on 16-bit technology.
CPM Program Commands
- One of the commands associated with the CPM file extension, mkfs.cpm, creates the CPM file system on the subject computer, while fsck.cpm completes system checks and can repair simple errors in a CPM file. The fsed.cpm command allows the person to view the CPM file system. Control Program for Microcomputers predated the Microsoft DOS language by eight years. Because the CPM file extensions are for commands associated with the CPM system, they are in no way associated with or similar to files created with the PDF file extension.
PDF Background
- Created over 18 years ago by Adobe Systems, today the PDF format has become a global standard for sharing information across software applications, computers and the Internet. The PDF format is now an International Standards Organization 32000 standard for exchanging documents; it is safe and reliable to use. When Adobe created the file format for the virtual exchange of documents in 1993, it also created the free Adobe reader, the software that can view or print -- if the file contains these permissions -- all PDF documents, regardless of the software originally used to create the document.
PDF Document Use
- Many global government agencies, companies and websites use the portable document format to share their documents. The documents are secure; they cannot be changed and can be created from almost any software application. If you add a PDF Writer driver to your printer, instead of printing a document physically, the driver allows you to print a PDF document to your computer for uploading and sharing as needed. The PDF format can embed fonts, pictures and links. You can scan a file and save it to a PDF format so that anyone with the free Adobe reader can view the document.
