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From: nazgul@apollo.uucp (Kee Hinckley)
Newsgroups: net.micro.apple
Subject: Re: 6502 assemblers (and a note on ProDos C)
Message-ID: <2bde0785.7005@apollo.uucp>
Date: Mon, 10-Feb-86 18:48:29 EST
Article-I.D.: apollo.2bde0785.7005
Posted: Mon Feb 10 18:48:29 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Feb-86 21:40:12 EST
References: <1066@utcs.uucp> <4269@mhuxd.UUCP> <2419@reed.UUCP> <874@umn-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: nazgul@apollo.UUCP (Kee Hinckley)
Organization: Apollo Computer Inc., Chelmsford MA
Lines: 67
Summary: 

In article <874@umn-cs.UUCP> goldman@umn-cs.UUCP (Matthew D. Goldman ) writes:
> In article <2419@reed.UUCP> kamath@reed.UUCP (Sean Kamath) writes:
> >
> >	Another assembler that I have heard rave reviews about is the
> >Orca/m or somesuch.  I understand that this not only supports the 65C02
> >(as does Merlin and the ProDOS assemblers), but that it will support the
> >Rockwell chip with it's bit manipulation opcodes and even the 65C816.
> >

ORCA/M supports the 6502, the 65C02 and the 65C816.  In fact I think they
claim that their mneumnonics (sp?) were chosen as the standards for the
65C816.

> 
> ORCA / M is a nice assembler, I don't really have a lot of information on
> is (my access to apple's stopped shortly after I purchased ORCA/M) but
> what I've read about it is really spiffy. The version I have only runs
> on 3.3 Dos; however they supply the **Source Code** so that you can
> recompile the assembler to meet your needs. They tell you to lock your
> 

Both the DOS and ProDos versions will blow the doors off of most main-frame
assemblers in terms of capabilities.  The macros are so powerful that you
could write a Basic interpreter in the macro language.  It also comes with
tons of library routines for device independant graphics, access to prodos
mli calls and much more.  They are also now sell a version of Small C that
can be compiled in the assembler envioronment (it comes with full source
code and documentation on what the routines do, all for $50).  My only 
complaint is that the documentation could use more examples, but otherwise
I highly reccommend it.

Now for the trailer.

I have a beta of the ProDos C compiler from Aztec.  I haven't had a chance
to use it much yet (I've got a product I have to get out the door for the
Apple and I'm not going to switch compilers in mid-stream), but the
enviornment looks REALLY nice.  They essentially have mini-bourne shell
and they have tons of UNIX library routines (including the ioctl calls
so you can write terminal emulators easily).  It all looks really nice, but
(and this applies to ORCA to) it looks like it will really be best if you
have a large capacity disk drive.  I do my C work with a 64K ram disk and
two normal drives and that is not enough.  The new prodos compilers and
assemblers (ORCA and AZTEC) both have so many routines that you'd really
like to have them all online.

--
                                  Kee Hinckley
                         ...decvax!wanginst!apollo!nazgul


    Simon the Walking Glitch was one of the principle sources
of this vast new mythology of dread.  He spent many weekends
in New Y ork, hobnobbing with the literary intelligensia, and
he was a master put-on artist.  He had a way of dropping
casual remarks in a mildly worried tone that carried conviction:
'The Beast keeps asking us to build a mate for it.'  Or, with a 
kind of sad and resigned smile:  'I wish the Beast didn't have 
such a low opinion of human beings.'  That sort of thing.
    Simon kept this kind of demonology circulating because the 
idea that the computers were taking over was one that the 
programmers had a vested interest in reinforcing.
    As long as people kept worrying that the machines were taking 
over, they wouldn't realize what was really happening.
    Which was that the programmers were taking over.

                    Robert Anton Wilson
                    Schroedinger's Cat III