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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!vrdxhq!BMS-AT!stuart
From: stuart@BMS-AT.UUCP (Stuart D. Gathman)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Optimizing assemblers
Message-ID: <200@BMS-AT.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 9-Sep-86 23:02:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: BMS-AT.200
Posted: Tue Sep  9 23:02:39 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 10-Sep-86 05:41:42 EDT
References: <304@sei.cmu.edu> <655@mips.UUCP>
Organization: Business Management Systems, Inc., Fairfax, VA
Lines: 16
Summary: I agree totally

The first thing I'd do for any program development system is to
make a smart assembler so that the code going in is as simple
as possible.  I have often wanted to write a 6502 C compiler
in my spare time :-) and I amuse myself with the preliminary
design: an assembler that generates long and short branches,
keeps track of flags to eliminate set instructions where possible,
defines macro instructions that use zero page as a register bank
with stack pointer, index register, etc. etc.

An assembler should smooth out the indiosyncasies of a machine
while allowing access to specific instructions (but probably
through a macro) for hardware functions.

P.S.  I have an irrational fondness for my first processor.
-- 
Stuart D. Gathman	<..!seismo!{vrdxhq|dgis}!BMS-AT!stuart>