Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!gatech!hubcap!ncrcae!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!sdcrdcf!otto!rex From: rex@otto.COM (Rex Jolliff) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: Re: assembler info wanted Message-ID: <469@otto.COM> Date: Fri, 19-Jun-87 05:21:30 EDT Article-I.D.: otto.469 Posted: Fri Jun 19 05:21:30 1987 Date-Received: Mon, 22-Jun-87 03:34:26 EDT References: <3670@sunybcs.UUCP> Reply-To: rex@otto.UUCP (Rex Jolliff) Distribution: na Organization: Las Vegas Sun Lines: 74 Keywords: assembler 6502 Summary: an opinion on some of the more popular CBM assemblers Expires: Sender: Followup-To: I used to work for a Commodore computer store here in Las Vegas and I have had the opportunity to see a wide variety of assemblers for C-64. The following will be an opinion of those assemblers and I don't mean to personally insult any of the cbm.type.people out there. Send any flames to /dev/caveman or /dev/fireplace. The first one I can think of is the CBM macro-assembler. This program was one of the first things I bought when I bought my computer. It comes with an editor that basically extends the normal BASIC editor so you can load seq. text files and edit them without BASIC tokenizing the keywords. Two loaders and two monitors are supplied so you can build loadable files from anywhere in memory. The monitors are limited in there abilities. The assembler has most of the standard pseudo-ops, but conditionals are not supported and neither is more than one nesting of library files(there are not enough disk buffers, so I don't think any assembler will handle this properly.). Macros are supported by this assembler, with a maximum of 9 parameters. If you have a HES-MON cartridge installed, the assembler will crash on any macro. All assemblies are disk based and between the assembler and all the utilities there is no room left for source, so you swap between source and assembler binary. $C000-$CFFF is used by the editor, one of the loaders and the DOS wedge, and is not a good place for test programs with this assmebler. Not a bad piece of software, considering it comes from Commodore. The PAL assembler is produced by Pro-Line software. This package comes with several assorted utilities like a CBM-to-PAL converter, a unassembler, and many more. The normal basic editor is used to enter and edit the source code and the code must have a 'SYS700' before the first line of assembly code. One of the interesting things about this assembler is you can mix basic and assembly source to do custom things like set up files or generate optional code. The assembly is memory based and very fast. Loadable files can be generated at assembly time or assembly can go right into memory. This assembler supports most of the standard pseudo-ops and conditionals but it does not support macros. $C000-$CFFF is not used by this assembler and is a good place for testing your code. This is a great assembler, it's only disadvantage is no macros. The Merlin assembler is the next one that comes to mind, but I can remember who makes it. This package also comes with several assorted utilities, but not as many as PAL. The editor supplied with this package is similar to ED(I hate line editors.). This package supports most of the standard pseudo-ops, conditionals and macros. The fact that supports all those assembly features is really the only appealing thing about it. I don't know whether $C000-$CFFF is used or not. I wasn't too impressed with this assembler. The TSDS(Total Software Development System) assembler is produced by NoSync Software. This package is not only an assembler but also a decent editor, a sound effects code generator, a sprite editor, and a character set/matte editor. Several other utilities are also included this package. Sample source files, sprites and sound files are also part of this package. The editor is, like the CBM assembler, an extension of the BASIC editor. With this editor however you can select whether you want to edit a BASIC file or an assembly file. This editor has a wide selection a functions and is very flexible. The assembler is resident along with the editor. Files can be assembled from memory to memory, from memory to disk, from disk to memory, or from disk to disk. This assembler supports the standard pseudo-ops, macros and conditionals. The $C000-$CFFF is left alone, so you can use that area for test programs. This software package also works with the 128 in native mode! The TSDS package is, in my opinion, an excellent choice for an assembler. Of coursed there's Mark Rinfret's C-ASSM, a public domain linkable assembler that is designed for used with C-Power. I haven't recieved his assembler yet, so I can't comment on it, but from his description it sounds like a great assembler. I hope I have answered your questions, and I hope I didn't offend anyone. If I did, mail me your flames so I can dispose of them properly. ** Rex! ** -- Rex Jolliff (rex@otto.UUCP, {akgua,ihnp4,mirror,sdcrdcf}!otto!rex) The Sun Newspaper - |Disclaimer: The opinions and comments in Nevada's Largest Daily Morning | this article are my own and in no way Newspaper | reflect the opinions of my employers.