Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nuchat!seven
From: seven@nuchat.UUCP (David Paulsen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Good C64 Assemblers Needed
Message-ID: <493@nuchat.UUCP>
Date: 27 Dec 87 10:08:25 GMT
References: <650@umbc3.UMD.EDU>
Organization: The Department of Redundancy Department
Lines: 67
Keywords: Assembly, Software Review Needed
Summary: More about the Commodore Macro Assem Editor

In article <650@umbc3.UMD.EDU>, pete@umbc3.UMD.EDU (Pete Hsi ) writes:
> I am in search of a good C64 assembler package and am soliciting for your
> reviews of such.
> 
> In particular, I am looking at the _Commodore_64_Macro_Assembler_Develpment_
> System_.

I've used the CBM MAE since I first heard of it, about 1983. In four+ years I've
used Merlin, French Silk, and the Symass assembler from Transactor, but have
always come back to the Commodore Assembler system.  Why?

1.  It's disk based.  This is probably the #1 feature, the big reason to go out
    and buy it.  You can assemble files to go ANYWHERE in memory, not just
    where your assembler/editor ain't.

2.  It reads standard SEQ files.  I can create source code using just about any
    of my word processors, the editor it comes with, Sysres, or source files
    I've downloaded off bulletin boards.

3.  The format isn't wierd.  It conforms to standards set back in the mid 70's
    when the CBM MAE and PAL were real big for the Commodore PET/8032
    computers.  You're not restricted in what your source code looks like
    (i.e. there's no fixed "label", "opcode", "operand", and "comment" fields..
    The assembler won't go nuts if you left-justify all your code.

4.  It'll handle hex, decimal, octal and binary.  Pretty standard, but some
    assmblers restrict you to hex only.  Plus it'll do arithmetic calculations.

5.  You can link source files together.  Your source can be as big as your
    disk drive permits.

Now, the bad things:

1.  It's disk based.  SLOW, if you've got a 1541 as your primary drive.
    However, it's extremely friendly towards disk drives; I've never found one
    it wouldn't work with from the 4040 I use to the wierd after market
    hard drive my friend uses.

2.  There's something wrong with the macro functions.  At least, I tried to use
    them four years ago and gave up after severely mangling my code a few times.
    I've been substituting the .LIB function ever since, with no problems.

3.  There's undocumented "features" galore... the syntax for chaining files is
    not the way it's printed in the manual, though it's close.  .LIB works, but
    again is not documented correctly.

All in all, it's the most flexible assembler I've ever used... and I daresay
the cheapest.  Safeway Superstores around where I used to live were blowing
them out last year for $9.95.  You know, getting rid of "that awful Commodore
software!" :-)  I paid almost fifty bucks for mine back in '83. 
    I'm fortunate enough to have a copy of an upgraded version of CBM/MAE
by Commodore of Canada that provides for longer-than-eight-character labels,
and puts the object code directly on your disk without having to go thru the
after-loader.  I've also got some pretty fancy editors, but the one that
comes with the MAE development kit is quite good.

> 
> Thanks in advance
> --Pete
> ARPA: pete@umbc3.umd.edu
> Bitnet: pete@umbc

-- 
David Paulsen - CHARTER MEMBER, WILLIAM WINDOM FAN CLUB    ..uunet!nuchat!seven
   
"It had a maw that could swallow a DOZEN starships!"
      --Commodore Matt Decker, chewing on the scenery again