#Amiga Assembler
29 messages in this thread
This section appears to be pretty cleared out of programmers.
I am an embedded systems engineering (mostly intel <phuy!> chips) who dabbles
quite a bit in the more superior Motorola 32bit chips (and 24bit).
I have been out of the programming world on the Amiga for about 2 years, but
when I was into it, I was developing applications in assembler language for AOS
1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.
Are there any fellow Assembler hacks out there?
Alone in Ohio,
Bryan
> Are there any fellow Assembler hacks out there?
Well I've got Devpac lurking on my Hard disc, does that count ? The
problem is that my Amiga programming is all spare time work, and has to
compete with other things. I haven't actually got around to writing any
real programs with it yet.
On the professional side I am an application programmer. I started off
programming in Z-80 assembler, moved to Pascal and C (which are good
languages) but am being increasingly pushed into using 4GLs (NOT a good
idea).
I had a brief spell doing Assembler on a PC and was not impressed by the
8086 at the time, but looking back it was better than the 4GL I've got
now.
Regards from London, England
Peter
Actually, Peter, I know how you feel. Spare time and acedemic projects keep me
awfully busy as well.
I started assembler on the TMS9900, then the TMS9908, moved later to the
8088/86 then up (and I emphasize UP) to the 68000, then back DOWN to the 80286,
then back UP to the 68020, then back DOWN to the 80386/486. It's been an up
and down experience as you can summize. I'm also not a very big fan of Intel,
either.
I still assemble, occasionally.
-larry
Of all the assemblers I've used on the Amiga, I still like the old Amiga
assembler for some strange, sick reason.
Not I. I was always partial to Charlie Gibbs' freely distributale assember,
right up until I discovered HiSoft's product, which was a WHOLE lot faster than
anything else I had used.
-larry
Bryan,
Where is Ohio? (no I'm not there, but have friends who are).
>>Where is Ohio? <<
Vic,
I know you don't get out much, but man, this california attitude is pretty
sad. Ohio is circled by Lake Erie, PA, WV, KY, IN and MI. <g>
I don't know, Vic, but even tho I'm in Ohio, got a B in college geo, and know
where Kapina Falls is, I still don't know where Ohio REALLY IS. I know it is
somewhere near the Great <Smelly> Lake Erie or something like that, right?
Hahha, I've been here 2 months and I don't know where the hell I'm at, is that
SAD? That HAS TO BE SAD! Of course, I never get a break from work to really
know where I'm at.
Where in the world is Bryan Wilcutt? A new board game? Stay tuned.
Slaving away to the master's whip,
Bryan
Darn typos!!! I was stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, north of Dayton
for 3 years.
I've used Metadigm's debugger— bought it when it first came out YYYEEEAAARS
and YYYYEEEAAARRRS ago! Was the best thing since sliced time slots and rack
mounted pc boards.
Again, I've not been in the Amiga world for a while… but I suuurrreee hope
metadigm has come a little further with their symbolic debugger since then
(1985? 86?).
Btw, I still have the original (working) disk, lost the manual years ago, but
hey, who needs manuals when yer programmin' in assembler?
Bryan,
re: "Was the best thing since sliced time"
Still is, in my "humble" opinion. <smmiiille>
Vic, are there plans for any further updates to Metascope? I'd upgrade
if you added 68040 and fpu/mmu support.
Kirk,
What version do you have now? What support do you wish for 040? I
think we've got most of it covered.
MMU seems a bit specialized to me
FPU is doable…messy, but doable.
Vic, top prioity for me is FPU support, show me the fp0-fp7 in the
status window and the correct mnemonics for fpu/mmu instructions in the
code window. Also, I wish the string requesters accepted the Amiga
convention of shift-Del deleteing characters to the right of the cursor
and shift-Backspace deleteing characters to the left of the cursor.
btw, I have v1.5, and use this program alot. kirk.
Kirk,
Ok, we're working on the mnemonics. Are you SURE you want to make the
status window show ALL the registers? What format????
As for shift-(del|backspace)… didn't know it was a 'standard'
Haven't touched that code since 1986 when you couldn't even control the
colors in a string requesters. I just fixed it however I'm not going to
be able to do any more on 'Scope for a couple weeks. Metascope is
currently at (internal version 1.306). Let me know in the next day or two
how to get a copy to you for further testing.
Bryan, I myself just upgraded to version 1.50(dated 1/31/92) all the
way from version 1.0.
Improvements include: Load/Save Configuration – opens and positions
windows dependent on custom profile(config file), 68020/030 support –
though no mmu or fpu support(bummer), and support for Commodore's
Enforcer(an official bug finding utility).
Don't recall the upgrade cost right off hand but you can find out by
calling INOVAtronics(214-340-4991) which are publishing it now.
Michael,
Darn….that was supposed to be Where IN Ohio.
Vic,
I knew that <g> But, like Clint said, it's been quiet in here. <g>
I'm working in Ohio, temporarily, for CompuServe. I'm one of their consultants
(not that it is a BIG DEAL to be a consultant in this day and age… we seem to
be more like "Kelly Girls" or "Schnelling" workers than consultants) out at
their Tuttle office in Columbus. The office is at Tuttle Crossing and Frantz
road.
Do your friends 1) like to party and 2) like to really party? I'm always
looking for new bars to hang out at.
Bryan,
Well, lesse…there are some difficulties
1) they're in Toledo, not Columbus
2) it's my daughter
Actually, I don't know if my daughter likes to party, I know she thinks
drinking is a pretty useless waste of time.
Gee, if I recall correctly, you said you had…. "FRIENDS" here, not family…
Drinking is a waste of time and money.. but when you have plenty of both, who
cares?
Bryan,
Well, the only 'available' one is my daughter. She's living with
"friends" <grin>.
I certainly have done more than dabble in the assembler arena. For
anything of size however, I quickly move up in the languages to C and
ARexx.
— John A. Toebes, VIII — Obvious Implementations Corp.
— Internet: toebes@oic.com
Actually, John, you'd be surprised how a seasoned assembler programmer can code
extremely fast, almost as fast as C … but only certain types of code. When
it comes to using the FPU, forget it… that thing takes WEEKS just to add to
numbers…
I've written a number of applications completely in assembler, finding it to be
the easiest, fastest language there is. I could drown you with Intel,
Motorola, and Texas Instrument assembler code.
You have to use higher lever languages if you want to be portable and work on
very large projects, tis true. ARexx? Yeah, I pretty feel out of the Amiga
world when I got my A3000 — I never played with Arex…
Not that getting an A3000 made me fall out of love with it– I was running a
BBS on it in Hawaii called Sirius Cybernetics Corporation (for 10 years) and
never used the computer much…
Actually, I code quite fast in Assembler (noticibly faster than most),
but I also code quite fast in C and other languages. Given that every
keystroke in C counts for about 5-10 times the functionality of keystrokes
in Assembler, my C rate is MUCH higher than my assembler rate. When you
take it a step up for ARexx it is even higher. When you are coding in
assembler, you also have to consider the register considerations as well
as the algorithm. This does slow you down. If you are attempting to
truely optimize the code as you go it even goes slower.
When you start moving towards GUIs, you spend so much time creating and
manipulating system data structures and call back sequences that assembler
starts to lose quickly.
— John A. Toebes, VIII — Obvious Implementations Corp.
— Internet: toebes@oic.com
That's obvious, John. Assembler in this day and age is for the speed
demon and the nut. I'm more on the nut side than the speed demon.
You wouldn't believe the things I've written in assembler JUST CUZ I
COULDN'T AFFORD A C COMPILER!
Lesse, how about digital effects program called Digital Competition
written for the Boyscouts of America (no, I'm not one. I was
commissioned to do it for them). It is a 160k program that runs on a
terminal (serial) and a close circuit tv system for display to an
audience.
Or a terminal emulator called GrafTerm that does windows, music, and
graphics over the modem? That was one helluva project. Never really
finished it though.
BTW, I won't be on the system for much longer, this may be one of the
last messages you all see from me. My contract with CompuServe is
over. I'm no longer in Columbus, I'm back in Kansas City now, and my
last day is the 28th… I don't think CSI is going to let me hang
onto a free account now, do you? hehehe…
Bryan,
I do most of my programming in assembler. Not been around here lately
though, due to ill health, Christmas, and most importantly, a vicious
little bug in a garbage collector. Took weeks and a lot of my sanity to
squash it. Problem only happened occasionally. When it did happen, the
symptoms only happened occasionally, but guaranteed to crash the machine
sometime in the following 10 minutes. Whenever I tried to look at it, the
bug changed its symptoms, or hid.
Them's the joys of programming, I guess.
Regards,
Shraddhan (via AP from Hertfordshire, England)
Funny you should say that. I coming in from the cold so to speak also. There
is still the same old source files in the download area <sigh>