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Forums > C64 Coding > Which assemblers do you/did you use for coding?
2007-08-17 21:20
tlr

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790
Which assemblers do you/did you use for coding?

I thought this might be interesting.

I'll start:
I started out with Hesmon, and later switched to Handics VICMON.
Never did anything major in this. Just learnt how stuff was working.

Later I bought a copy Oasis Machine Lightning (which was bought up by Ocean and turned into Laser Genious)
I used Machine Lightning for all demos I did in the 80's. Cost a shitload of money.
It's line oriented (like basic) which sucks a bit, but has very good macro facilities.

I had a quick stint with Macrofire V1.0 but thought it was cryptic.

I started using dasm as soon as I got an Amiga.
Kept on using dasm when I switched to a linux system.

I have recently started using Kick Assembler 2.12 in combination with dasm and make (under linux).
 
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2007-08-18 09:22
Laxity

Registered: Aug 2005
Posts: 459
Started out with a monitor as well (one loaded from a disk), got a final cartridge (no laughing) later, which had one in rom. I later got a macro assembler or so from Wizz (Wizax) which I used for a short periode of time. Was rather uncool, because the programs were edited in a seperate tool, so when testing the compiler needed to be loaded from disk, compile - ups, an error - load the editor again and so on and so forth. At last I ended up using some rendition of TASM, which was a real improvement. I don't remember who introduced me to that one. The tiny bit of coding I do now, I do on the PC using ACME and VICE for testing. Rather confinient compared to the old days. Development is a lot faster now.
2007-08-18 09:54
TNT
Account closed

Registered: Oct 2004
Posts: 189
First hand assembly + data statements, then VIC-20 ML monitor, later ML monitor on VIC-20 + data statements on C64 (cross-development!), then HESMon from tape, then from disk, move to Action Replay, Laser Genius, TASS, tried several different cross-assemblers and ended up using dasm.
2007-08-18 10:29
Stainless Steel

Registered: Mar 2003
Posts: 966
I've never been much of a coder, but i first started out with the trilogic expert cartridge followed by the usual fc 1&2 / ar carts. Today i use ACME / Textpad on the pc.

2007-08-18 10:42
Stryyker

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 468
I started with 6510+ which came with Commodore Format 45 or thereabouts. First time I had some docs. It wasn't until many years later I got Action Replay. Now I mostly use UltraEdit or Notepad and ACME with VICE.
2007-08-18 10:54
Peiselulli

Registered: Oct 2006
Posts: 81
First : Data Lines and hand assembly
Then a Montor from tape (was it called Redmon or something like that, was not very popular and not really good, but usable).

After I bought an Amiga at the end of 1986, I used first an symbolic assembler (called Seka), so I wanted one for my C64, too.
But the first I got was "Profi-Ass", a horrible assembler that uses the Basic(!) Editor. Assembling was done with "RUN" !

So Turbo-Ass was a better solution a few months later.

When I worked for Rainbow Arts in 1988, we had a C64 Cross-Assembler that runs on a PC with a special ISA-card, that has a socket between the 6510 and the rest of the C64 board. With this Assembler (and the integrated monitor) it was possible to watch variables *without* stopping the CPU.
Transfering 64Kbytes from the PC to the C64 was possible with this system in 4 seconds(!).

Now I am using ACME0.91 under linux (and the DTVtrans Cable !) when I programmming the DTV. If I program for the original C64, I use the TMP1.2 now.




2007-08-18 12:10
QuasaR

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 145
I first started with a monitor, which was quite a pain in the ass, with no possibility to insert instructions.

Then used VisAss for a short period, after that AssBlaster which had a nice editor and quite cool features but was full of bugs&crashed too many times... And it eats up memory like hell!

So, one day finally I got a REU and since then I fell in love with TurboMacroAssembler by Elwix and MO which is the best assembler on a C64 only system, IMHO.

Now I use Geany for editing and Dreamass for assembling on my Debian machine.
2007-08-18 13:51
Cruzer

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1048
Started out with TFC3 monitor in late 1988. I solved the problem with inserting code by splitting it all into tiny segments in the memory, and keeping track of them on paper. So when I had to insert something, it was only a small piece of code that had to be moved. But it was of course still very cumbersome, and meant wasting a lot of memory in between the segments.

In about 1990 I switched to Turbo Ass, which meant that I only had about half the memory available, so I quickly got tired of this and switched back to monitor for a while, until I got hold of a second C64 and a transfer cable, as well as an adapted version of TurboAss, done by Walt or THA/Bonzai. Later I got another version done by Glasnost/CML. I think the main difference was that it could handle more lines/labels/etc.

After a break I started playing with emulator and began coding in MXass in about 2000. Today I have of course switched to the superior KickAss.
2007-08-18 14:09
Cruzer

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1048
@wile coyote: Wow, is my old tutorial still online? :) Not sure it ever became very useful though, since I lost interest in it before it ever really got anywhere. Try Puterman's tutorial instead, I have heard many good things about it.

Macros are high-level constructs in the assembler code, used for generating code and data. E.g. if you wanna make a fast rolled out screen clearing routine, you could either write 1000 commands by hand like this:

sta $0400
sta $0401
sta $0402
...
sta $07e7

Or you could get the assembler to generate it automatically. In KickAss this would look something like:

.for (var i=0; i<1000; i++) {
	sta $0400 + i
}

There are also other ways to get it done, e.g. make a Basic program that generates the code, like I did in the old days, or make a machine code routine that does it, which is my preferred method nowadays, since it reduces the file size, although I also use KickAss macros quite a bit, especially in the early stages of an effect, since it's a lot faster to make a script than a mc routine.
2007-08-18 14:19
Iapetus/Algarbi/Wood

Registered: Dec 2004
Posts: 71
Assemblers I tried:

(c64)Turbo Assembler
(cross) c64asm
(cross) dasm

I am programming actually on Kickassembler, I am quite happy with it and it's functionality, looking forward for more releases with more goodies.
2007-08-19 09:02
null
Account closed

Registered: Jun 2006
Posts: 645
let's see... I've used (in random order (some only shortly)):

Power Cartridge Mon,
Final Cartridge III Mon,
Turbo Assembler 7.4,
64TASS,
The Final Replay Mon,
Cyberpunx Retro Replay Mon,
Turbo Assembler 5.2 +FLT +Sharks -TLO autodrive hacks (aka RR-TASS)

currently my coding setup is like this:

RR-TASS for the actual coding,
RR-Mon for inserting text and looking through code and whatnot.

------------------------------------
Knoeki/DigitalSoundsSystem/GheyMaidInc/SwappersWithAttitude
http://hardwarehacks.untergrund.net/zomgwtfbbq/index.php
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