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╓─────┐ ╓─┐ ╓─┐ ╥──┐ ╓─╥─┐ ╥─┐ ╥ ╥──┐ ╥──┐ ║ │ ╙─┐ ╙─┐ ╟─ ║ ║ │ ╟─┴┐ ║ ╟─ ╟─┬┘ ╟─────┤ ╙──┘ ╙──┘ ╨──┘ ╨ ╨ ┴ ╨──┘ ╨──┘ ╨──┘ ╨ ┴ ║ │ ╥ ╓──┐ ╥─┐ ╓──┐ ╥──┐ ╓──┐ ╓─╥─┐ ╓──┐ ╥──┐ ╥ ┬ ╨ ┴ ║ ╟──┤ ╟─┴┐ ║ │ ╟─┬┘ ╟──┤ ║ ║ │ ╟─┬┘ ╙──┤ ║ ╨ ┴ ╨──┘ ╙──┘ ╨ ┴ ╨ ┴ ╨ ╙──┘ ╨ ┴ ╙──┘ ║ (c) 1994-1998 Kurt Inge Groenbech ╨─────┘ Assembler coders' first choice IDE? ───────────────────────────────┤ Version 1.3 ├───────────────────────────────── R E F E R E N C E M A N U A L ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Table of Contents: Chapter 0 - Legal stuff 0.1 - Disclaimer 0.2 - Distribution 0.3 - Acknowledgements Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.1 - About this reference manual 1.2 - New version release notes!! Chapter 2 - Installation Chapter 3 - Command line switches Chapter 4 - Features 4.1 - Summary 4.2 - Procedure/macro Worksheet 4.3 - Heuristic Scan 4.4 - Block comment/uncomment 4.5 - Label Jumps 4.6 - Opcode help 4.7 - Tab characters 4.8 - Bookmarks 4.9 - Instruction Scheduler Chapter 5 - Project Manager 5.1 - What is it? 5.2 - Creating a project file 5.3 - Making a project Chapter 6 - FAQ and Known bugs 6.1 - Known bugs 6.2 - Alab hangs when I open a window! 6.3 - How can I get Alab to work properly on a network? Chapter 7 - People involved 7.1 - Public domain software 7.2 - Beta testers Chapter 8 - The author/contacting ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Chapter 0 - Legal stuff ======================= 0.1 - Disclaimer ---------------- Assembler Laboratory is provided "as is" and without any warranty. To the extent premitted under applicable law, I disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Specifically, I make no representation or warranty that the software is fit for any particular purpose. I shall not be liable for any damages resulting from the use of this software, including but not limited to, loss of profit, data or use of the software, or indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages or other similar claims, even if I has been specifically advised of the possibility of such damages. NB! From this version and on, Alab is distributed as FREEWARE. This is because 1) i'm almost not earning anything at all on it anyway (so much work on both ends for so little), and 2) i will not work on Alab any more, so there will not be much support and upgrades. I hope that those who have already registered themselves can understand, and not have the feeling that they paid for nothing - 1.3 wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for your support in the 2 first releases. 0.2 - Distribution ------------------ Distribution of Alab must happen under these conditions: - Alab should be distributed in its original archive. (the ZIP file YOU receive, is the ZIP file YOU should distribute) If impossible, the ZIP file you distribute must contain all files which belongs to Alab that you received. - No money can be charged for it, EXCEPT a little amount for the disk or similar. 0.3 - Acknowledgements ---------------------- Many hours have gone into the development of this product, and I have got many a useful idea from various beta testers. Especially I would like to thank the following people for extensive betatesting: - Tor-Helge Skei (Axon/ Xenon), Main beta tester - Kovács Balázs (Joe Forster/ STA), also main tester (hmm.. guess there's only 2 _extensive_ beta testers!) Actually, Axon is the main reason you've got a product named Alab on your computer, and Joe Forster/STA is the main reason I released v1.3. Thanks for all your patience and all your extensive bugreports, Joe !! [shameless plug] Do you want to be able to transfer files from the PC <-> C64 in an easy way ? Well, check out a program made by Joe Forster/STA called the "Star Commander", it's the best there is ! [/shameless plug] A complete list of beta testers comes at the end of this document. Also, I acknowledge these packages in the development of Alab: Turbo Vision for Turbo Pascal 6.0 by Borland International Turbo Vision for Borland Pascal 7.0 by Borland International Turbo Assembler by Borland International Turbo Link by Borland International Turbo Debugger by Borland International Turbo Profiler by Borland International Microsoft Macro Assembler by Microsoft Corp Microsoft Overlay Linker by Microsoft Corp Microsoft Codeview by Microsoft Corp Extended Memory Manager for Pascal by Jeroen W. Pluimers DOS32 (great package!) by Adam Seychell HelpPC v2.10 by David Jurgens Btw; Different things in the disclaimer is stolen from various other shareware programs, mainly Qedit and the RAR archiver. This is because I'm so new to this that I actually don't know what to write, and I wanted the English to be correct in those parts, so I hope you don't mind! Chapter 1 - Introduction ======================== 1.1 - New version release notes!! --------------------------------- So, Alab v1.3 is finally out! Last version was released 4. February *1996* ! Alab has been far down on my priority list since then... Alab was completely "dead" and I haven't done much on it for a long, long time, but I've decided to just release the current 1.3 beta which i've got lying here anyway. I've got some extensive bug reports, and finally almost everything is fixed... Thanks again Joe, just can't thank you enough. It was recommended that I didn't release Alab, but I really don't care if it still has some bugs now - if I don't release it it will just be lying on my harddisk and gathering dust ! Well, nothing much to say, except that Alab will be even lower on my priority list after this. Don't expect some major rewrites, only bug fixes here and there perhaps... That is, if this version doesn't take off for some reason ;) NB! This doc is not completely up to date... Chapter 2 - Installation ======================== - Copy the zip file to the directory where you wish to have Alab - Unzip the zip file with "-d" switch (unzip with subdirectories) - Include the directory in your path if you want (easiest to do in your autoexec.bat) If you want to use Dlink, you may want to edit "LINK\DLINK.CFG" so that Dlink will find DOS32.EXE (if you don't do this, you'll have to place DOS32.EXE in your workdirectory all the time). Search for this line : " -Sdos32.exe DOS32 as stubfile " and include the complete path to dos32.exe. Now Alab is ready to go. The first thing you should do when you start Alab, is go to the Options|Assembler, Options|Linker and/or Options|Compiler to configurate the paths and switches. You have probably already noticed all the directories included in this version... If you want to strip all the uneccessary things from Alab, this is what you can do: - Place your favourite assembler/linker/compiler configurations in three files called ASM.CFG, LINK.CFG and COMPILE.CFG in your main Alab directory. Then you can just delete the directories "ASM\", "LINK\" and "COMPILE\". - Delete all the other uneccessary directories Chapter 3 - Command line switches ================================= Syntax : ALAB [file(s)] [/V] file(s) : Specify files to directly open in Alab. -V : Verbose, display status info during startup. Chapter 4 - Features ==================== 4.1 - Summary ------------- - Syntax highlighting - Error highlighting - Procedure worksheet (useful procedure browser) - Macro/data Worksheet (same as proc worksheet, but for macros/data) - Heuristic scan (scans through source code for coding bugs, not fully implemented yet) - [Project Manager (removed in this version due to major rewrite)] - Label jumps (Ctrl+J on a jump opcode (Jxx/CALL) jumps to the destination) - Instruction Scheduler - Configurable menus - Online opcode help, also context sensitive (Topic Search) - Block comment/uncomment - Bookmarks - ASCII/scan codes table - Dec/Hex/Bin calculator ... and I have also included an 'unhang' utility ('Unhang.com') which can prevent your machine from hanging in many cases (that is, you can press the stated key combination when your machine hangs, and Unhang will try to quit back to DOS.) Beware that this program can be very unstable I think. It will not work if you either hook INT 9 or disable keyboard interrupt. It will probably not work if you run some module player in the background, because the memory will get messed up... What it does is to hook INT 9 and saves an exit-command at the address found on the stack (the point where the interrupt was called). Just 'mov ax, 4c00h - int 21h', but it works on most smaller programs ! :) It is actually _very_ useful when coding demos under dos for example (without sound in the background). 4.2 - Procedure/macro Worksheet ------------------------------- It is a popup menu with complete procedure overview. Here you have a nice list of all the procedures in the current source code, and by pressing [Space], you jump directly to the item the bar is on! Well, perhaps you are familar with something like this. Borland Pascal has a browser which is quite similar to this. The reason why I call it 'worksheet' is because I at first had planned to implement a procedure/macro reordering and delete... If I did it would be more like a worksheet rather than a browser (perhaps I'll implement it later). 4.3 - Heuristic Scan -------------------- I actually got this idea from the famous virus-scanner F-PROT. What Heuristic Scan does, is scan through the source code and look for bugs that weren't reported by the compiler, but are likely to cause some problems. E.g. it scans for missing 'ret's in procedures (which is likely to hang your program). This is the only thing in Heuristic Scan so far, but I have some more ideas, and I will most probably get many ideas from you out there. (E.g. I have planned to make Heuristic Scan search for places where it is possible that DS doesn't point to the data segment (or the segment where the variable is) when accessing variables (this can also make your program hang in many cases). 4.4 - Block comment/uncomment ----------------------------- This feature is pretty much self-explanatory. You mark a block, choose Block comment from the menu or shortcut-keys, and the block is commented. I guess uncomment is obvious by now :) 4.5 - Label Jumps ----------------- This is a nice one! You just position the cursor on a line that holds a CALL or Jxx (all jump opcodes), and press Ctrl+J. The cursor then jumps to the procedure or label following the opcode. 4.6 - Online Opcode Help ------------------------ Also a nice one! In Help|Opcodes you have an extensive online help about the instruction set. Just choose one and there you have it all, just as detailed as any TSR. There is also a context sensitive help for this. Position the cursor on a word and press the command for Topic Search (Shift+F1 by default). Help for that specific opcode is automatically brought up. 4.7 - Tab characters -------------------- Not full support yet. 4.8 - Bookmarks --------------- This is a great new feature added to Alab. The principle is the same as the usual bookmarks for books. Sometimes you want to mark a position in your source code, and return to that position later. Bookmarks make this an easy task. Just choose Search|Place bookmark, or press "Ctrl+Q n" (where n is a number between 1 and 9), and Alab places a bookmark at the current cursor position. You can have up to 9 bookmarks for each window. When you want to jump to a bookmark, choose Search|Jump to bookmark, or press "Ctrl+Q J n" (where n is the bookmark number), and Alab places the cursor on the line where the bookmark is. In the registered version, you will also have the opportunity to save the bookmarks so that you can return to the bookmarks after exiting from Alab. 4.9 - Instruction Scheduler --------------------------- Tired of handoptimizing your critical routines for ages and trying out the code to be sure it does what you expect? Are you frustrated by all the stuff you have to know to be able to optimize fast and efficient? Tired of not knowing exactly what will happen in some situations? Intimidated by pipelining, overlap, Address Generation Lock's (AGI's), memory dependance, etc., etc? Well, the Instruction Scheduler comes at your rescue ! The Instruction Scheduler (hereby IS) can be a very handy tool when optimizing your code. In the IS you have complete control of pipelining information, Address Generation Interlocks (AGI's), latency control etc. There are 4 different options of how the IS starts to calculate pipelining: 1 - "Topmost instruction" : IS assumes that the topmost instruction in the window is executed in the U pipe. IS always assumes that the topmost instruction is executed in the U pipe, regardless if this mode is set to Labels or Bookmarks. 2 - "Labels" : IS assumes that all instructions directly following a label is executed in the U pipe. 3 - "Bookmarks" : IS assumes that all instructions directly following a bookmark is executed in the U pipe. 4 - "Both" (LB) : Both Labels and Bookmarks. Keys: Ctrl+S = Toggle Instruction Scheduler Ctrl+G = Cycle IS modes 5 - Project Manager =================== NB! Removed because of the major rewrite of the setup. 5.1 - What is it? ----------------- Project Manager lets you create and maintain a project file (extension .APF for Alab Project File) where you specify all the .asm, .obj and .lib files that are to be included in your program. If you specify an .asm file in your project YOU DO NOT HAVE TO specify the .obj file created from that .asm file! With Project Manager it gets easy to maintain your program, and easy to link/run it. 5.2 - Creating a project file ----------------------------- Let's say, you are starting on a program with 3-4 source files, 2 additional object files you got from a friend with video routines etc., and 1 of your own library files. You then first choose Open on the Project menu and type in the name for the project file (the name of the project file will be used to create an .exe/.com file). You then get an open Project Manager window with no files in it. Press Insert or choose Add Item from the menu to insert new items. Insert the 3-4 source files, the 2 object files and the library file. Then you can go to one of the source file and press ENTER to open it (or choose Open from the File menu). You then write your source code in it and assemble it the usual way. You also do this with the other .asm files. 5.3 - Making a project ---------------------- When you choose Make and you have an open project, the Project Manager goes through the files specified in the project file (project window), top to bottom, and do this: If the file is a source file (.asm), the Project Manager checks whether the source file is modified. If it is, the file is assembled and the .obj file created is added to the parameters which will be passed to the linker later. If the file is an .obj or a .lib file, the file is added to the parameters to pass to the linker. When the Project Manager has gone through all the files, the linker is invoked and an executable is created. The name of the executable will be the same as that of the project file. Chapter 6 - FAQ and Known bugs ============================== 6.1 - Known bugs ---------------- - I don't know what the hell happended to the ASCII chart! The cursor movement worked during very early versions of Alab (not released versions). - Not actually a bug, but lots of useless code in there! (and code which is never used, too..) - The calculator doesn't handle negative decimal->hex - Project Manager: You have to specify full path to include files in the source files in most cases. - Problems on earlier machines (< 386) Should handle monochrom screen now, although I haven't tested it. Also there might be some problem with 386 specific code somewhere. Atleast you have to turn off syntax highlighting. - Other small bugs. - (Mats J. from Sweden: Sorry man, it just wasn't to be) 6.2 - Alab hangs when I open a window! -------------------------------------- The most probable reason for this is that you don't have a 386+ and that the syntax highlighting checkbox is checked in Options|Editor. What happens is that syntax highlighting uses 386 code, and this will hang your machine. You will have to turn off syntax highlighting and clear the 'Highlight extensions' field in Options|Editor before you open any windows. 6.3 - How can I get Alab to work properly on a network? ------------------------------------------------------- If you run Alab on a network station, from a public read-only directory, you have to 1 - specify a temporary directory in Options|Directories *or* 2 - make sure there is a TEMP environment variable on each workstation which points to a temporary directory. Alab first checks "Options|Directories/Temporary directory", then TEMP environment variable, then Alab directory. Alab needs to redirect all output from the assemblers and linkers, and the redirected file is created in the temporary directory. This file is read by Alab to get all errors. Chapter 7 - People Involved =========================== 7.2 - Beta testers ------------------ Here is the complete list of beta testers: (I haven't heard shit from some of them, so they are removed) - Kovács Balázs (Joe Forster/ STA), Main beta tester v1.3 - Tor-Helge Skei (Axon/ Xenon), Main beta tester <1.3 - Jorgen H. Seland (St. George/ Index) - Anders Sandvig (Cortex/ Index) - Espen Grimsgaard (Twinny/ Gollum) - Haavard Engum (Hobbes/ Xenon) - Knut Petter Svendsen (Mephisto/ Xenon) - Staale Singstad (Cyberman/ Xenon) - Michal Karpinski (Mike X/ Xenon) - Thomas Loevlie - Thomas Kjoernes To all others out there : Thanks for all the emails! Obtw: Check out Star Commander from Joe Forster/STA... It's a great program for transferring files between the PC and C64 ! Chapter 8 - The author/contacting ================================= I'm 22 years old and live in Trondheim, Norway. Finished the army, and now a student at Trondheim School of Engineering. A.k.a. Rib/Daze/Spike/Coil (can't make up my mind:) - Talent/Xenon. I've been programming since I was 15/16... I started late, but have learned a lot in a short time. NB!! Alab is in no way representative for what I can program now. Alab was my first "big" project, started all the way back in 94 ! It's been on the shelf for the most the last couple of years, because I have so many other things to do. Check out my homepage for more information... If you have suggestions/questions/problems about Alab you can send me an email, hook up to my homepage, or send me a letter by snail mail. Email : kurtg@colargol.tihlde.hist.no WWW : http://www.colargol.tihlde.hist.no/~kurtg/ Snailmail : Kurt Inge Groenbech Sigrid Johansens veg 23 7025 Trondheim NORWAY Happy coding, Kurt Inge Groenbech