On 1/17/2017 7:10 PM, Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I figure it's smart to stick with the mini-assembler until I learn a few things before moving to a full-fledged assembler like Merlin.
VCFed owns a few Laser 128s. Ian explained to me that the 128 is basically a //c with an expansion card slot. That may be good for me, ** if it has the older version of the mini-assembler **, because I have limited desk space and the small system is easier to bring to events. I will test our 128s this weekend -- step one, do any of them work, and step two, which version of the mini assembler. (Or can someone who has a Laser 128 test this for me sooner? Just see if it takes the F666G or ! to enter the mini assembler, then report back.)
The mini-assembler requires much more advanced knowledge than a macro assembler. The macro assembler will do a lot of the low level work for you without having to understand things like 2s complement notation, relative branches versus absolute jumps, and a bunch of other stuff. Take a look at: http://ceos.io/dev/hello.s This "HELLO, WORLD" program is much harder to code with the mini-assembler. Mini refers to small and barebones (thus requiring some serious advanced knowledge about how things works). Macro refers to something entirely different: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language#Macros Good luck! -Adam