Hi, On Sun, Jul 3, 2022 at 9:39 AM Bret Johnson <bretj...@juno.com> wrote: > > > Interestingly enough, I also bought a86/D86, and have found it to be > > the best assembler/disassembler I've ever found for dos. I ran > > across it after (mostly) trying to use debug for things, so it was a > > welcome relief. > > I still like A86/A386 also, but like I said my programs are getting so > complicated these days that they no longer work > because of the limited memory. Specifically, I have so many symbols > (structure elements and equates and labels) > that the symbol table overflows when using A86/A386. That's why I've had to > switch to something more capable > (specifically, NASM).
I think it can only use about 400k conventional RAM. That should be enough! You need better modularity. ;-) Nah, I get it, it's not perfect (I own it), but it's good for what it does. > The problem I have with NASM, and most other assemblers, is that they don't > come with a useful debugger. > > To me, the real "gems" of A86/A386 are the D86/D386 debuggers. I still use > them all the time when I'm debugging > the programs I'm writing. There are two things I really like about D86/D386. > One is that you can put the screen in > a 50-line mode and have the debugger "window" on the top half of the screen > and watch the program output on the > bottom half of the screen. That's a very nice setup. I tend to just wimp out most times and use the "printf" method (i.e. simple console output of certain values). > The other thing is that if you create a .SYM (Symbol) file in the D86/D386 > format you can refer to the symbol names > instead of memory addresses as you are debugging, another VERY useful > feature. Unfortunately, the .SYM file > format is proprietary and can only be generated by an A86 or A386 assembler. > But I have a method automated where > I can take the .MAP output file generated by NASM and create the .SYM file (I > only convert the subroutine labels > and not the equates or structure elements) so I can use the symbolic > capabilities of the D386 debugger with > NASM-generated programs. This makes debugging much easier. The obvious alternative here is OpenWatcom's WASM "-d3" and WD debugger. You can also use David Lindauer's GRDB (with his MKSYM or VALX linker) for symbolic debugging. Doesn't NASM have rudimentary support for Borland's Turbo Debugger? (The Win32 version used to be freeware, but I never used it.) Exuberant Ctags and compatible editor (e.g. VILE) is also very helpful for "asm" projects. _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
