saponara@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (John Saponara) (10/21/87)
References: Merlin 8/16 is now available. Is it any good? What is it? Merlin 8/16 is a macro assembler for the Apple II GS & 128K e & c. It evidentally can assemble 8 & 16 bit ProDOS programs on the above hardware (assuming you've upgraded the e & c to a 65802 chip [which they conveniently sell for $25]). It also assembles 8 bit ProDOS & DOS 3.3 programs on a standard IIe/IIc (this latter program used to be "Merlin Pro", which I've never used but have heard is good). Looking over their specs, it looks kinda nice - has anyone seen it/used it? There are also some other products mentioned in this flyer: a new book by Roger Wagner on _Apple IIGS Machine Language for Beginners_, with a companion disk, and ye olde AE Transwarp Accelerator Card. Available from Roger Wagner Publishing, 1050 Pioneer Way, Suite P, El Cajon, CA 92020, (619) 442-0522. $85 until the end of the year, then $125 (does this mean the early users can be thought of as beta test sites?! Why a cheap intro deal (word of mouth?)?). Merlin and Merlin Pro owners can upgrade for $60, no time limit. Opinions? Comparison to Apple's assembly language tools for the IIGS? (What does Apple's assem. developer's kit cost nowadays?)
mdavis@pro-sol.cts.COM (Morgan Davis) (10/31/87)
I've been a beta tester of Merlin 16 for about 10 months now and have used it
primarily for ProDOS 8 application development. I have a lot of that kind of
code, and was using the 8-bit version of Merlin before. Two statements:
1. Merlin 16 is *the* version of Merlin to use for 8-bit
development on the IIGS. It's much faster than the older
version (something like 45% faster). It has a lot of new
and very nice features that the older one didn't.
2. I use APW assembler for 16-bit application development.
So, if you have a IIGS and you own pre-Merlin 16 versions of Merlin, it's
worth it to update to this higher-performance version. But I don't really
recommend it for serious IIGS development applications. Sorry, Glen, it's
just that it's a bit awkward to use since it's based in the ProDOS-8
environment and is limited to a 128k model machine. That's not why I put
nearly 2 megabytes of RAM in my IIGS.
UUCP: [ ihnp4 cbosgd hplabs!hp-sdd sdcsvax nosc ] !crash!pnet01!pro-sol!mdavis
ARPA: crash!pnet01!pro-sol!mdavis@nosc.mil
INET: mdavis@pro-sol.cts.comwiles@sybil.cs.Buffalo.EDU (Dale Wiles) (03/10/90)
I've been tracking down a new assembler because Merlin Pro just
doesn't cut it any more. I called Roger Wagner Publishing to get some
info on Merlin 8/16 so I'd figure I'd post what I got so you can save
yourself a call.
Merlin 8/16 is really 4 (count 'em 4!) different assemblers. One is
Merlin Pro dos 3.3. One is Merlin Pro ProDOS. (These are the same ones
that I bought 3 years ago.) One is an assembler for //s with a 16 bit
CPU. And one is an honest to God GS assembler.
There have been no attempts to fix Merlin Pro so that a ram disk can
be set up and it was pretty clear from the call that no attempt will
be made. When I pointed out how easy it would be to fix the 8 bit
version, it was suggested that I buy a GS. (Sigh) The GS version is
still being maintained.
The search continues...
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