SAGE@LL.ARPA (08/01/88)
I just got a very exciting letter from SLR Systems about version 1.5 of their fantastic MS-DOS assembler, OPTASM. Although this is a CP/M newsgroup, many of you, like me, probably do some work in MS-DOS as well (dare I admit it in public). And perhaps like me, you find that the MS-DOS world just doesn't suit your taste (lacking CP/M's intimacy, among other things) and you do not follow its newsgroup very carefully. Therefore, I would like to pass on the information about OPTASM here as well. Two very important features have now been added to OPTASM: compatibility with the MicroSoft CodeView debugger and an on-line, hot-key help facility. The CodeView debugger allows the assembled source code listing to be used while debugging (wouldn't that be nice with CP/M -- but we probably don't have enough memory space to support it). The lack of that capability before was probably the only reason anyone could have had for considering any other MS-DOS assembler. The on-line help facility essentially puts the OPTASM User's Guide on line while you are writing code. The system is even extensible, so you can add particular information that you find helpful. The update price to registered owners is only $29.95, free if you acquired OPTASM after July 1, 1988. I called SLR Systems immediately to order my own update and learned a second piece of exciting news. The list price of OPTASM has been reduced from $195 to only $125! Anyone who does any significant amount of MS-DOS assembly language work should certainly get a copy of this assembler. If you want to try it out, there is even a demo version, which is the complete product except for the on-line help files, only it's object file output is disabled. But if you want to see how fast it is and how nice some of the special features are, the demo might be useful. The file is called OADEMO.ARC and can be downloaded from the SLR remote access computer system at 412-282-2799 (or for a fee they will provide it on disk). SLR Systems can be reached at 800-833-3061 (orders only), but you might want to try some major mail-order houses, where the product is probably available at a discount. Disclaimer: My wife's company, SME, is a dealer for SLR Systems and actively sells their 8-bit assembly language products (she targets the 8-bit market in general, and, besides, it's hard to compete with big mail-order houses on MS-DOS products). I am a user of SLR's products, particularly the 8-bit ones, and I find them so utterly outstanding that I would like to see SLR succeed and be encouraged to work their magic on still more tools. After all, how often do products come along that are three to four TIMES faster than their competitors' and have better features as well? -- Jay Sage