knudsen (01/05/83)
I'm about to get an edit/assem/debugger cartridge for my CoCo. I'd buy the Shack job for $50, but have an opportunity to buy a used MicroWorks SDS-80C for the same price (retails new at $90). Tried them both a little, but would appreciate hearing from any of you Coconuts who have used any EDTASM for a while. Reason: it takes time & experience to find which features and omissions are really worth worrying about. Since neither system (are there others?) is superior to the other, I wonder which features count. My feelings so far: The MicroWorks *assembler* is totally superior to the Shack's -- conditional assembly, local labels, and 6800 mnemonics (which make great macros for 6809!). The Shack's debugger/monitor ZBUG is mostly better -- displays **disassembled** code at *symbolic* locations. Also sets REAL breakpoints, while MicroWorks expects you to stick SWIs in source code. MW's is better, tho, at editing numeric arrays in memory; that's scrren- oriented like the text editor. MW's editor is WEIRD, but totally screen-oriented (I like) and can do search-&-substitute thru a file, which Shack can't. However, MW can't make a line over 32 chars long. Shack's is extension of BASIC editor -- can't scratch your nose without a line number, but is nice & familiar. Would work just as well on a Teletype -- really a shame on a memory-mapped video computer! SO, MW wins on all scores except the debugger, where I will spend a lot of my time (what? Bugs? in MY code?), and that disassembly is nice for learning bad habits from BASIC ROMs. Now, will you old hands tell me whether my attitudes will change after a month of hard coding, or what? What really matters? mike k