ASM11

A two-pass absolute macro cross-assembler for the 68HC11

 

 

Quick Reference Guide

ASM11 - Copyright © 1998-2011 by Tony Papadimitriou <tonyp@acm.org>

Last Update: November 22, 2011 for ASM11 v8.40

Command-Line Syntax and Options

 

ASM11 [-option [...]] [[@]filespec [...]] [>errfile]

 

·        option(s) may appear before, in between or after filespec(s).

·        option(s) specified apply to all files assembled, regardless of command line placement.

·        Text file(s) containing list(s) of files to be processed may be specified by naming the text file on the command line, prefixed with a «@» character.  These text files may not contain command line options.

·        filespec(s) may include wildcard characters (?,*).  Wildcards are not allowed in filespec(s) that are prefixed with a «@» but are allowed in filespecs inside @files.

·        If the file extension for a source filespec is omitted, the extension «.ASM» is assumed (see description of the –R.ext option below).

·        Assembler errors may be redirected to errfile using standard DOS output redirection syntax.  This capability may be used in conjunction with, or as an alternative to the –E+ option.

·        Any label can hold a value that is 32-bit long.  Even though the CPU cannot understand numbers larger than 16-bit for data or addressing, the ability to have 32-bit labels allows keeping constants that are larger than 16-bit for use in later constant calculations.  Decimal numbers are signed; the largest number is +/-2147483647.  Hex or binary numbers are unsigned and can go up to the full 32-bit value (2^32-1).  For example, a symbol holding the crystal frequency of operation can be expressed with Hz detail to be used later to derive other constant values (such as cycle-based delays). The 32-bit capability is NOT available in the DOS version.

·        The assembler will set the DOS ERRORLEVEL variable when it terminates as indicated:
0          No error, assembly of last file was successful
1            System error (hardware I/O failure, out of disk space, etc.), or
-W option failure
2            Error(s) generated (or Escape pressed) during assembly of last file
3            Warning(s) generated during assembly of last file
4            Assembler was not started (help screen displayed,
-W option used with success)

1.      No file(s) found

 

Option

Default

Description

 

 

 

-C[±]

-C-

Label case sensitivity: + = case sensitive (See also #CASEON/#CASEOFF)

-Dlabel [:expr]

 

Use up to ten times to define symbols either for conditional assembly (e.g., IFDEF, IFNDEF, and IF directives) or normal use.  Symbols are always uppercase (regardless of -C option).  If they are not followed by a value (or expression) they assume the value zero.  Expression is limited to 19 characters.  Character constants should not contain spaces, and they are converted to uppercase.  Cannot be saved with -W.

-E[±]

-E-

Generate *.ERR file (one for each file assembled).  *.ERR files are not generated for file(s) that do not contain errors.

-EH[±]

-EH+

If –E+ is in effect, hide (do not display) error messages on screen.

-EXP[±]

-EXP-

When on, an .EXP file is created containing all symbols defined with an EXP rather than an EQU pseudo-opcode.  The resulting file can then be used as an #INCLUDE file for other programs.  This allows for automatic creation of include files with exported global symbols.

-FD[±]

-FD-

When on, the assembler uses a fake/fixed date (specifically, Jan 1, 2011) for the internal symbols :YEAR, :MONTH, and :DATE.  It does not falsify the date shown on the listing header, however.

 

This option is useful to let you always get the same S19 CRC value (shown both at the end of the listing file, and on the command-line next to each successfully assembled file), even if you use the :YEAR, :MONTH, and :DATE internal symbols in your source code, which based on the compilation date of your program would normally alter the resulting S19 CRC.  This would, in turn, make it more difficult to quickly check if your program produces the same, or a different binary, since last time you checked.  Keeping a record in your source of the most recent S19 CRC produced with the –FD option, let’s you know if something has (perhaps, inadvertedly) changed.  Without the –FD option, you can’t be sure if it’s just the date that changed, or something else.

 

WARNING: Do NOT include this option in batch or makefiles that compile your programs automatically, or you risk producing consistently mis-dated firmware.  It should only be used for manual verification purposes.

 

It’s not by accident this option cannot be saved with the –W switch.

-Ix

 

Define default INCLUDE directory root.  Relative path files not found relative to the main file, will be tried next relative to this directory.  This switch does not affect absolute path file definitions.  Affects both the INCLUDE and the IF(N)EXISTS directives.

-L[±]

-L+

Create a *.LST file (one for each file assembled).

-LC[±]

-LC+

List any conditional directives fully (the directives only, not the contents in between), even when they are False.  This is the new behavior of ASM11 as of v1.81 but the option is there for those few that liked the old way.

-LS[±]

-LS-

Create a *.SYM symbol list (one for each file assembled).  May be useful for debuggers that do not support the P&E map file format.

-LSx

-LSS

x may be either S (default) for simple SYM file, E for EM11/Shadow11 SYM format, or N for NoICE SYM format.

-M[±]

-M+

Create a *.MAP (one for each file assembled).  *.MAP files created may be used with debuggers that support the P&E source-level map file format.

-MTx

-MTP

Specifies type of MAP file to be generated (if –M+ in effect):

-MTA : Generate parsable ASCII map file

-MTP : Generate P&E-style map file

-O[±]

-O+

Enables these three warnings:  ‘S19 overlap’, ‘Violation of MEMORY directive’, and ‘Violation of VARIABLE directive’.

-P[±]

-P+

When on it tells the assembler to stop after Pass 1 if there were any errors.  Provides for faster overall assembly process and less confusion by irrelevant side errors of Pass 2.  Warnings alone never stop in Pass 1.

-Q[±]

-Q-

Specifies quiet run (no output) when redirecting to an error file (DOS only).  Useful for IDEs that call ASM11 and don’t want to have their display messed up.

Beginning with v2.07, this option can also be used to suppress all output from #Message directives.

-Rn

-R74

Specifies maximum length of S-record files.  The length count n includes all characters in an S-record, including the leading «S» and record type, but not the CR/LF line terminator.  Minimum value is 12 (for one object byte per record) while maximum is 250 (120 object bytes per record).

-R.ext

-R.ASM

Specifies the default extension to assume for source files specified on the command line, which do not directly specify an extension.

-REL[±]

-REL+

Allows generation of  «BRA/BSR instead of JMP/JSR» optimization warnings when enabled.  (See also OPTRELON/OPTRELOFF)

-RTS[±]

-RTS-

Allows generation of  «JSR followed by RTS» subroutine call optimization warnings when enabled. (See also OPTRTSON/OPTRTSOFF)

-S[±]

-S+

Generate *.S19 object file (one for each file assembled).

-SH[±]

-SH-

Include dummy «S0» record (header) in object file (only if –S+).

-S9[±]

-S9+

This option can be used to turn off generation of the final S9 record found by default in all S19 files.  This may be useful when assembling code in parts that will be combined with other S19 files.  Since you only need a single S9 record in the final S19 file, you can use this option to not produce S9 records for all but one of the files that will be merged together to produce a single object file with a single S9 record.  This option cannot be saved with the –W switch.

 

Example: Application and bootloader merging.  Assuming you merge the first with the second (in that order), the bootloader should be assembled as usual, and the application with the –S9 option in effect.

-SP[±]

-SP-

When enabled, the operand part of an instruction is stripped of spaces before parsing.  In this case, possible comments must begin with semi-colon.  (See also SPACESON/SPACESOFF)

-T[±]

-T-

Makes all errors look like Borland errors (useful to fool certain third-party IDEs).

-Tn

-T8

Specifies tab field width to use in *.LST files and object code strings.   Tab characters embedded in the source file are converted to spaces in the object code strings, and in the listing file such that columns are aligned to 1 + every nth character.

-Ux

 

Define default OUTPUT directory.  If this option is defined, all produced files will end up in this directory, regardless of where the source file is located.  When this option is undefined (no path given), produced files will end up in the same directory as the primary source file.

Not available in the DOS version.

-X[±]

-X+

Allow recognition of extra, non-68HC11-standard mnemonics in source files. (See also EXTRAON/EXTRAOFF)

-WRN[±]

-WRN+

Enables or disables the display of all warnings.  When enabled, only warnings that aren’t disabled individually will be generated. When disabled, it overrides local warning options (such as -REL and -RTS).

-W

(none)

Write options specified earlier on the command line to the ASM11 executable (DOS), or ASM11.CFG (Win/Linux).  The user-specified options become the default values used by ASM11 in subsequent invocations.  Filespec(s) on the command line are ignored.  Assembly of source files does not take place if this option is specified.

 

 

Source File Pseudo-Opcodes (Pseudo-Instructions)

 

Pseudo-Op

Description

 

 

[label] ALIGN expr

Case 1. If no label is present, it aligns the current location counter to be a multiple of the given expression.

 

Case 2. If a label is present it aligns the value of that label to be a multiple of the given expression.  (In this case, however, it does nothing to the current location counter.)  It issues an error if the label is not already defined.

 

COMPATIBILITY ISSUE WITH VERSIONS PRIOR TO 8.30:

 

Prior to version 8.30, the optional label would be assigned the current location counter value after the alignment.  The label could not be defined earlier, or you would get an error.

With v8.30 and later, you get an error if the label is not already defined by the time ALIGN is reached because the new behavior requires a previous definition so it can align the existing value of the label.   This makes it easy to catch all incompatible ALIGN statements written for the previous version(s).  If you get an error, simply move the label after the ALIGN statement.

DB string|expr[,...]

Define Byte(s).  expr may be a constant numeric, a label reference, an expression, or a string.  DB encodes a single byte in the object file at the current location counter for each expr encountered (using the LSB of the result) or one byte for each character in strings.

DS blocksize

Define Storage.  The assembler’s location counter is incremented by blocksize. Forward references not allowed.  No code is generated.

DW expr[,...]

Define Word(s).  expr may be a constant numeric, a label or an expression.  expr is always interpreted as a word (16-bit) quantity, and is stored in the object file at the current location counter, high byte followed by low byte.

END [expr]

Provided for compatibility.  The END directive cannot be used to terminate assembly; ASM11 always processes the source file to the end of file.  If expr is specified, the word result is encoded in the S9 record of the object file.

ENDM

Ends definition of a macro.

label DEF expr

Assigns a DEFault value to a label.  In other words, this is a conditional EQU.  It only assigns the label if the label is currently undefined.

 

LABEL      DEF     EXPR

 

is equivalent to:

 

#IFNDEF    LABEL

LABEL      EQU     EXPR

#ENDIF

 

Note: The value that appears in the listing file is the actual new value of the label, which may be different from the value of the expression, since the assignment may not occur.

label EQU expr

Assigns the value of expr to label. See also EXP and SET

label EXP expr

Assigns the value of expr to label.  This is similar to EQU but with the following difference: Labels defined thus will be included in the .EXP file as regular SETs. This effectively allows exporting symbols for use from other source files.  It makes it possible to give only object code to others along with the produced .EXP file so that they can «link» the object to their source. Found in versions 1.84b+ but will be honored only in 1.85+

FCB string|expr[,...]

Form Constant Byte(s).  Same as DB.

FCC string|expr[,...]

Form Constant Character(s).  Same as DB.

FCS string|expr[,...]

Form Constant String.  Similar to FCC, but it automatically adds a terminating null (0) byte to the end of the string defined (for ASCIZ strings).

FDB expr[,...]

Form Double Byte(s).  Same as DW.

LONG expr[,...]

Form 32-bit long word(s).  expr may be a constant numeric, a label or an expression.  expr is always interpreted as a 32-bit quantity, and is stored in the object file at the current location counter in big-endian order.

Not available in the DOS version.

MacroName MACRO comments

... REMACRO ...

  • MACRO begins the definition of a new macro.

 

  • REMACRO begins the definition of a new macro over a possibly existing same name macro.  Hint: Use #DROP to remove the latest definition, restoring the previous one, if any.  REMACRO is same as MACRO when used with special ? macro.

 

  • Macros must be defined anytime before they are invoked, and they can be invoked until the end of the current assembly (for global macros), end of current file (for local macros), or until a #DROP directive undefines them, in either global or local case.
  • The body of macros is placed between MACRO and ENDM keywords, and it can contain any text.  All that text is associated with the specified MacroName, as is.  Normal semi-colon beginning comments are copied also.  If you want comments to appear only in the macro definition but not in each later expansion of the macro, use double semi-colon (;;) for those comments to cause them not to be saved along with the macro.
  • By default, macros are invoked using the @MacroName[,parm separator] syntax (see #MACRO, #@MACRO, #MCF, and #MCF2 directives).  Note: You can also use the %macro call syntax (i.e., % prefix, instead of @) to force all macro counters (:MINDEX, :INDEX, :LOOP), except for :MACRONEST, for the specific macro to reset, as if you had dropped and recreated the macro.
  • During invocation, the macro name may be followed by a comma and any non-alphanumeric single character (if more characters found, only the first matters).  If this parameter override option is present, then the character right after the comma will act as a one-time parameter delimiter (just for this macro call.  The #PARMS defined delimiter will not be affected.)  If the character is a space, it does not require yet another space as field separator between macro name and parameters.
  • The macro may refer to yet undefined labels or macros, as the code or definitions inside it are not truly parsed until the macro is actually used, if at all.
  • The macro is expanded on a line-by-line basis.  Each line in the macro body (the text between the macro and endm keywords), is expanded and then assembled, before the next line of the macro body is fetched.
  • Conditionals used inside macros are always local to the current macro invocation, i.e., you cannot open a condition (like #IFDEF) inside a macro and then close it (#ENDIF) outside the macro.
  • Local macro names start with the ? symbol (like it is done with normal local labels).
  • The special local macro named ? (just a single question-mark) is to be used ad-hoc.  This one special macro name is automatically dropped (without warning) at each new redefinition.  It’s useful for quickly defining a temporary macro to be used immediately afterwards, and considered discarded later.  For example, an instruction (or series of instructions) with a  complex operand expression can be embedded inside a ? local macro using as parameter the variable part of the expression.  This can often make your code more readable (and, editable more easily.)

§         Parameters are passed during invocation in the operand field separated by commas (or whatever delimiter you have defined with the #PARMS directive, or the special one-time parameter separator override.)

§         To use a null parameter, just put two delimiters next to each other (e.g., @MACRO PARM1,,PARM3).  Note: This will work for any delimiter except for space; two or more consecutive spaces – outside a string, of course – are seen by the assembler as one space in the parameter field.  Space delimiters can only be used with sequential parameters without gaps in between (which is good for the majority of cases, but not all).  If you must know, this is because the assembler trims multiple spaces between fields to locate the operand field.  If spaces were allowed to separate null parameters, it would also have to count the spaces from the macro name to the parameter field less one that is required to separate the two fields and possibly less one more that could be used with a “space” parameter override, and since the null parameters could be first in the list of parameters, this would be very confusing, and hard to get it to work correctly (especially since you can’t easily count spaces) while also maintaining the desired code formatting.  So, when calling a macro with non-trailing null parameters, make sure the parameter separator is NOT a space (either by default or by override), or you will get incorrect macro expansions (and, depending on what the macro does and how it expands, you may not always get side errors).

  • Macro-local labels must include the string $$$ at least once anywhere inside their name (except at the very beginning), e.g. Loop$$$ or Main$$$Loop
  • Parameter text replaces placeholders anywhere within the body of the macro (label, operation, operand, comment fields) without regard to context.  Parameter placeholders are ~0~ thru ~9~ (where ~0~ is reserved for the macro name itself, and ~1~ thru ~9~ for actual parameters.)
  • The body of a macro may contain nested embedded expressions (in any field, even comments) of the form {<expr>}, like one can do with strings, where <expr> is any valid expression, normally including some parameter placeholder(s).  Expressions are evaluated last, after expansion of parameter placeholders but before the ~n.s.l~ type placeholder (described later).
  • To accommodate indexed mode instruction operands within any one parameter (provided the macro is called with a non-comma parameter separator), you can use the following variations of the placeholders: ~n,~ and ~,n~ (where n is the number 1 thru 9) and the comma position (either after or before the number) defines whether we want the part before the index (excluding the comma), or the index itself (including the comma), respectively.  For example, the instruction lda ~1,~+1~,1~ will expand correctly whether parm ~1~ contains an index or not.  (Using the simpler lda ~1~+1 will not expand as  intended, when used with indexed operands, as the +1 will follow the index, and not the offset before the index.)  If no index is within the parameter, ~n,~ is the same as ~n~ while ~,n~ is null.  The assembler will pick anything following a possible comma (the first one) within a parameter as being an index (so you could get creative and use the feature for other purposes also).
  • The special placeholder ~#~ returns either a null string or the character # if the first parameter’s (~1~) first character is a # (possibly, indicating immediate mode use).  With conditional assembly (e.g., #IFPARM ~#~) one can treat the ~1~ parameter differently, assuming immediate mode.
  • Similarly, the placeholder ~#n~ (where n is a number from 1 thru 9, zero also accepted but it is pointless) returns the parameter part after a possible # sign, if one is present.  This allows getting an immediate mode type parameter in a form (stripped of the # symbol) that can be used in expressions (for example, in an #IF directive expression).  Note: If no # is inside the parameter, ~#n~ is the same as ~n~ alone.
  • Since one may often call a macro with a non-comma delimiter (such as when a parameter contains a comma in an indexed operand – e.g. 1,x), a possible chained macro call passing this parameter to another macro, or to self while looping, must use the same parameter delimiter that was used to call the original macro, or else the parameter may not be passed on correctly, or not even as a single parameter.  Using the default parameter separator (a comma) from within a macro to call another macro (or self) is problematic in those cases.  To solve this problem, two equivalent special placeholders have been introduced.  One is the ASCII code 149 [] (e.g., use the ALT-7 method in the numeric keypad for entry in Win-PCs), and the other is the two-character sequence \, (a backslash followed by a comma) which should be possible to type in any editor.  Either of these placeholders will be replaced by the same delimiter as the one used for the most recent macro call (either by default or by override), unless there is a new explicit one-time delimiter override (@macro,char call format).
  • The special placeholder ~label~ (case-insensitive) returns the actual text of a label appearing in the label column of the last macro invocation (after expanding possible label embedded {<expr>}).  This can be used with ‘function-like’ macros that need to set a label to a specific value (without having to pass the name of the label as a regular parameter).  If no label is used in the same line as the macro invocation, then it returns a null (empty) string.  If, however, no label is used with a chained (or nested) macro invocation (a macro invocation occurring from inside a macro) then the text value of ~label~ is not changed from the original macro’s.  This way, a macro can chain to itself (for looping), or another macro and still have the ~label~ placeholder expand correctly.  Note: The length of the actual text inside ~label~ can be found in the internal variable :label.
  • The special placeholder ~macro~ (case-insensitive) returns the name of the top-level macro call (useful when used inside nested or chained macros).  For example, if macro A calls macro B, which then calls macro C, then ~macro~ equals A inside all three macros.
  • The placeholder ~00~ returns the name of the macro calling this macro (i.e. the macro one-level above, or the same macro if calling itself).  If at the top-level, ~00~ is the same as ~0~.  Useful when combining common functionality macros but need the name of the previous macro calling this one.  For example, if macro A calls macro B, which then calls macro C, then ~00~ equals A (when inside A or B) but ~00~ equals B (when inside C).
  • The special placeholder ~self~ (case-insensitive) returns the original name of the current macro (useful if you use #RENAME from within the macro and then need to restore the actual name the macro had when entered, using  #REMACRO).
  • The special placeholder ~text~ (case-insensitive) returns the current temporary text parameter of the current macro.  This is an temporary placeholder that remembers its macro-unique value across different macro calls, adding extreme flexibility.  You can also use it as temporary text workspace when manipulating regular macro parameters.  ~text~ can be changed with MSET, MSWAP, MDEF using zero for the parameter index.  The current length of ~text~ can be found in the internal variable :TEXT
  • Similarly, ~#text~ (case-insensitive) returns the part after a possible # symbol(if one is present).
  • The case-insensitive placeholder ~filename~ returns the current file’s filename including the file extension, while  ~basename~ returns the filename without extension, and ~path~ returns the full path with filename and extension.  The variant starting with m (for macro) shows the corresponding filename for where the macro definition is located (~mfilename~ etc.), which is not necessarily in the current file.
  • The placeholder ~@~ is an alias for the full list of placeholders separated by (starting from ~1~).   Useful if you want to pass all parameters to another macro.  The sequence produced by ~@~ is: ~1~•~2~•~3~•~4~•~5~•~6~•~7~•~8~•~9~
  • The placeholder ~@@~ is an alias for the full list of placeholders separated by but starting from ~2~.  Useful if you want to pass the remaining parameters to the same macro when looping (assuming each loop only processes the first parameter, until that becomes null).  The sequence produced by ~@@~ is: ~2~•~3~•~4~•~5~•~6~•~7~•~8~•~9~
  • Trailing parameter separators (commas by default) and trailing commas due to macro expansion of null parameters are automatically removed.  This is particularly useful when writing macros, which replace or enhance single-operand instructions.  One can write the macro so that it does not require a parameter separator override during invocation, just so it can recognize a possible indexed operand.  Example: LDA ~1~,~2~ will work even if ~2~ is null, because the now ‘dangling’ comma after ~1~ will be automatically removed, preventing an otherwise expected syntax error.  Similarly, LDA ~1,~+1~,1~,~2~ will work for the following location pointed to by the expression in parm 1, regardless of the presence of an index in parm 1, parm 2, or at all.
  • You can use the ~n.s.l~ format of the parameter placeholder (where n is the parameter number, or the case-insensitive keyword label, or a constant string enclosed in quotes, s is the starting position, or a constant string to search for, and l is the needed length, or a constant string to search for but past the s position) to extract only a portion of the text of the corresponding parameter or constant.  The first dot is required (to disambiguate from ~n~ type parms) even if nothing follows.  The s and l are optional.  If s is not entered its value is assumed to be one, so that ~1.~ is the same as ~1~ alone.  If l is not entered, its value is the length from s to the end of the parameter (i.e., the remaining string).  Note: The assembler forces s and l to always be within the limits of the text length.  So, specifying a position past the end of the parameter text will always return the last character.  To check for past-of-text, check against the :nnn length internal symbol for the specific parameter (e.g., :1 for parm one). If you need to make n, s, or l the result of an expression you can use {expr} (for example: ~1.{:loop}.2~).

 

  • SPECIAL CASE: When inside a string, the expression will be evaluated when the string is processed by the assembler, which is after macro expansion of the various placeholders.  This means we have lost our chance to expand this placeholder.  But, we can use the \@ instead of quotes for strings inside a macro which contain ~n.s.l~ embedded expressions, and not only those (example: fcc \@~{PARM}.{FROM}.{LENGTH}~\@ to have it expand correctly.  Because of the \@ the string does not appear as a string yet, and the expressions can be calculated during macro expansion.  This way all expressions become simple constants, and the placeholder can be processed.  Finally, the \@ dummy string delimiters are turned into single, double, or back quotes, depending on which of these three doesn’t appear in the string at all, making the whole thing a proper string.

 

  • IMPORTANT COMPATIBILITY ISSUE: A couple or so versions compiled prior to 2010/09/24 23:00 used @@ instead of \@.  The @@ was an unfortunate selection of dummy quote delimiter and it had to be replaced with a better one (\@) even though  it meant possibly causing problems with existing code (hopefully, not that many macros utilizing this feature were written in the few days the feature has been available with the wrong delimiter) because it caused syntax errors in certain cases, e.g. if single character string contained the @ char (with or without macro parameter expansion), or labels containing @@ inside their name.
  • Order of placeholder expansion is: ~@~, ~@@~, ~label~, ~macro~, ~00~, ~self~, ~text~, ~#~, ~#n~, ~n~ (where n = 0..9, in that order), \,, and , {expression}, ~n.s.l~, and \@string\@.
  • During macro invocation, any parameter text may contain embedded expressions of the form {<expr>}, like one can do with strings, where <expr> is any expression, possibly including some parameter placeholder(s), if already inside a macro.  This may be needed in situations where the parameter may be intrepreted incorrectly while used inside the macro.  For example, if the * (normally used to indicate ‘here’, as in BRA *) is passed as a parameter to be used inside the macro, it may have a different value, depending on where it is used.  Passing this parameter as {*} is first ‘expanded’ using the current value, and then passed in the macro as a simple constant.  Note: You can also do the same expansion from within the macro, making it worry-free for the user of the macro.  For example, one of the first macro lines can change * to {*} (using MSET) if the specific parameter is found to have this text.
  • Macros cannot #INCLUDE files, but can ‘chain’ to one.
  • Macros cannot define other macros.
  • Macro-embedded macros are not supported.  (Tip: Simple ‘embedded macros’ can be emulated by using any unused parameters to contain the text of the ‘embedded macro’.  The MSET keyword can be used from within the macro to ‘define’ the ‘embedded macro’ in one or more unused parameters, – each parameter representing a single line of the ‘embedded macro’ – then use just the relevant placeholders alone wherever you want to expand the ‘embedded macro’.)
  • Macros can ‘chain’ to self or other macros (with no automatic return).  This allows, among other things, for creating loops, making macros very powerful.
  • Macros can temporarily invoke other macros, and then return back to continue with the original macro.  Use the double @ (@@ or %%) notation when calling a macro from within another macro if you want to return back (as opposed to chain to another macro), regardless of macro mode.  The default maximum nesting level is 100 (which should be more than adequate for most cases) but it can be changed to as high as 10,000 with the directive #MLimit, or as low as zero, which disables this capability completely.  Note: Prefer using macro chaining over nested macro calling when feasible, or to get a looping effect, as it is more efficient both in terms of memory usage and assembly speed.  Tip: To use macros as with some other assemblers, i.e., without having to type @ prefix, and having a default nesting (rather than ‘chaining’) behavior, enable the #MACRO @@ mode (see the relevant section for details) .  Macro-chaining will be altogether disabled, however.
  • To break out of an accidental endless macro loop, press [ESC] on the command-line.
  • Macro labels may be case-sensitive (depending on #CaseOn/Off directives) when defined, but are always case-insensitive when invoked (like normal opcode names).  Tip: A case-sensitive macro definition is important when using the ~0~, ~00~, and ~macro~ placeholders to have it correctly match a normal label named the same as the macro, under #CaseOn mode.
  • Virtually unlimited number of macro definitions (memory permitting.)
  • Virtually unlimited size of each macro (memory permitting.)
  • Unlimited number of macro invocations (all internal macro counters are 32-bit).

MERROR [text]

 

Combines an #ERROR directive followed immediately by an MEXIT, which is commonly found in macros.  This can only be used inside macros.

MEXIT [expr]

Causes an unconditional early exit from a macro expansion.  (Normally, used inside a conditional block.)

 

If the optional expression (without any forward references) is present, its value will be placed in the :MEXIT internal variable.  If the expression is missing, the current value of :MEXIT will not be changed, allowing for cascaded return values from nested macros.

MSUSPEND

MRESUME

 

MSUSPEND can be used only from within a macro (usually once, but since there is no limit, more than once, if needed) to temporarily suspend the execution of the current macro.

 

Suspending a macro preserves the current macro state (parms, counters, etc.) just like nested macros do to protect the parent macro’s state, but it allows for code outside any macros to be assembled in place of the MSUSPEND keyword, as if it were part of the macro (except that it is actually assembled outside the macro, so none of the macro-only features can be used, and none of the macro limitations apply – for example, normal use of #INCLUDE is possible, as well as definition of new macros, etc.)

 

This makes it much easier to create nestable macros that emulate block structures, than by using two separate macros (one for block begin, and one for block end) and trying to keep them synchronized.

 

Note: When a nested macro is suspended, all macros leading to the currently executing macro are indirectly suspended as a side effect.

 

MRESUME can be used only from outside any macros to resume execution of the most recently suspended macro.

 

You can have several macros in the suspended state, but they can only be resumed in a LIFO order (i.e., stack order).  This allows for the creation of nested blocks (like WHILE, FOR, IF, REPEAT, etc.) commonly found in higher-level languages.

 

The recursion limit (see #MLimit) counts suspended macros also, because these are stacked just like when doing normal nested macro calls.

 

This MSUSPEND/MRESUME feature makes it particularly easy to replace pairs of macros (like FORENDFOR) that normally appear right before and after a code section to create a block structure, with a single macro that does all the required work and simply allows (via the use of the keyword MSUSPEND) the inclusion of any arbitrary code in between (i.e., between the macro call and the MRESUME keyword).

 

Simple nested example (counts lines of intermediate source code, and issues warning if optional limit is exceeded):

 

                    org       *

 

CountLines          macro     [Limit][,Description]

                    mset      2, ~@@~

                    #temp     :lineno+1

                    msuspend

                    #temp     :lineno-:temp

                    #Message  Section~2~ spans {:temp} lines

          #ifnb ~1~

          #if :temp > ~1~

                    #Warning  Too many lines (>{~1~})

          #endif

          #endif

                    endm

; To use:

                    @CountLines ,OUTER

                    nop

                    @CountLines ,INNER

                    nop

                    nop

                    mresume

                    nop

                    mresume

MSTOP [#ALL#]

When used inside a macro, it causes an unconditional early termination of all currently executing macros, and regardless of nesting level.  (Normally, used inside a conditional block.)

 

When used outside a macro, it causes the most recent suspended macro to stop being suspended.  When the optional #ALL# parameter is used, then all nested suspended macros are stopped (become no longer suspended).

MSTR index[,index]*

MSTR tests each one of the specified indexed macro parameter text for being a string, and, if not a string, it changes it to one using the appropriate delimiters based on the contents of the parameter text.

 

It is equivalent to the following sequence (but repeated for each specified index n):

 

#IFPARM ~n.~

    #IFNOSTR   ~n.~

           MSET    n,\@~n.~\@

    #ENDIF

#ENDIF

MSET index[,text]

MDEF index[,text]

MSWAP index,index

 

MSET changes the current macro’s index-ed parameter to the text that follows, or to null if no text follows.  There are many potential uses for this capability (such as using the macro parameters as temporary work text variables.)  It is particularly useful, however, with macro loops using the MTOP command.

 

MDEF is similar to MSET but it only changes the text of the parameter if the parameter is currently null.  This is the same as using MSET within an #IFNOPARM conditional block.  It’s useful for setting default macro parameters (normally, at the top of the macro).

 

MSWAP simply swaps the text of any two parameters.  (Swapping a parameter with itself has no effect.)

As an example for MSWAP, in macros with multiple single operands, you can use it to bring the working operand always in, say, ~1~, which may be simpler to use than the equivalent ~{:loop}.~ from inside a loop.

 

Note: index is any expression that doesn’t contain forward references.

MREQ ind[,ind]*[:errmsg]

Checks each of the specified macro parameters (separated with commas) for null value (empty).  If the parameter is null, an appropriate internal error message is displayed, and the macro expansion is terminated at that point.

If the optional errmsg parameter is present (which must follow a colon), this error message will be displayed instead of the default error message.

 

This can be used to specify which macro parameters are required, and print an error message, if these parameters are null.  If more than one of the specified parameters are null, the message will repeat for each one of them.

You may use MREQ multiple times, perhaps, once for each parameter, so that you can have a unique error displayed for each parameter.

 

Note: ind is any expression that doesn’t contain forward references.  errmsg is any text.  If ind contains an internal variable (such as :LOOP), it must be enclosed in { ... } because the colon is also used as the beginning of the errmsg.

MTOP [limit expr]

Causes an immediate unconditional jump to the top line of the current macro, while incrementing the :LOOP counter.  It can be used either alone or within conditionals.  The advantage to using MTOP over @~0~ (a macro call to self) is that whatever parameters were passed in the macro do not need to be specified again as the macro is never exited.  Also, no counters are incremented, except for :LOOP.  This means, however, that $$$ based labels (which are unique to a macro invocation) are still in the same scope as before the MTOP command since no new macro has been invoked.

 

If the optional limiting expression (containing only non-forward references) is present, its value will be compared to the :LOOP counter and MTOP will execute only if the current value of :LOOP is less than the value of the expression.  Example (shift word right one or more times):

 

lsr.w     macro     Address[,Count]

          mdef      2,1    ;default Count=1

          lsr       ~1~

          ror       ~1,~+1~,1~

          mtop      ~2~

          endm

 

As another example, an expression like the one that follows can be used to loop while the next parameter is not null:

mtop :loop+:{:loop+1}

MDO [start expr]

MLOOP [limit expr]

MDO and MLOOP work together to form a local DO ... LOOP inside a macro.  Note:  MDO and MLOOP cannot be nested because MLOOP always matches the most recent MDO of the current macro.

 

MDO simply marks the current line (i.e., the line containing the MDO keyword) as the beginning of a local loop, and (re)initializes the :MLOOP counter to one (1), or to the value of the non-forward expression, if one is present.

 

MLOOP causes an immediate unconditional jump to the line following the most recent MDO keyword, while incrementing the :MLOOP counter (not to be confused with the :MACROLOOP or :LOOP counter).  If no MDO was used up to this point in the macro, MLOOP jumps to the top of the current macro (just like MTOP would), but it only affects the :MLOOP counter (whereas MTOP only affects the :LOOP counter).

 

If the optional limiting expression (containing only non-forward references) is present, its value will be compared to the :MLOOP counter and MLOOP will execute only if the current value of :MLOOP is less than the value of the expression.  Example (multi-byte addition):

 

add.m     macro     Op1,Op2,Ans[,Size]

          mdef      4,1       ;default size = 1

          #push

          #spauto   :sp

          psha

 

          mdo

          lda       ~1,~+{~4~-:mloop}~,1~

#if :mloop = 1

          add       ~2,~+{~4~-:mloop}~,2~

#else

          adc       ~2,~+{~4~-:mloop}~,2~

#endif

          sta       ~3,~+{~4~-:mloop}~,3~

          mloop     ~4~

         

          pula

          #pull

          endm

 

As another example, an expression like the one that follows can be used to loop while the next parameter is not null:

mloop :mloop+:{:mloop+1}

label NEXP symbol[,expr]

Assigns the current value of symbol to label as if with EXP.  Then, it increments the value of symbol by one (as if with SET) or, if the optional expression is present, by the value of that expression.  Useful for defining a series of symbols based on a common starting value.  Note: symbol is a single label and not an expression.  See also NEXT, SETN

label NEXT symbol[,expr]

Assigns the current value of symbol to label as if with EQU.  Then, it increments the value of symbol by one (as if with SET) or, if the optional expression is present, by the value of that expression.  Useful for defining a series of symbols based on a common starting value.  Note: symbol is a single label and not an expression.  See also NEXP, SETN

ORG expr

Sets the assembler’s location counter for the active segment.  Code generated after this directive will be assembled starting at the location specified by expr.

label PROC

First, it advances the @@ local label counter, and then it assigns the value of the program counter (*) to label.  This allows using symbols locally for a specific section of code (e.g., a subroutine).  The symbol to the left of PROC is always in the new scope.  Each time PROC (or #PROC) is encountered, the assembler increments an internal 32-bit local symbol counter.  Symbols containing @@ anywhere inside their name (except at the very beginning) at least once (for example, Loop@@) will have the @@ part replaced with a special control character (different from what is used with macro local $$$) and the current value of the internal local symbol counter (similar to $$$ with macro local labels).

Up until a PROC or #PROC is encountered in the program, the @@ is not treated specially (i.e., the @@ is not converted to a special number).  This makes this feature compatible with code written prior to its introduction.  The current value of the corresponding internal counter can be found in the internal symbol :PROC

See also #PROC

RMB blocksize

Reserve Memory Byte(s).  Same as DS.

label SET expr

Assigns the value of expr to label even if label is already defined with a different value.

This is similar to EQU but allows making multiple re-definitions.  The value set will be used until another SET pseudo-instruction or to the end of the assembly process.

Warning: Careless, or simply wrong use of this directive can lead to multiple side errors or warnings (please note this is a two-pass assembler).  Using a forward SET defined symbol may lead to problems, as the value used will be the one from the last SET definition, which is not necessarily the one we want.

Correct behavior is guaranteed if any symbols re-defined with SET are used only after each new re-definition, otherwise, the first reference in Pass 2 will use the value from the last re-definition in Pass 1.

Example of wrong use:

1.             lda  #Value  ;we expect 123, actual is 234

2. Value       equ  123

               ...

3.             lda  #Value  ;we expect 234, actual is 123

4. Value       set  234

Value in line 1 will be 234 (the last known value from Pass 1) while Value in line 3 will be 123 (most recent value in current Pass 2).

 

Example of correct use:

1. Value       equ  123

2.             lda  #Value  ;we expect 123, actual is 123

               ...

3. Value       set  234

4.             lda  #Value  ;we expect 234, actual is 234

See also EXP and EQU

label SETN symbol[,expr]

Assigns the current value of symbol to label as if with SET.  Then, it increments the value of symbol by one (as if with SET) or, if the optional expression is present, by the value of that expression.  Useful for (re-)defining a series of symbols based on a common starting value.  Note: symbol is a single label and not an expression.  See also NEXP, NEXT

Source File Processing Directives

 

·        All processing directives must be prefixed with a $ or # character.  ASM11 will recognize either character as the start of a processing directive.

·        If a directive has a corresponding command-line option, the directive in the source file will override the command line directive at the point in which the source file directive is encountered.

·        [text] will be trimmed of duplicate spaces.  To have more than one consecutive space display, use the Alt-255 character, as many times as needed.

 

Directive

Description

 

 

#CASEOFF

When #CASEOFF is in effect, all symbol references that follow are converted to uppercase internally before they are searched for or placed in the symbol table. (Debug and DEBUG are the same symbol.)

Equivalent to the –C- command line option.

#CASEON

When #CASEON is in effect, symbol references are NOT internally converted to uppercase before they are searched for or placed in the symbol table.  (Debug and DEBUG are two different symbols.)

Equivalent to the –C+ command line option.

#CRC expr

The two CRCs (user and S19) maintained by the assembler are 16-bit each, and they are updated only during PASS2 by each produced user code/data byte that is put into the S19 file.  The starting CRC value for both CRCs is zero.

 

With this directive you can alter the user CRC value at any time (either before the very first byte of code/data to produce a different CRC for the same firmware, or several times in between to skip certain volatile sections, for example).

 

The computed CRCs are available by accessing the internal symbols :CRC and :S19CRC

 

The formula used for the 16-bit CRC calculation is very simple to be easily implemented even in tiny bootloaders:

 

16BitCRC := 16BitCRC + 16BitAddress*8BitData

 

:S19CRC is mostly useful with the END directive (END :S19CRC) as it is not affected by the #CRC directive.  An S19 loader can check the overall integrity of the S19 file.

 

:CRC, on the other hand, is mostly useful for checking code after it has been loaded into the MCU, at each reset, for example.

 

Please note that for both CRCs all $00 bytes do not affect the calculation while, for the user CRC only (:CRC), all $FF bytes are intentionally skipped.  This allows for the CRC in an S19 file (which does not necessarily fill a contiguous block of memory) to match the CRC computed by the MCU over a complete block of memory without the MCU bootloader knowing in advance the actual addresses used within that block, provided any unused bytes are in the erased state.

As a side effect, however, any $00->$FF or $FF->$00 alterations in the file cannot be detected with the user CRC.

#CYCLES [expr]

First, the optional expression is calculated using the current values of any internal symbols.

Then, the current value of :CYCLES is copied to :OCYCLES.

Finally, the internal:CYCLES counter is set to zero (if the optional expression is missing), or to any arbitrary value (the result of the expression).

This directive can also be used inside macros to restore the cycle counter of surrounding code, if the macro cycles should be counted in a special way, or not at all.

#DATA

Activation of the DATA segment.  Default starting value is $103F (the CONFIG register).

#DROP macro[,macro]*

Undefines one or more macros.  If a macro is not currently defined, a warning will be issued (to protect from possible typing errors).

 

To drop all macros (global and local) with a single command, use * (asterisk) in place of the macro name.  There is no warning if no macros found.

 

To drop all local macros (for the current file only) with a single command, use ?* (question mark followed by asterisk) in place of the macro name.  There is no warning if no local macros found.

 

If used from inside a macro, and that macro is dropped, the macro will terminate at that point.  The rest of the macro will not be processed.

 

The special macro named ? (just a single question-mark) is to be used ad-hoc, and it is automatically dropped (without warning) at each new redefinition.  You may also drop it with #DROP but only need to do so if you want to force errors in later use of the macro, so you can easily locate them.

 

You cannot drop macros that are currently active above the current macro level (e.g. nested macros leading to current one.)

#EEPROM

Activation of the EEPROM segment.  Default starting value is $B600.

#EJECT

See #PAGE

#ELSE

When used in conjunction with conditional assembly directives (#IF, #IF[N]DEF, $IF[N]Z, #IFMAIN, #IFINCLUDED, etc.), code following the #ELSE directive is assembled if the conditional it is paired with evaluates to a not-true result.

#ENDIF

Marks the end of a conditional-assembly block.

Conditional assembly statements may be nested if they are properly blocked with #ENDIF directives.

#ERROR [text]

When encountered in the source, the assembler issues a error message in the same form as internally-generated errors, using the  text specified, prefixed with «USER: »

#EXIT [expr]

If no expression is present, it immediately exits the current #INCLUDE file.  (Does nothing if used inside a main file.)

 

If the optional expression is present (normally though, this might be just a single label), the exit occurs only if the expression is defined (as if when checked with #IFDEF).

 

This can be used in the top of #INCLUDE files, like so:

 

           #EXIT    _COMMON_

_COMMON_

 

In this example, the first time this file is included, the symbol _COMMON_ is undefined, so the #EXIT is ignored.  Consequent times this file is included, it exits upon hitting the #EXIT directive.

 

Note:  Due to how #INCLUDE files are counted internally, and there being a limit on how many total files you can #INCLUDE, it’s better when working with larger projects that you do not #INCLUDE a file at all when already processed, rather than #INCLUDE it and #EXIT it.  (See also #USES)

#EXTRAOFF

Disables recognition of ASM11’s extended instruction set for source lines that follow this directive.

Equivalent to the –X- command line option.

#EXTRAON

Enables recognition of ASM11’s extended instruction set for source lines that follow this directive.

Equivalent to the –X+ command line option.

#EXPORT symbol[,symbol]*

Export one or more symbols (as if with EXP).  File-local symbols cannot be exported.  If a symbol is not currently defined, a warning will be issued.

#FATAL [text]

Similar to the #ERROR directive, but generates an assembler fatal error message and terminates the assembler (possible further files in the command line supplied file list will not be processed).

#HOMEDIR [path]

Makes the specified path the current home directory.  Although this cannot affect where any output files will go, it does make a difference on where any following relative #INCLUDE files will be searched.  Relative file path specifications will now be relative to the directory specified by the #HOMEDIR directive, including any relative #INCLUDE references in nested include files.

If [path] is missing, the original main file path is restored.

#IF expr1 cond expr2

Evaluates expr1 and expr2 (which may be any valid ASM11 expression) and compares them using the specified cond conditional operator.  If the condition is true, the code following the #IF operator is assembled, up to its matching #ELSE or #ENDIF directive.

Cond may be any one of:  <  <=  =  >=  >  <>

The condition is always evaluated using unsigned arithmetic.

If a symbol referenced in expr1 or expr2 is not defined, the statement will always evaluate as false.  At least one space must embrace cond on each side.

#IFDEF expr

Attempts to evaluate expr, and if successful, assembles the code that follows, up to the matching #ELSE or #ENDIF directive.  This directive is used to test if a specified symbol has been defined.  Symbol(s) referenced in expr must be defined before the directive for the result to evaluate true (e.g., forward references will evaluate as false). #IFDEF without an expr following will always evaluate to False.

#IFEXISTS fpath

It checks for the existence of the file specified by fpath (using the same rules as those used for #INCLUDE directives) and assembles the code that follows if the specified fpath exists.

#IFINCLUDED

Assembles the code which follows if the file containing this directive is a file used in an INCLUDE directive of a higher-level file (regardless of nesting level).  See also #IFMAIN

#IFMAIN

Assembles the code that follows if the file containing this directive is the main (primary) file being assembled.  See also #IFINCLUDED.

#IFMDEF macro

#IFNOMDEF macro

#IFMDEF checks if the specified macro exists, and if so, assembles the code that follows, up to the matching #ELSE or #ENDIF directive.  This directive is used to test if the specified macro has been defined.  #IFNOMDEF does the opposite check.

#IFPARM text [= text]

#IFPARM text [== text]

 

#IFNOPARM text [= text]

#IFNOPARM text [== text]

 

Aliases:

#IFB same as #IFNOPARM

#IFNB same as #IFPARM

Normally used inside macros.  If text is non-blank, assembles the code that follows, up to the matching #ELSE or #ENDIF directive.  This directive is used to test if a specified macro parameter has been defined.  #IFPARM without text following (after macro expansion) will always evaluate to False. text is usually a parameter placeholder (e.g., ~1~).

You can also make a case-insensitive (using the = sign) or case-sensitive (using the == sign) comparison of the parameter to a specific text string (with or without quotes, depending on your intent) by separating the two text strings with an ‘equals’ (=), or  double-equals (==) sign, depending on the desired case-sensitivity.  For example,

#IFPARM ~1~ = *

tests if parameter one is a plain asterisk (normally used to indicate the current location pointer.)

#IFNOPARM performs the opposite test.

#IFSTR text

#IFNOSTR text

Normally used inside a macro.  If text is a quoted string, assembles the code that follows, up to the matching #ELSE or #ENDIF directive.  This directive is used to test if a specified macro parameter is a string.  #IFSTR without text following (after macro expansion) will always evaluate to False. text is usually a parameter placeholder (e.g., ~1~).

#IFNOSTR performs the opposite test.

#IFNUM text

#IFNONUM text

Normally used inside a macro.  If text represents a number, assembles the code that follows, up to the matching #ELSE or #ENDIF directive.  This directive is used to test if a specified macro parameter is a number.  #IFNUM without text following (after macro expansion) will always evaluate to False. text is usually a parameter placeholder (e.g., ~1~).

#IFNONUM performs the opposite test.

#INCLUDE fpath

#USES fpath

Includes the specified fpath file in the assembly stream, as if the contents of the file were physically present in the source at the point where the #INCLUDE directive is encountered.  #INCLUDE’s may be nested, up to 100 or 125 levels (the main source file counts as one level).  Relative fpath specifications are always referenced to the directory in which the main source file resides, including any relative #INCLUDE fpath references in nested include files.

 

#USES is an alternative, slightly different method to include a file.  It will #INCLUDE the file specified (using the same file-finding rules as #INCLUDE) but only if the same file path has not been included (via #INCLUDE or #USES) at least once, already.  #USES is useful for creating #INCLUDE file dependencies (normally, from a higher level to a lower level – e.g., an analog temperature sensor driver module #USES the A/D driver module, but not the other way around).  This allows directly #USING (an alias for #USES) only the module of interest in your application, and it should take care to use whatever other modules it requires (in a recursive sort of way).  If another included module in the same application #USES the same lower-level module, it will not be included a second time.  This is similar to the common

 

#IFNDEF _MODULE_

_MODULE_

 ...your module code goes here...

#ENDIF

 

technique used to prevent multiple inclusions of the same file, but only have it included the first time it is referenced.  Normally, the #IFNDEF … #ENDIF block is found inside the file, meaning the assembler must enter the file before it ‘knows’ it doesn’t need it.  The advantage with #USES, however, is (1) that you do not need a specific symbol definition for each file, and (2) you never enter an already included file (which would use up a sometimes precious file count towards the maximum number of #INCLUDE files.)

 

Bi-directional, or circular co-dependencies (e.g., file A depends on file B, while file B depends on A) are possible in some cases, and then they require some extra attention in the respective files’ internal organization, or it could not work as you might have expected, and leave you confused by ‘spurious’ errors.  In general though, you should try to avoid them.

 

Also, you cannot use #USES in place of #INCLUDE for modules that must be included multiple times (e.g., including the same SCI driver module, once for each hardware SCI available), although you could use #USES to include a file that itself does #INCLUDE the same file multiple times.

 

Note: The assembler will only generate a standard error (not an assembly-terminating fatal error) if a file specified in a #INCLUDE (or #USES) directive is not found.  The #IFEXISTS and #IFNEXISTS directives may be used in conjunction with #FATAL if termination of assembly is desired under such conditions.

#IFNDEF expr

Evaluates expr and assembles the code that follows if the expression could NOT be evaluated, usually as the result of a reference to an undefined symbol.  This directive is the functional opposite of the #IFDEF directive.

#IFNEXISTS fpath

The opposite of #IFEXISTS; code following this directive is assembled if the specified fpath does NOT exist.  As of version 1.61, the -Ix path will also be searched to determine whether a file exists or not.

#IFNZ expr

Evaluates expr and assembles the code that follows if the expression evaluates to a non-zero value.  #IFNZ always evaluates to false if expr references undefined or forward-defined symbols.

#IFZ expr

Evaluates expr and assembles the code that follows if the expression is equal to zero.  #IFZ always evaluates to false if expr references undefined or forward-defined symbols.

#LISTOFF

#NOLIST

 

Turns off generation of source and object data in the *.LST file for all lines which follow this directive.  Useful for excluding the contents of #INCLUDE files in the *.LST file.  This directive is not shown in the *.LST file.

#LISTON

#LIST

Enables generation of source and object data in the *.LST file for the source code following this directive.  Has no effect if list file generation is disabled (-L- command line option in effect).  This directive is not shown in the *.LST file if the listing was turned off just prior to it.

#MACRO [@@]

#MCF [@@]

#MCF2 [@@]

#@MACRO [@@]

 

#MACRO tells the assembler to treat unknown assembly language operations as possible macros.  Normal instructions (including the built-in macro instructions) have priority over macros, so macros named the same as active built-in operations can only be called with the @ prefix.

In effect, when in this mode, the assembler automatically adds the @ symbol if an unknown operation is found to be a macro name.  In this mode, one can invoke macros either way, with or without the @ prefix, but instructions have priority over same name macros.

Note: To avoid problems, all macros should internally use the @macro syntax so they can be properly expanded regardless of mode.

 

#MCF (“Macros Come First”) is similar to #MACRO (i.e., no @ prefix is required for calling macros) but in this case macros have priority over same-name instructions but only when called from outside any macros.  Macro chaining (i.e., jumping to a macro from inside a macro) is still only possible using the @ prefix when a macro name collides with an active instruction name.   So, using this mode is 100% compatible with macros written before this mode was introduced and does not require editing macros to use the !instruction format mentioned next.

If you’re in #MCF mode, and you want to temporarily give priority to a real instruction (without changing to #Macro or #@Macro mode), you must prefix it with a ! (exclamation point.)

The #MCF mode is most useful when you want to override the functionality of any internal instruction with something more involved (a macro), as for example, when porting code from another CPU with similar instructions but different functionality (e.g. LDX in 68HC11 is a word operation, and it may compile without errors in the 68HC[S]08 but with incorrect operation as it will not affect the full HX register).

I do not recommend casual use of this mode as it may make the source code totally misleading (if instructions which are now possibly macros aren’t what they seem but something completely different.)

 

#MCF2 is almost the same as #MCF but it doesn’t have the restriction where macros named the same as instructions require the @macro format from within macros.  This is the most ‘dangerous’ of all available modes, since it is always the macro which has precedence.  If you need to be certain you use a real instruction and not a possible macro with the same name, you MUST use the !instruction format.

 

#@MACRO turns off this option.  This is the default setting when a new assembly begins.  In this mode, you can only invoke macros with the @ prefix.  This is the recommended mode for most normal applications.

 

Hint: The macro is normally invoked as an instruction, which means its name must appear after column one. Regardless of the current macro mode, when a macro call is made using the default @macro (or %macro) format, its invocation can start even in column one, since it can’t ever be a symbol that starts with one of these two characters [@ and %].

 

Note: If the optional @@ parameter is provided to any of the four directives mentioned above, macro chaining is effectively disabled, and any otherwise ‘chained’ calls now become truly nested calls (as if the @@macro format is used at all times a macro is called).  WARNING: Macros written based on the default ‘chain’ behavior may no longer operate the same (since non-@@ macro calls include an implied following mexit).  To simulate the same behavior, when the @@ option is active, make sure you add an MEXIT command after each otherwise ‘chained’ macro call.  By the way, this will make the macro work the same way regardless of the @@ sub-mode being in effect or not.

When the @@ sub-mode is in effect, you still need to observe the various calling methods based on which of the three macro modes you’re in.  To cancel the @@ sub-mode, simply give any of these directives without it.

#MEXPORT macro[,macro]*

Export one or more macros in the EXP file (if one is produced).  File-local macros cannot be exported.  If a macro is not currently defined, a warning will be issued.

#MLIMIT [expr]

Sets the maximum macro nesting limit to the value of the optional expression.

If no expression follows the default value of 100 is used.  This value should be more than adequate for nearly all cases.

Minimum value is zero (which practically disables macro call nesting).  Maximum is 10000 (ten thousand).

Note: Macro nesting uses extra memory during assembly.  You should avoid using macro nesting if the same functionality can be achieved by using macro chaining, or even the most efficient simple looping (MTOP instruction).

#MLISTOFF

#NOMLIST

 

Turns off generation of source and object data in the *.LST file for all macro body lines which follow this directive.  Useful for excluding the body of macros in the *.LST file.

#MLISTON

#MLIST

Enables generation of source and object data in the *.LST file for all macro body lines following this directive.  Has no effect if list file generation is disabled (-L- command line option in effect).  This is the default setting.

#HIDEMACROS

#SHOWMACROS

Note: These two directives work only when the –LC- (List Conditionals = OFF) command-line option is in effect.

 

#HideMacros treats all macro-specific keywords (the @macro call, mexit, mtop, endm) the same as ‘conditional’ directives only for the purposes of display in the listing.  So, when –LC- is in effect, they won’t appear in the *.LST file at all.  This leaves only the expanded macro contents.  When this directive is in effect, it is no longer possible to know where a macro begins or ends, or how many times it iterates itself.

 

Note: The corresponding macro definitions will not display at all, regardless of the –LC mode.

 

#ShowMacros (re-)enables normal display.  The default setting when a new assemby begins is #SHOWMACROS.

 

#PUSH and #PULL will save/restore the value of this setting.

#MAPOFF

Suppresses generation of source-line information in the *.MAP file for the code following this directive.  Symbols which are defined following this directive are still included in the *.MAP file.

#MAPON

Enables generation of source-line information in the *.MAP file for the code following this directive.  #MAPON is the default state when assembly is started when map file generation is enabled (-M+ command line option).

#MEMORY addr1 [addr2]

#MEMORY #OFF#

 

Maps a memory location (or range, if addr2 is also supplied) of object code and/or data areas as valid.  Use multiple directives to specify additional ranges.  Any code or data that falls outside the given range(s) will produce a warning (if the -O option is enabled) for each violating byte.  Very useful for segmented memory devices, etc.  Addr1 and addr2 may be specified in any order.  The range defined will always be between the smaller and the higher values.

The special keyword #OFF# removes all current definitions.

See also #VARIABLE

#MESSAGE [text]

Displays text on screen during the first pass of assembly when this directive is encountered in the source.  Messages are not written to the error file.  They are meant to inform the user of options used or conditional paths taken.

#NOWARN

Turns warnings off.  Equivalent to the –WRN- command line option.  See also #WARN

#OPTRELOFF

Disable «BRA/BSR instead of JMP/JSR» optimization warnings.

Equivalent to the –REL- command line option.

#OPTRELON

Enable warning generation when an absolute branch or subroutine call (JMP or JSR) is encountered that could be successfully implemented using the relative form of the same instruction (BRA or BSR).  This option is on by default.

Equivalent to the –REL+ command line option.

#OPTRTSOFF

Disable RTS-after-JSR/BSR optimization warning (default).

Equivalent to the –RTS- command line option.

#OPTRTSON

Enable warning generation when a subroutine call (JSR or BSR) is immediately followed by a RTS.  This option is off by default.  Command-line option -RTS+ does the same thing.

#PARMS [char|SPACE]

Allows changing the delimiter used to separate macro parameters when invoking the macro.  If char is defined the new delimiter will be the same as char.  If there is no character following the directive, the default parameter delimiter (a comma) will be used.

To use a regular space as a parameter separator, the [char] part of the command should be the special keyword SPACE (case-insensitive).

 

#PUSH and #PULL will save/restore the value of this setting.

#PPC

#PPC (stands for Preserve PC) simply keeps a copy of the current :PC value to be used later by the :PPC internal symbol.

#PUSH and #PULL will save/restore the value of this setting.

#PROC

Advances the @@ local label counter.  See also PROC

#RENAME oldname,newname

#REMACRO oldname,newname

Renames a macro from its current (old) name to a new name.

 

An error message is issued if the old name is not a defined macro, the new name is a defined macro, or either name is an invalid symbol name.

 

#REMACRO is the same as #RENAME except that it does NOT check if the new name exists.  If it exists, there will now be one extra instance of that macro.  Note: The most recently defined macro of the same name is visible when more than one macro share the same name.  #DROP-ping the macro always drops the visible instance, making a possible previous instance now visible.

 

Tip: An example of where #RENAME might be useful:

Say, you have a library (or OS system) macro that is called many times in your application, but you want to modify that macro’s behavior just for this one application.  Your options are:

[1] Write a new (differently named) macro, and change all calls from the old macro to new macro.  Problem: If some of these calls are inside shared library code, you can’t change those calls, as it will affect other applications using those macros, as well.  Too much work, and error prone.

[2] Alter the library macro to include the new behavior.  Problem: Other applications may not like the new behavior.

[3] Use #RENAME in your application to have the old library macro change name just for this application’s sake.  Then, use the original name to write a brand new compatible macro but with the new behavior.  It is also now possible for the new macro to ‘borrow’ the functionality of the old macro (by calling it internally as needed), so the new macro doesn’t necessarily have to repeat the whole original macro body.  This allows for an easy way to extend or replace any general-purpose library macros for each application, separately.

 

Example for #REMACRO that allows front-ending a previous macro to add code before and after the macro call.

 

a         macro

          #Message  Inside original ~0~

          endm

 

a         remacro

          #Message  Inside inner ~0~

          #rename   ~0~,_{:totalmacrocalls}_

          @@a

          #remacro  ~0~,~self~

          #Message  Inside inner ~0~

          endm

 

a         remacro

          #Message  Inside outer ~0~

          #rename   ~0~,_{:totalmacrocalls}_

          @@a

          #remacro  ~0~,~self~

          #Message  Inside outer ~0~

          endm

 

          @a

          #Message  -----------------------------

          @a

#S19FLUSH

Forces the immediate termination of an S-record line when encountered, rather than waiting for the record to reach the size specified by the –Rn command line directive.  This directive may be used to make identification of the end of code blocks easier when viewing the *.S19 file.

#PAGE

Outputs a Form Feed (ASCII 12) character followed by a Carriage Return (ASCII 13) in the *.LST file just before displaying the line that contains this directive.

#PUSH

Pushes on an internal stack the current segment and the current settings of the following directives: MAPx, LISTx, CASEx, EXTRAx, SPACESx, OPTRELx, OPTRTSx, [NO]WARN, TRACEx, MACRO, @MACRO, MCF, MACROSHOW, MACROHIDE, :PSP, :PPC, TRACE[ON/OFF], MLISTx, and TABSIZE.  Useful in included files that want to change any of these options without affecting parent/sibling files.  See also #PULL

#PULL

Pulls from an internal stack the most recently pushed options.

See also #PUSH

#RAM

Activation of the RAM segment. Default starting value is $0000.

#ROM

Activation of the ROM segment. Default starting value is $D000.  This is the default segment if none is specified.

#SEGn

Activation of the SEGn segment (n is a number from 0 through 9).  Default starting value for all ten segments is $0000.

#TABSIZE n

Specifies the field width of tab stops used in the source file.  Proper use of this directive ensures that the *.LST files generated by ASM11 are formatted in the same way as your source files appear in your text editor.  This directive overrides the setting of the –Tn command line option at the point in the source file(s) in which it is encountered.

#TEMP [expr]

#TEMP simply assigns any value (possibly the result of an non-forward expression) to the internal general-purpose :TEMP variable.  If no expression follows #TEMP, :TEMP is zeroed.

 

:TEMP can be used any time in lieu of defining any ‘helper’ symbol for intermediate calculations (either inside or outside macros).  The only restriction is that :TEMP always refers to the most recent #TEMP directive, so it cannot be used to look forward.

 

Although :TEMP is a single variable, its use is transparent in relation to macros.  In other words, changing :TEMP from within any macro does not affect the value of :TEMP outside all macros, or macros above the current level.

 

Although macros inherit their initial value of :TEMP from their higher level (either a caller macro, or normal code), they do not affect their parent’s :TEMP value, so you can use it without worrying about side effects from any intermediate macro calls.

 

:TEMP is also assigned indirectly when used as label with th any of the following directives/pseudo-ops: NEXT, NEXP, SETN, and #AIS

#TRACEON

#TRACEOFF

#TRACEON enables generation of source-line information in the *.MAP file for any code found in the body of macros following this directive.  The map info is generated in such a way that while tracing the debugger will display the actual source of the macro.  This can be used globally (to affect all macro invocations), inside a specific macro (to debug that one macro), or around a specific macro invocation (to debug that one macro call.)

#TRACEOFF turns this option off making macros appear as a single line in the debugger.  #TRACEOFF is the default state when assembly is started.

#VARIABLE addr1 [addr2]

#VARIABLE #OFF#

 

Maps a location (or range, if addr2 is also supplied) of variable allocation area (normally in RAM) as valid.  Use multiple directives to specify additional ranges.  Any RMB or DS definitions that fall (fully or partially) outside the given range(s) will produce a warning (if the -O option is enabled) for each such definition.  Addr1 and addr2 may be specified in any order.  The range defined will always be between the smaller and the higher values.

The special keyword #OFF# removes all current definitions.

See also #MEMORY

#VECTORS

Activation of the VECTORS segment. Default starting value is $FFD6.