What are the best tools if you want to start learning Saturn ASM? Ideally I would like to have the option to run the code in an emulator (i.e. not having to crash my calculator)...
Are the old HPTools still recommended or are there other/better tools?
//dgc
It all depends on your taste;-)
I use the old 32bit Tools version 3.x ,
along with my favourite programmable text editor,
and of course Emu48, which has an ML debugger.
As a complete software kit I'd suggest using Debug4x,
which might be easier to use for beginners,
than using editor scripts to perform on-the-fly building of the control files, etc..;-)
However, many programming problems can be solved using SysRPL in an elegant way, where you'll have to have deep knowledge of Saturn assembly language to solve it in ML.
BTW: I'd strongly suggest to use the HP SASM syntax,
at least if you plan to write code on the PC.
IMHO SASM syntax is much more readable than MASD,
which originally seems to have been developed for use on the HP-48 directly, where as much information as possible had to be squished on the small display, lacking readability.
Moreover, with SASM you'll get what you write.
With SASM a loop is a loop, and not a multiline macro construct
with surrounding brackets, multiple statements in one line, etc...
Especially for a beginner, it may be easier to debug code when it's written the way in which it will be actually stored,
and displayed in the debugger;-)
And I'd suggest to use the ability of the better editors,
like TSE/Pro or UltraEdit, to use inline comments.
As good examples you could check the JAZZ sources,
or the RPL48 sources, both available on www.hpcalc.org
All the above are just my thoughts, but maybe worth a consideration.
Raymond
I fully agree.
Christoph