Best Command Line Compiler

[pugboy]

I am currently in need of a compiler that supports command line arguments, and will output an 8XP/83P file, not a BIN file like TASM does.

Ones I have heard of:
TASM
SPASM
Brass

Which one is the best in your opinion?

[Spencer]

TASM is quite old and has nothing specific to our target platform. SPASM and Brass will both satisfy your needs starting out.

I believe my opinion of which one is best would be a little biased.

[pugboy]

Just maybe :D

I was looking at Revsoft for a build of SPASM, but the most recent version is source files (I have no compiler for C).

Is there a link for a compiled version of SPASM?

[magicdanw]

1. Assembler, not compiler.
2. I'm a rather large proponent of TASM/devpac8x. What's wrong with it? If it assembles the file correctly, what more can you ask? And it's not at all difficult to call ONE MORE program to convert the bin to an 8xp.

[pugboy]

TASM spits out errors all the time... Even when I set up EVERYTHING correctly (Learn ASM in 28 Days setup)

[brandonw]

Why don't you ask about the errors TASM gives you, so we can all understand them and maybe help?

[Spencer]

http://group.revsoft.org/spasm.exe

[fourchanb]

Spasm is pretty awesome, it eats TASM files without much problems and is much faster and easier.

Brass was a lot different to set up, but it might be worth it if you're starting from scratch.

[pugboy]

I would prefer to use a newer compiler... TASM just throws too many errors...

Thanks for the link :D

EDIT:
AMAZING! First try, compiled correctly! Thanks :D

Is there a license file I should look at, or should I just PM you with my questions about distributing it with a IDE (or you could just say yes or no )?

[Spencer]

I'm glad it works for well for you.

It falls under GPL. The latest source is always available at http://svn.revsoft.org/spasm/

[benryves]

[magicdanw]

Well, I've never had mysterious errors in TASM that went away when I used another assembler. Know why? Because the errors always made perfect sense and were easily fixed. If pugboy had posted his errors as requested, I'm sure we could have helped him fix his code. Still, if he wishes to abandon good old TASM, that's his choice.

[benryves]

My point is more that TASM will assembles files incorrectly with no indication of an error. For example, .db "123'456","768" only assembles as "123'456", and the "768" vanishes.

[pugboy]

I chose SPASM because it didn't throw errors. I don't want to spend the time debugging code that should work if the code will work perfectly with another assembler (which happens to be a lot faster...)

[DigiTan]

D'oh! You make it sound like TASM has a vendetta against you. Other than a couple unsupported instructions like "SLL r," I've never seen a problem with TASM that couldn't be easily traced with VTI or something newer. And my TASM hasn't been updated in 7 years.

And...I've never understood what this talk about TASM being slow is. My latest RW:TI-82 build is over 25 kilobytes and assembles in less than a second with both Spasm and TASM. If anything, it's probably Devpack8x, or some other TI-83+ dev bundle that is gumming up the works.


But to address the original question--I'd say Spasm would be the way to go from first impressions. Especially if you're assembling for 83+ or 84+. TASM is still gonna work for anything, but these days, its qualifies as more of a "one-size-fits-all" tool. If you're working on 83+ projects, the alternatives are a lot more qualified to work with that series' unique needs.

[Spencer]

25k haha child's play

[Liazon]

Spencer must have felt a noticeable difference i guess ^^