Assembler#
Given the extremely slow performance of Atari Basic, the go-to language for programmers writing games or other speed-critical programs was 6502 assembler. The 6502 was somewhat infamous for its simplified design, but this also meant its assembler was very simple and easy to learn. As an introduction to assembler, there are few machines better than the Atari 8-bit.The first assembler for the Atari available to the public was Atari Assembler Editor, originally written by Shepardson Microsystems and sold by Atari in ROM cartridge format. Assembler Editor lacked many features, and was only suitable for small programs, so Atari also released the disk-based high-end Atari Macro Assembler. Macro Assembler was slow, as it was entirely disk based. This led to a thriving market for 3rd party assemblers and debuggers to fix the problems seen in one or the other.
Overview#
- 6502 OpCodes.xlsx
; Excel table with all opcodes and comparisons between different Assemblers
Assembler for Atari Computers#
- Atari Assembler Editor
- Atari Macro Assembler and Program-Text Editor CX8121
- AMOEBA
- EASMD
- MAC/65
- BUG/65
- Dunion's Debugging Tool (DDT)
- Extended Dunion's Debugging Tool (ExDDT)
- Synapse Assembler
- Atmas I
- Atmas II
- Edit 6502
- Bibo Assembler
- 130XE+ Makroassembler V2.1 mit MyDOS 4.50 (1991)
- A65 Assembler
- MAE Assembler
- Alfasm
Cross-Assembler#
- ATASM
; Mac/65 compatible cross assembler
- MADS ; powerful and modern cross assembler under constant development
- XASM ; xasm is a 6502 cross-assembler with some syntax extensions. By default it generates binaries for Atari 8-bit computers.
- APX-20051 Cosmatic Atari Development Package ; cross-assembler for 1802 assembly language
Development IDE#
- WUDSN IDE ; smartest development environment available
Books#
- The Atari Assembler ; detailed and easy-to-read introduction to programming 6502-assembly on the Atari using Assembler/Editor.