From: gturgeon@meol.mass.edu (Gregoire Turgeon)
Subject: Re: 3D game engine for PB?
 
On 8 May 1998 15:32:28 GMT, guymacon@deltanet.com (Guy Macon) wrote:
 
>In article , 
R.Zwitserloot@antispam.BTInternet.com (Reinier Zwitserloot) wrote:
>
>>Newsgroup traffic is one source. More than half tend to use NASM, then
>>most vote for TASM. Few use MASM. That's mostly the amateur crowd,
>>however. More use of TASM than MASM is a bit more obvious. TASM is
>>faster, better, (Emulates MASM -AND- has IDEAL mode), and the binaries
>>considerably smaller. I most definitely agree that most companies who do
>>development have MASM *IF* they don't usually use assembler, only really
>>bought it to have an assembler. However, as to people actually using
>>assembler, TASM is the fairly obvious buy.
>
>My situation is that I do everything in PBasic (for the Basic Stamp) or
>PowerBasic (for the PC) with an ocasional dive into a short loop using
>inline assembler when PB doesn't do exactly what I want.  All of this
>is professional (programming robotics and CD/DVD palyers) with no limit
>on money spent on hardware or software.  Would you still recomend TASM
>for my situation?
 
If you're a professional programmer, you appreciate certain qualities
that obviously have limited appeal in some circles. One of these
qualities involves working within accepted standards.  I've used TASM
for 386-specific code under PowerBASIC, all the way back to the 3.0a
release.  The TASM/PB interface, although not seamless, has always
been manageable for my purposes (mainly VGA programming, encryption,
and compression).  Sample code also exists.
 
Debate over assemblers often becomes rather amusing.  Paying your
bills never is.  I've experimented with the freeware NASM and am
delighted that it exists.  It offers several interesting innovations.
Its syntax, etc. also deviate widely from the standard created by, and
still set by, MASM.  Like it or not, if you're writing for an
increasingly  Windows world, Microsoft tools set the standards.  Other
tool makers conform, willingly or unwillingly, or they remain minor
players.
 
Of course, if Microsoft operating systems mean little to your income
as a programmer, then many things are possible.  And sometimes lots
more fun, too.
 
MASM is available not only retail but also through the (big dollar)
Microsoft Developer Network professional subscription.  That of course
doesn't necessarily mean that all subscribers actually prefer it or
even use it, but if they look for an alternative to MASM, such people
rarely rely on impressions and anecdotal evidence when weighing
possibilities.
 
--
Greg Turgeon
 
*** QwkNews (tm) v2.1
 * [TN71] alt.lang.powerbasic  POWER_BAS Gateway
--- GEcho 1.20/Pro
---------------