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Software Sources for 65802 and 65816.......Bob Sander-Cederlof

Western Design Center reports rising interest among software developers in supporting the new 65802 and 65816 microprocessors.

Since the 65802 chip can be plugged into almost any old Apple, and 65816 co-processor cards are available for Apples, most new software is designed to run in Apples.  Of course, the 65802 will also fit in old Ataris and Commodores and even the venerable KIM-1, but these are of lesser interest to AAL.

Four companies have adapted their Apple assemblers to include the new opcodes and addressing modes of the 65802 and 65816.

Of course, you know we have.  Last December we released Version 2.0 of the S-C Macro Assembler, and in July we released the ProDOS version.  Both of these include full support for the 6502, 65C02 (both standard and Rockwell versions), 65802, and 65816.  The DOS version requires at least 48K RAM, and the ProDOS version requires at least 64K.

Other companies supporting the 658xx are Roger Wagner Publishing (Merlin Pro), The Byte Works (ORCA/M 3.5), and Lazerware (Lisa 3.2).

Merlin Pro is the latest version of Merlin, by Glen Bredon.  (Big Mac, marketed by Call APPLE, is virtually the same as Merlin, not Merlin Pro.)  Merlin Pro will only run in a //c or a //e with at least 128K RAM.  In order to assemble the 65C02 additions, you must either be in a //c or in a //e with the enhanced monitor ROM.  (If you have an older //e, you must first BRUN a file named MON.65C02.)  65816 support is not complete:  the long 24-bit addressing modes were omitted on the premise that these are useless in a 65802 environment.  (But what if I am developing code for a co-processor card with a 65816 on it?)  The special opcodes in Rockwell's 65C02 are not directly supported, but a file of macro definitions is provided.  Merlin Pro does include the capability of producing and linking relocatable object files with external symbols.

Lisa 3.2 is Randy Hyde's latest version of one of the fastest 6502 assemblers around.  I have not seen 3.2, but it is reported to support the 65816.

ORCA/M (which is MACRO spelled backwards) was originally published by Hayden Software.  They let it go after spending a lot of money promoting it as "the world's best assembler."  I remember seeing that claim appear for the first time in Nibble magazine only a few pages away from the same claim in an ad for Nibble's own MicroSparc assembler.  Anyway, ORCA/M is now published by The Byte Works, apparently connected more directly with the author (Mike Westerfield).  ORCA/M was the first assembler to be revised to support the 65816, and as such Mike had the honor of deciding what some of the assembler rules and syntax would be.  
!np
David Eyes, author of the first book on 65816 assembly language, has developed a Pascal P-Code Interpreter which takes advantage of the 65802 features and works with Apple Pascal.  (191 Parkview Ave., Lowell, MA 01852)

Starlight Forth Systems has a FIG Forth compatible package for the 802/816, for operation in an Apple.  (15247 North 35 St., Phoenix, AZ 85032)

Comlog offers an Applesoft compatible, extended Basic which can be used in an Apple //e equipped with their 65816 co-processor board.  (7825 E. Redfield Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85260)

Manx Software claims to have a 65816 C compiler and assembler under development.  (Box 55, Shrewsbury, NJ 07701)

Will Troxell, of MicroMagic, is not only developing a co-processor card for Apples.  He is also producing the first operating system for the 65816, which will be similar to Unix.
