TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Globals
Volume Number:2
Issue Number:4
Column Tag:Assembly Language Lab

DA Shows use of Globals and Resources

By Norman Braskat, El Toro, Ca

Desk Accessories from Assembly

Desk accessories are a very basic part of the Macintosh interface and the development of them need not be a major undertaking, if you follow the guidelines in this shell DA. In this month's column, I outline how to develop a desk accessory using assembly language that illustrates how menu items, windows, resources and global storage can be handled within the DA.

Editor's Notes

[This program was written and compiled entirely in assembly using Consulair's C compiler! That's right. If your tired of waiting for Apple to update the MDS assembler system to run under HFS without crashing, here is an alternative. The Consulair C compiler has a built-in MDS assembler that is fully MDS compatible! You simply run it like you would the MDS system. Be sure to get the latest release 4.53. This release includes version 1.53 of the famous Editor. It seems that Consulair went ahead and fixed up their own version of the editor, obtaining 1.53, before working under contract to bring Apple's editor and MDS system up to version 2.0. The result is that Bill's 1.53 editor is more solid and more compatible than the current 2.0d1 beta HFS editor being distributed by Apple to developers. However, when the final 2.0 release becomes released, that will be equivalent to the 1.53 Bill is distributing with Mac C version 4.53. Now if you understood all that, you should have no trouble with this month's column!

The link file shown at the end of the article is for the Mac C linker, which is MDS compatible and it works under HFS on the Mac Plus (the MDS one doesn't). You no longer need to patch or otherwise coerce the MDS linker into launching and finding it's files. The job file shown is also for the Mac C Exec and is the same as it would be under the MDS exec, only the Mac C version works! You can now invoke the job file from the editor and have the assembly, link and execution of a program proceed automatically. In this example, we execute the DA Mover program after linking so we can move the new DA into the system file and test it out. This actually works, although the DA Mover comes up without knowing what file to open. MacTutor is now offering the Consulair Mac C and the linker in our Technical software store for those who want to use it as either an MDS assembler replacement or a C system (still a good C system!) or both. For those who don't need a C system, we are also offering McAssembly which is nearly MDS compatible using a conversion utility and the Consulair Linker by itself. -Ed]

General Desk Accessory Information

To begin, the device manager executes the desk accessory as a procedure call of the following format to one of the five desk accessory procedures: Open, Control, Prime, Status, and Close.

(D0: ResultCode) := DA Procedure(A0: ParamBlock, A1: DCERecord ) 

The 'Open' command is called in response to a _OpenDeskAcc toolbox call and in general performs any initialization required by the desk accessory. When the user selects any DA from the Apple menu, the Finder or application calls _OpenDeskAcc. It should allocate any private storage required by the desk accessory, stores a handle to it in the dCtlStorage field of the DCE record, initializes any local variables, install any interrupt handlers, change interrupt vectors, create any windows, ... ect...

The 'Close' command is called in response to either _CloseDeskAcc toolbox call or by the segment launcher to close all the desk accessories, and in general it should undo what is done by the Open procedure, by releasing all memory used, removing any interrupt handlers, restoring any system state... ect ... If you must keep state between when the desk accessory is closed and later opened, store it in a re-locatable block of memory pointed to by the dCtlStorage field of the DCE record. In practice, 'Close' is called by System Click when the user clicks the go-away box of a system window belonging to a desk accessory, or by the application when the user selects "close" in the File menu for an open DA window. When that happens, storage used by the DA may be released. When a DA menu item 'quit' is called, the DA can do it's normal close function as part of a 'Control' call on the menu event without releasing that storage, thus keeping the variables until a 'Close' call or another 'Open' call. The code for this DA illustrates how this is done. A 'Close' from the go-away box of the DA's window will release the handle to the storage, but a 'Close' from the DA's menu will remove the menu and window without releasing the storage area, thus preserving variables until the next 'Open' call.

The 'PRIME' and 'STATUS' commands are called in response to a _Read, _Write, or _Status trap, and they are not used by desk accessories ( I think ). For cleaness sake I use empty procedures ( RTS's ). These routines would be used by drivers for printers and other I/O type devices.

The 'Control' command performs most of the work done by the desk accessory. It is called in response to one of the functions shown in figure 1 and in general will look like a case statement which decides what to do, and then does the required action. All events are handled as 'Control' calls and in general, any action during an active DA's life is handled as a 'Control' call.

As figure 1 shows, the A0 and A1 pointers allow access to all the information required to determine exactly what operations are requested and to execute them. The A0 register contains the pointer to the parameter block (see figure 3) while the A1 register contains the pointer to the DCE record (see figure 2). And for DA's, the result code returned in D0 should always be zero.

Pic. 1: Our DA does windows, menus...

Pic. 2: And alerts!

Device Control Entry Record

The DCE record (see figure 2 ) contains some information taken from the DA's header, the always present queing infromation, a handle to the DA's storage area, a pointer to the DA's window, and some other control information. Most desk accessorys are only interested in the 'dCtlStorage', 'dCtlRefNum', and the 'dCtlWindow' fields, and in general the rest of the record is only used by drivers and the device manager. Upon entry, A1 holds a pointer to the DCE record and great care must be taken to see that this pointer is preserved throughout the DA. Many DA errors are due to this pointer being clobbered by a trap call.

The dCtlStorage handle allows the desk accessory to have it's own global memory area seperate from the stack. The DA cannot use register A5 since that is used by the underlying application for it's globals. Care must be taken to unlock and deallocate any memory the DA may have when it is closed, since the device manager will not do this for you.

IO Parameter Block

The Parameter block pointed to by A0 (see figure 3) contains the action code and any data passed by the device manager. The csCode contains the action code and will be a value from 64 to 73. The parameter block will contain any data passed. Menu actions will pass the MenuID (28) followed by the MenuItemNum (30).

Support Resources

To use the 'DA MOVER' program for installing your desk accessory it will be necessary to make the resource ID's for alerts, dialogues, pictures, ect.. be a function of the DA's number. The equation used is:

ResurceID := (( DA's number ) x #32) + #$FFFFC000 + index

and

( DA's number ) := (- (DA's RefNum) - #1)

This would have the resources for DA (#12) starting at #-16000, with a maximum of #32. The assembler makes it a bit difficult to code this 16-bit 2's complement number, but I found that using a decimal value of 49536 in the resource header produces the desired equivalent of -16000. (See the resource section of the listing). Also, the DA name should have a null ($0) byte as the first character of the name, but the assembler won't let you do this in the resource header. The resource editor can be used to do this, but as it turns out, the Font/DA mover does it for you when it installs the DA.

Desk Accessory Header Format

The first 9 words of the desk accessory constitute a header and is followed by the DA's title string. Figure 4 defines the structure of the header block. With this information, we can start writting our desk accessory.

In this example, I have coded simple open, control and close procedures to check for and allocate global memory storage via A4. Once this is done, a central 'launch' routine is called that provides a single interface to the DA's major code blocks for open, control and close. The launch routine saves state and calls the three DA routines which then decode the action parameters and perform the necessary actions. When adapting this shell to your own needs, you simply place your open code, control code and close code in the three routines called by launch: OpenDA, MainDA and CloseDA.


; Asm language desk accessory.
;  © March 1986 by Norman Braskat 
; for  MacTutor.
; Extended to windows March 26,1986 
; by David Smith

RESOURCE 'DRVR' 12 'EXAMPLE DA'

INCLUDE MacTraps.D

.trap _DeBug$A9FF

StorageSize EQU   6

; Globals relative to A4 [dCtlStorage]
MenuHandleEQU   0;[long]
ResourceBaseEQU   4;[word]

csCode  EQU 26 ; control/status [word]
csParam EQU 28 ; parameters [20 bytes]
MenuItemNum EQU  30

; DCE item list
dCtlDriverEQU   0
dCtlFlagEQU  4
dCtlQuerEQU  6
dCtlHeadEQU  8
dCtlTailEQU 12
dCtlPositionEQU  16
dCtlStorage EQU  20
dCtlRefNumEQU  24
dCtlCurTicksEQU  26
dCtlWindowEQU  30
dCtlDelay EQU  34
dCtlMaskEQU 36
dCtlMenuEQU 38

; Toolbox equates
WindowKindEQU  $6C ;offset from wind. rec.

; Event parameter block equates from SysEqu
evtNum  EQU  0  ; event [word]
evtMessageEQU   2 ; msg [long]
evtTicks  EQU   6 ; TICKS [long]
evtMouseEQU  10   ; mouse pos.[long]
evtMeta EQU  14   ; meta key flags [byte]
evtMBut EQU  15   ; mouse button [byte]

JIODone  EQU $8FC ; IODone entry [pointer]

; Register Usage
; A0 = ParamBlock ptr, 
; A1 = DCE ptr, 
; A2 = evt table ptr from csParam(A0), 
; A3 = working DCE ptr (after launch) 
; A4 = globals (referenced to dctlstorage),
; A5 = application globals (not used), 
; A6 = frame ptr, 
; A7 = stack ptr.

; Useful Macros

MACRO PUSH value = 
 MOVE {value}, -(A7)
 |
MACRO PUSH.Lvalue=
 MOVE.L {value}, -(A7)
 |
MACRO POP  value =
 MOVE (A7)+, {value}
 |
MACRO POP.L  value =
 MOVE.L (A7)+, {value}
 |
MACRO EnableItem  value =
 MOVE.L MenuHandle(A4), -(A7)
 MOVE  {value}, -(A7)
 _EnableItem
 |
MACRO DisableItem value =
 MOVE.L MenuHandle(A4), -(A7)
 MOVE  {value}, -(A7)
 _DisableItem
 |
;------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; The following defines the desk accessorys resource header.

ENTRY:  DC.W$0400; control flags.
DELAY:  DC.W$0000; Service interval
EventMask:DC.W $0040 ; Event mask.
MenuID: DC.W$FEA1; DA MenuID's 
 DC.W Open - Entry ; Offset to Open
 DC.W Prime - Entry; Offset to Prime   
 DC.W Control - Entry; Offset to Control 
 DC.W Status - Entry ; Offset to Status  
 DC.W Close - Entry; Offset to Close
;--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MenuTitle:DC.B 7 ;length byte
 DC.B 'Example'  ; menu title
.align 2
; The menu name string
MenuList: DC.B 18; List in bytes
 DC.B 'About;' ; Item #1 title
 DC.B 'Beep;'  ; Item #2 title
 DC.B '-;'; Item #3 title
 DC.B 'Close;' ; Item #4 title
 
Wbounds:DC.W100,100,140,300 ; window bounds
.align 2
;----------------------------------------------------------------
; Desk accessorys don't use Prime and Status

Prime:  RTS
Status: RTS

; The Open procedure allacates the storage area 
; builds the DA's menu list, and opens windows.
; Don't allocate a memory area if one is 
; already allocated.
; 
; The notation I use to document my code is a 
; psudo Alogal followed by the assembly code.
; Open
;BEGAN
;save users port (GetPort)
;IF ( dCtlStorage = #0 )
;     dCtlStorage := NewHandle( StorageSize, Clear )
;Launch( OpenDA )
;restore users port (SetPort)
;END
Open:
 ; Save the application's port because 
 ; the ROM doesn't do it for us on Open.
 push.l A1; Save A1 (DCE ptr.) 
 subq.l #4,SP  ; make room for the port
 move.l SP,-(SP) ; push a pointer to it
 _GetPort ; get it, on top of stack
 POP.L  D6; save port in D6
 pop.L  A1; restore DCE ptr.
 
 TST.L  dCtlStorage(A1) ; Storage allocated?
 BNE  Open_0; yes, skip allocation
 PUSH.L A0; no, Save A0 from wipe-out
 MOVE StorageSize,D0 ; storage handle to A0
 _NewHandle,Clear; get storage, zero block.
 MOVE.L A0, dCtlStorage(A1) ; handle in the DCE
 POP.L  A0; Restore A0 register  
Open_0:
 PEA  OpenDA   ; pointer to OpenDA proc  
 JSR  Launch; passed to launch code. 
 push.l D6; push users port
 _SetPort ; restore users port 
 CLR.L  D0; clear D0 for DA return
 RTS    ; Return to desk manager 
 
; The Control procedure handles most of 
; the work done by the desk accessory.
; If a memory area is not already allocated 
; we should never have been called, so just 
; return to the device manager.  Otherwise, 
; pass the MainDA procedure to the launch 
; code and then do it.

; Control
;BEGAN
;IF (dCtlStorage  #0)
;Launch(MainDA)
;JMP to IODone
;END
Control:
 TST.L  dCtlStorage(A1) ; storage area?
 BEQ  Control_0  ; No, so exit...
 PEA  MainDA   ; yes, pass MainDa function
 JSR  Launch; to the launch code. 
Control_0:; 
 CLR.L  D0; Clear D0 for return  
 MOVE.L JIODone, -(SP)  ; system IODone entry point 
 RTS    ; return to IODone.
 
; The Close procedure removes the DA's menu 
; and in general cleans up after the
; open and control procedures.   
; If a memory area is not already 
; allocated there is nothing to clean 
; up, so return to the device manager.  
; Otherwise, pass the CloseDA  procedure 
; to the launch code and then do it.
; After the returning from the lanch code, 
; deallocate the handle to storage area 
; and return to the device manager. Typically,
; close is only called by the system
; when the go-away box of a window is clicked.

; Close
;BEGAN
;save users port
;IF ( dCtlStorage  #0 )
;Launch( CloseDA )
;DeleteStorageArea
;restore users port
;END
Close:
 push.l A1; save DCE ptr.
 subq.l #4,SP  ; make room for the port
 move.l SP,-(SP) ; push a pointer to it
 _GetPort ; get it, on top of stack
 pop.l  D6; get port in D6
 pop.l  A1; restore DCE ptr.
 
 TST.L  dCtlStorage(A1) ; Storage area allocated?
 BEQ  Close_0  ; no so exit...
 PEA  CloseDA  ; yes, prepare for close
 JSR  Launch; do close stuff...
 MOVE.L dCtlStorage(A1),A0; get storage handle
 clr.l  dCtlStorage(A1)   ; clear handle (must do!)
 _DisposHandle   ; Deallocate handle 
Close_0:
 push.l D6; push port
 _SetPort ; restore users port
 CLR.L  D0; clear D0 for return
 RTS    ; and return to desk manager.
 
;-------------------------------------------------------------
; The Launch proc creates the environment 
; for the execuition of the DA's code.    

; Launch ( &Procedure )
;BEGAN
;SaveState
;A3 := DCE ptr
;A4 :=  [ HLock( dCtlStorage ) ]
;  Procedure
;HUnLock( dCtlStorage )
;RestoreState
;END
Launch:
 LINK A6,#0 ; Link in.
 MOVEM.LD1-D7/A0-A6,-(A7) ; Save register state
 PUSH.L A1; Save pointer to the DCE rec
 PUSH.L A0; Save pointer to param block
 MOVE.L A1, A3 ; move DCE to safe register.
 MOVE.L dCtlStorage(A3), A0 ; get dCtlStorage handle
 _HLock ; lock handle
 MOVE.L (A0),A4  ; A4 is used as the global reg
 POP.L  A0; Restore param block ptr.
 MOVE.L 8(A6),A2 ; get function off A6 stack 
 JSR  (A2); Call the passed procedure.
 POP.L  A1; restore DCE ptr.
 MOVE.L dCtlStorage(A1), A0 ; get storage handle
 _HUnLock ; Unlock handle
 MOVEM.L(A7)+, D1-D7/A0-A6; restore register state.
 UNLK A6; Link out.
 POP.L  A0; get return address
 ADD.L  #4, A7   ; pop off launch param
 JMP  (A0); return to caller
 
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

; 'OpenDA' routine installs the menu list 
; in the system bar, refreshes the menu 
; item states, and opens a window. In general, 
; this is where the code that must be 
; execuited on opening is placed.

;OpenDA (called by launch)
;BEGAN
;ResourceBase := #$FFFFC000 or (#32 x (-RefNum -1))
;IF ( MenuHandle   #0 ) 
;        MenuHandle := NewMenu( MenuID, &MenuTitle )
;AppendMenu( MenuHandle, &MenuList )
;InsertMenu( MenuHandle, #0 )
;DrawMenuBar
;RefreshMenu
;IF ( Windowptr   #0 ) 
;Windowptr := NewWindow( .. )
;save windowptr in ctl block
;set window kind to system window
;END
OpenDA:
 MOVE dCtlRefNum(A3),D0 ; DA mover requires  
 NEG  D0; support resources ID for a DA to be 
 SUBQ #1, D0; function of the DA ref. number. Use 
 ASL  #5, D0; value in ResourceBase(A4) for 
 OR#$C000,D0; your supporting resources. 
 MOVE D0,ResourceBase(A4)     ;save resource ID
 
 MOVE.L MenuHandle(A4),D0 ; menu handle?
 BNE  OpenDA_0 ; yes, don't add another.
 CLR.L  -(A7)    ; no, clear space
 PUSH MenuID; Push the MenuID
 PEA  MenuTitle  ; Push menu title ptr
 _NewMenu ; make new menu 
 MOVE.L (A7), MenuHandle(A4)  ; save menu handle. 
 PEA  MenuList ; Push pointer to item list.
 _AppendMenu; Append the menu
 PUSH.L MenuHandle(A4)  ; Push the handle
 CLR  -(A7) ; zero for append  last menu.
 _InsertMenu; insert the menu in the bar.
 _DrawMenuBar  ; Redraw the menu bar.
 
; Now open a window 

 tst.l  DCtlWindow(A3)  ; window open?
 bne.s  OpenDA_0 ; yes, skip this
 
 clr.l  -(SP)  ; room for window pointer
 clr.l  -(SP)  ; window on the heap
 pea  Wbounds  ; pointer to boundsRect
 pea  MenuTitle  ; pointer to title
 clr.w  -(SP)  ; false for visible
 move.w #0,-(SP) ; standard window type
 move.l #-1,-(SP); window in front
 move.w #$0100,-(SP) ; true for goAway box
 clr.l  -(SP)  ; refCon is 0
 _NewWindow ; do the allocation
 move.l (SP)+,A0 ; pop windowPtr off stack
 
; Save the window pointer away in the DCE for future use. 
; The system also uses the DCtlWindow field of the DCE 
; for setting up update events to system windows etc.

 move.l   A0,DCtlWindow(A3) ; save window ptr in DCE
 move.w DCtlRefNum(A3),WindowKind(A0) 

; All drivers, including ornaments, have a negative refnum.  
; The only way an application can know what the refnum 
; of this ornament is is by getting it from the 
; WindowKind field.  Applications must have the 
; refnum to do CloseDeskAcc().

OpenDA_0:
 JSR  RefreshMenu; Refresh the menu states. 
 RTS    ; Return

;---------------------------------------------------------
; The' RefreshMenu' routine, updates the display 
; state of the menu items in the DA's menu. 
; Enabled/Disabled, Checked/UnChecked, ect.  
; Note... The menu manager will not act on a disabled item.

; RefreshMenu
;BEGAN
;IF ( MenuHandle   #0 )   
;EnableItem( #1 )
;EnableItem( #2 )
;DisableItem( #3 )
;EnableItem( #4 )
;END

RefreshMenu:
 TST.L  MenuHandle(A4)  ; must be a menu handle s
 BEQ  RefreshMenu_0; to acces the menu.
 EnableItem #1 ; Enable menu item #1
 EnableItem #2 ; Enable menu item #2
 DisableItem#3 ; Disable menu item #3
 EnableItem #4 ; Enable menu item #4
RefreshMenu_0: 
 RTS

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; This routine will delete the DA's menu, and window 
; and redraw the menu bar. Place your close functions here.

; CloseDA (called by launch)
;BEGAN
;IF ( MenuHandle   #0 )   
;DeleteMenu( MenuID )
;DisposeMenu( MenuHandle )
;IF ( WindowPointer   #0 )  
;Delete dCtlWindow( DCE Ptr )
;DisposeWindow( WindowPointer )
;DrawMenuBar
;END
CloseDA:
 TST.L  MenuHandle(A4)  ; If the menu handle is zero, 
 BEQ  CloseDA_0  ; there is nothing to delete.
 PUSH MenuID
 _DeleteMenu; Delete menu.
 PUSH.L MenuHandle(A4)
 _DisposMenu; Dispose of the menu
 CLR.L  MenuHandle(A4)  ; Zero the handle
 
; close window

 TST.L  DCtlWindow(A3)
 BEQ  CloseDA_0  ; no window to delete
 move.l DCtlWindow(A3),-(SP)  ; push the window ptr
 clr.l  DCtlWindow(A3)  ; clear window ptr
 _DisposWindow ; dispose window
 
CloseDA_0:
 _DrawMenuBar  ; Redraw the bar.
 RTS

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; The MainDA routine looks like a case statement 
; which determines the necessary action and does it. 
; Control requests come here for all events, ect.

; MainDA(called by launch)
;  BEGAN
;CASE of csCODE
;64 : AccEvent
;65 : AccRun
;66 : AccCursor
;67 : AccMenu
;68 : AccUndo
;69 : NotUsed
;70 : AccCut
;71 : AccCopy
;72 : AccPaste
;73 : AccClear
; ELSE :Nop
;  END

;AccMenu
;BEGAN  
;CASE of MenuItemNum
;1: About; HiliteMenu; RefreshMenu;
;2: Beep; HiliteMenu; RefreshMenu;
;4: CloseDA;
;       ELSE : Nop;
;END

MainDA:
 MOVE csCode(A0), D0
 SUB  #64, D0
 ASL  #2, D0
 LEA  JumpTable, A2
 JMP  (A2,D0.W)  ; Case of (csCode(A0)-#64)

JumpTable:
 JMP  AccEvent
 JMP  AccRun
 JMP  AccCursor
 JMP  AccMenu
 JMP  AccUndo
 JMP  NotUsed
 JMP  AccCut
 JMP  AccCopy
 JMP  AccPaste
 JMP  AccClear

AccRun: RTS ;these here are not used
AccCursor:RTS
AccUndo:RTS
NotUsed:RTS
AccCut: RTS
AccCopy:RTS
AccPaste: RTS
AccClear: RTS

AccEvent:

 move.l CSParam(A0),A2  ; get the event pointer
 move.w EvtNum(A2),D0; get the event number
 ; event jump table  goes here
 subq #6,D0 ; is it an update?
 beq.s  Update ; if so, go handle it
 RTS

Update:
 move.l EvtMessage(A2),-(SP); push window ptr
 _BeginUpdate    ; begin the update
 move.l EvtMessage(A2),-(SP); push window ptr
 _SetPort ; set the port to our port
 bsr  DrawWindow ; draw the window
 move.l EvtMessage(A2),-(SP);  window ptr last time
 _EndUpdate ; end the update
 RTS
; --------------------------------------------------
DrawWindow:
 PUSH.L A0; save A0
 move.w #5,-(SP) ; move over 5 horizontal
 move.w #15,-(SP); and 15 vertical
 _MoveTo; do the move
 lea  MenuTitle,A0
 move.l A0,-(SP) ; pointer to the string
 _DrawString
 POP.L  A0; restore A0
 rts    ; done drawing
; ---------------------------------------------------

AccMenu:
 MOVE MenuItemNum(A0), D0
 CMP  #1, D0
 BEQ  MenuItem1
 CMP  #2, D0
 BEQ  MenuItem2
 CMP  #4, D0
 BEQ  MenuItem4
 RTS

MenuItem1:
 JSR  About
 BRA  Exit

MenuItem2:
 JSR  Beep
 BRA  Exit

MenuItem4:
 JSR  CloseDA
 RTS

Exit:   
 CLR  -(A7) ; UnHilite menu
 _HiliteMenu
 JSR  RefreshMenu; Refresh menu item states
 RTS

About:  
 CLR  -(A7)  
 PUSH ResourceBase(A4) 
 CLR.L  -(A7)
 _Alert
 POP  D0;alert parameter
 RTS    

Beep:   
 PUSH #15 ; Beep... 
 _SysBeep
 RTS
;--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; resource ID numbers must be negative functions of 
; DA ref. number. Note that 49536 = 0000 C180
; which the assembler converts to -16000. Note that
; the assembler converts a 16-bit negative such 
; as -16000 to a 32-bit field, ie FFFF C180, 
; which doesn't work.
RESOURCE 'DITL' 49536 'EXAMPLE DITL'
 DC.W 0 
 DC.L 0
 DC.W 0
 DC.W 0
 DC.W 129
 DC.W 309
 DC.B 8
 DC.B 102
 DC.B 13, 13
DC.B  'This is a example of a MDS desk accessory which uses a menu.'
 DC.B 13, 13
 DC.B '       By Norman Braskat and MacTutor '
.ALIGN 2
RESOURCE 'ALRT' 49536 'EXAMPLE ALRT'
 DC.W $007A
 DC.W $0064
 DC.W $00FA
 DC.W $0186
 DC.W $C1A0
 DC.W $4444
.ALIGN 2
END

Notes from Volume 2 Number 5:

Asm Lab Comments for April

Norman Braskat

Thanks Dave for the Mac C (version 4.53); the built-in assembler works like a champ (Apple MDS really sucks). About the DA example in my Asm Lab article in the April 1986 issue of MacTutor, I recommend placing the save and restore graph port trap calls in the launch routine. This not only saves code, but saves and restores the current port during control calls. The other question I have concerns the set port after the beginUpdate call; Dan Weston's new book [see book review, this issue -Ed] shows it outside the update loop for an application, and inside the loop for a desk accessory as you placed it in my DA example on page 37 of the April issue. I think your way works because the current port is the same as the DA's window. But if we had multiple windows in a DA or we added a menu for clearing a window which was not currently selected, we would be changing the port during an update. Would this then be a problem?

Dave, you have a great publication and the only real source of assembly info around! Keep it up. PS. Your right... Dan's book is a real winner! [The Complete Book of Assembly Language Programming by Dan Weston, published by Scott Foresman & Co. due in bookstores next month. -Ed]

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Tokkun Studio unveils alpha trailer for...
We are back on the MMORPG news train, and this time it comes from the sort of international developers Tokkun Studio. They are based in France and Japan, so it counts. Anyway, semantics aside, they have released an alpha trailer for the upcoming... | Read more »
Win a host of exclusive in-game Honor of...
To celebrate its latest Jujutsu Kaisen crossover event, Honor of Kings is offering a bounty of login and achievement rewards kicking off the holiday season early. [Read more] | Read more »
Miraibo GO comes out swinging hard as it...
Having just launched what feels like yesterday, Dreamcube Studio is wasting no time adding events to their open-world survival Miraibo GO. Abyssal Souls arrives relatively in time for the spooky season and brings with it horrifying new partners to... | Read more »
Ditch the heavy binders and high price t...
As fun as the real-world equivalent and the very old Game Boy version are, the Pokemon Trading Card games have historically been received poorly on mobile. It is a very strange and confusing trend, but one that The Pokemon Company is determined to... | Read more »
Peace amongst mobile gamers is now shatt...
Some of the crazy folk tales from gaming have undoubtedly come from the EVE universe. Stories of spying, betrayal, and epic battles have entered history, and now the franchise expands as CCP Games launches EVE Galaxy Conquest, a free-to-play 4x... | Read more »
Lord of Nazarick, the turn-based RPG bas...
Crunchyroll and A PLUS JAPAN have just confirmed that Lord of Nazarick, their turn-based RPG based on the popular OVERLORD anime, is now available for iOS and Android. Starting today at 2PM CET, fans can download the game from Google Play and the... | Read more »
Digital Extremes' recent Devstream...
If you are anything like me you are impatiently waiting for Warframe: 1999 whilst simultaneously cursing the fact Excalibur Prime is permanently Vault locked. To keep us fed during our wait, Digital Extremes hosted a Double Devstream to dish out a... | Read more »
The Frozen Canvas adds a splash of colou...
It is time to grab your gloves and layer up, as Torchlight: Infinite is diving into the frozen tundra in its sixth season. The Frozen Canvas is a colourful new update that brings a stylish flair to the Netherrealm and puts creativity in the... | Read more »
Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The Tou...
In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has resulted in this week’s show being a bit shorter than normal. We also go over some more updates on our Patreon situation, which has been... | Read more »
Creative Assembly's latest mobile p...
The Total War series has been slowly trickling onto mobile, which is a fantastic thing because most, if not all, of them are incredibly great fun. Creative Assembly's latest to get the Feral Interactive treatment into portable form is Total War:... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Early Black Friday Deal: Apple’s newly upgrad...
Amazon has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 16GB of RAM on early Black Friday sale for $200 off MSRP, only $799. Their prices are the lowest currently available for these newly upgraded 13″ M2... Read more
13-inch 8GB M2 MacBook Airs for $749, $250 of...
Best Buy has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 8GB of RAM in stock and on sale on their online store for $250 off MSRP. Prices start at $749. Their prices are the lowest currently available for... Read more
Amazon is offering an early Black Friday $100...
Amazon is offering early Black Friday discounts on Apple’s new 2024 WiFi iPad minis ranging up to $100 off MSRP, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis anywhere... Read more
Price Drop! Clearance 14-inch M3 MacBook Pros...
Best Buy is offering a $500 discount on clearance 14″ M3 MacBook Pros on their online store this week with prices available starting at only $1099. Prices valid for online orders only, in-store... Read more
Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C on early Black F...
A couple of Apple retailers are offering $70 (28%) discounts on Apple’s AirPods Pro with USB-C (and hearing aid capabilities) this weekend. These are early AirPods Black Friday discounts if you’re... Read more
Price drop! 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs now avail...
With yesterday’s across-the-board MacBook Air upgrade to 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance 13″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, to a new low starting at only $829... Read more
Price drop! Apple 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs now...
With yesterday’s release of 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance Certified Refurbished 15″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs to a new low starting at only $999.... Read more
Apple has clearance 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs a...
Apple has clearance, Certified Refurbished, 15″ M2 MacBook Airs now available starting at $929 and ranging up to $410 off original MSRP. These are the cheapest 15″ MacBook Airs for sale today at... Read more
Apple drops prices on 13-inch M2 MacBook Airs...
Apple has dropped prices on 13″ M2 MacBook Airs to a new low of only $749 in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty... Read more
Clearance 13-inch M1 MacBook Airs available a...
Apple has clearance 13″ M1 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, now available for $679 for 8-Core CPU/7-Core GPU/256GB models. Apple’s one-year warranty is included, shipping is free, and each... Read more

Jobs Board

Seasonal Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - J...
Seasonal Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Read more
Seasonal Fine Jewelry Commission Associate -...
…Fine Jewelry Commission Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) Read more
Seasonal Operations Associate - *Apple* Blo...
Seasonal Operations Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Read more
Hair Stylist - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPen...
Hair Stylist - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Read more
Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPenney (...
Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Mall Read more
All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.