The Atari Assembler Editor cartridge was a program used to edit, compile and debug assembly language programs for the Atari 8-bit computers. A software developer is an entity, either a company or individual, that creates software. ... Shepardson Microsystems, Inc. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ... This is listing of computer and video game genres with a brief description and examples from each genre. ... An assembler is a computer program for translating assembly language — essentially, a mnemonic representation of machine language — into object code. ... In a variety of electronic equipments, a cartridge (in video game terms, cart, game pack, or Game Pak) can be one method of programming different functionality, providing variable content, or a method by which consumables may be replenished. ... A software license is a type of proprietary or gratuitous license as well as a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software — sometimes called an End User License Agreement (EULA) — that specifies the perimeters of the permission granted by the owner to the user. ... In a variety of electronic equipments, a cartridge (in video game terms, cart, game pack, or Game Pak) can be one method of programming different functionality, providing variable content, or a method by which consumables may be replenished. ... A diagram of the operation of an ideal compiler. ... Debugging is a methodical process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, or defects, in a computer program or a piece of electronic hardware thus making it behave as expected. ... Assembly language or simply assembly is a human-readable notation for the machine language that a specific computer architecture uses. ... Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ...

Details

The program was a two-pass 6502 assembler, in a 8K cartridge. It was the first commercially available assembler for the Atari 8-bit computers.

Disadvantages of ASMED were speed, bugs, lack of macros and awkward conditional assembly features. The debugger was really a monitor, limited in power and flexibility. Nonetheless, it was the only available assembler for the Atari for many programmers. A Conditional Assembly Language is that part of an Assembly Language used to write macros. ... A machine code monitor (aka machine language monitor) is software built-into or separately available for various computers, allowing the user to enter commands to view and change memory locations on the machine, with options to load and save memory contents from/to secondary storage. ...

Aftermath

Although superceded by Atari Macro Assembler (AMAC), the Atari Assembler Editor continued to be used by programmers. Plus, Optimized Systems Software purchased the original rights from Shepardson Microsystems. OSS then came out with improved versions, one of which was EASMD. Optimized Systems Software (OSS) was a small company producing operating systems and programming languages for the Atari 8-bit and Apple II computer families. ...

Trivia

• Programmer was Kathleen O'Brien of Shepardson Microsystems, Inc.

Shepardson Microsystems, Inc. ...

References

• Atari Home Computer System - Technical Reference Notes. Atari, Inc. C016555 REV A.
• Andrews, Mark (1984). Atari Roots: A Guide to Atari Assembly Language. DATAMOST, Inc. ISBN 0-88190-171-7. [1]
• Chasin, Mark (1984). Assembly Language Programming for the Atari Computers. Byte Books, McGraw-Hill Paperbacks. ISBN 0-07-010679-7. [2]
• Chadwick, Ian (1985). Mapping the Atari Revised Edition. COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-87455-004-1. [3]
• Leventhal, Lance A. (1986). 6502 Assembly Language Programming 2nd Edition. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. ISBN 007881216X.
• Leventhal, Lance A. (1982). 6502 Assembly Language Subroutines. Osborne/McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0931988594.
• Mansfield, Richard (1983). Machine Language for Beginners. COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-942386-11-6. [4]
• Mansfield, Richard (1984). The Second Book of Machine Language. COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-942386-53-1. [5]
• Zaks, Rodnay (1983). Programming the 6502 (Fourth Edition). Sybex, Inc. ISBN 0-89588-135-7.
• Zaks, Rodnay (1982). Advanced 6502 Programming. Sybex, Inc. ISBN 0-89588-089-X.

External Links

• AtariAge - Atari 800/XL/XE Atari Assembler Editor CXL4003
• Hi-Res Vol. 1, No. 1 - November 1983 Advanced User Forum by Russ Wetmore (Assemblers Reviewed)