Conference turris::languages

    Doesn't this question belong in the TLE::MACRO notes file?
    
       Gary

re .1
I disagree.  This is a good place to get a wide range of opinion, to test
the waters, so to speak.  I, for one, have some interest in this question
but not enough to wade through the MACRO file to follow it.

re .0
Some members of the ULTRIX group are studying the feasibility of porting
MACRO to ULTRIX.  For some purposes, we are beginning to need more than
the bang-the-rocks-together capabilities provided by as(1).  We (ULTRIX)
would not appreciate having an arbitrary (to us) software convention
enforced by a general purpose tool like an assembler.  As it happens, we
don't save those registers either.  Are there other similar "features"
in MACRO?
\Joe

	It appears that a port of MACRO to Ultrix has already been done
	as a note from the Ultrix conference shows (below the FF).
	I hope UEG isn't contemplating getting rid of "as".
	It may not do macros; but, it does offer speed, simplicity,
	and an easy way to output debugging information for high-level
	languages. Ultrix compilers depend on it for those reasons.

	Chuck

           <<< THEBAY::DISK$VMSUSER3:[NOTES$LIBRARY]ULTRIX.NOTE;3 >>>
================================================================================
Note 1593.10                    MACRO for Ultrix?                       10 of 10
WINERY::THOMAS "The Code Warrior"                    34 lines  23-MAR-1988 23:41
                 -< Hello world (for a Ultrix native Macro32) >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Rummmaging around the Internet tonight (anonymous ftp), I happened on
    a MACRO32 compatible (more or less) assembler for BSD 4.[23]/Ultrix.
    It includes support for .MACRO, .IRP, .IF, etc, etc.
    
    I've built it and it seems to do a reasonable job of assembling code.
    I'll try to bang on it some more this week to see how robust it is.
    But if you have to have copy to play with for yourself, drop me some
    mail and I'll tell you where to get a copy.  And don't give it to
    customers!! 
    
    And finally, a not exactly elegant "Hell World" program but it does
    work and is all in Macro.  
    
    Cheers,
    matt

	mask  = 0			; declare a constant
 
	.psect x, exe			; the following is executable code
	.align	word			; ensure alignment
	.globl	_printf			; delcare _printf as being global
_main::					; global label _main
	.word	mask			; register save mask
 
	.psect x, noexe			; the following is data
	.align 1			; align on 2 raised to integer boundary
17$:					; data label
	.asciz	"hello world\n"		; null terminated string
 
	.psect x, exe			; back to executable code
	pushl	#17$			; push address of data
	calls	#1,_printf		; call printf with 1 argument
	ret				; finished
 

Re .3:

>>    And finally, a not exactly elegant "Hell World" program but it does
>>    work and is all in Macro.  

He can say that again.
				/AHM

    Re .1:
    
    Probably, but I figured there wasn't one because 1.0 contained a list
    which did not include Macro.  Times have changed; I should have checked
    EASYNET_CONFERENCES. 
    
    I still think assemblers, being so intimately connected with the
    machine, should be pure (free of operating system dependencies), but
    the mail I received in response to my mail about the QAR response has
    mollified me somewhat, so we can let this topic settle down.
    
    
    				-- edp

re .3
No one is contemplating the demise of as(1).  Our local MACRO porter is
nearly done and says it was easy.  I'll point him to the ULTRIX note, just
in case.  Thanks.
\Joe