AsmToDsk v2.5

Description

A wrapper for z88dk and Mame to easily assemble .asm files into .com programs, create a Tatung Einstein dsk image for the program, and run the program in Mame.

Type

Utility

Supported OS

Windows Only

Instructions

AsmToDsk Installation Instructions

The TatungBytes AsmToDsk tool is a wrapper for z88dk and Mame, allowing you to quickly assemble your code, create a .dsk image with your compiled program, and mount that .dsk image in M.A.M.E. to see your program running on the Tatung Einstein.

So lets begin with the setup of the pre-requisites, which at first glance may appear a little daunting, but rest assured if you follow the instructions outlined this is quite a painless process.

Pre-requisites

  1. Having downloaded the AsmToDsk tool from the Tatung Bytes website, you now need to extract it to your folder of choice. Once done please follow the rest of the pre-requisite instructions.
  2. Z88DK
    1. Download the latest version of z88dk from https://github.com/z88dk/z88dk/releases and then unzip the file to your folder of choice. If you would like more information on what this program does or how to use it from the command line then please visit their website https://z88dk.org/site/ where they have a wealth of information available.
    2. You now need to add “your folder of choice” from step one to your systems path by clicking on the windows “Search” field at the bottom of your screen and typing "environment variables. The following screen will appear.

  1. Select “Path” in the top window click "Edit," the following screen will appear

  1. Click on “New” and enter the path to “your folder of choice”. For example if you folder of choice was C:\users\Dave\z88dk this is what needs to be entered here.
  2. Now click on OK for both windows. Note: if you already had a windows command prompt window open you will need to restart it in order for these change to take effect.
  1. MAME
    1. If you have M.A.M.E. installed already then proceed to Step 4 if not then you need to download it from the following link - https://www.mamedev.org/release.html, Once downloaded you need to extract the contents to a directory of your choice.
    2. In your M.A.M.E installation directory you now need to navigate to the ROMS folder and need to create a folder called ‘einstein’.
    3. Now extract the contents of the “einstein.zip” located in the AsmToDsk folder you created in step one to the einstein folder you just created.

4. Python

  1. If you have Python installed already then proceed to Step 5 if not then you can either download and install the latest version from here https://www.python.org/downloads/ or use the Python installer in the AsmToDsk folder. IMPORTANT - when installing Python for the first time, you must click the Add Python.exe to PATH check box shown below.

That Completes the Pre-requisites Section - Please proceed to the next page where we will setup the AsmToDsk Program


From the directory you installed AsmToDsk into (way back at the beginning of the Pre-requisite Section) click and run the asmtodsk.py file and the following screen will appear

2. Click on the “Browse” button on the far right of the “Source.asm” field and navigate to your ASM file.

3. Click on the “Choose” button on the far right of the “Working Folder” field and navigate to the location of your working directory (this can be anywhere you like, including the AsmToDsk folder itself).

4. Click on the “Browse” button on the far right of the “Z80asm” field and navigate to where you installed Z88DK to (in the pre-requisite section), within that folder you need to locate the “Bin” folder and select “Z80asm.exe”. Now press open and you will return to your previous screen.

5. Click on the “Browse” button on the far right of the “Z88dk-appmake” field and navigate to where you installed Z88DK to (in the pre-requisite section), within that folder you need to locate the “Bin” folder and select “z88dk-appmake.exe”. Now press open and you will return to your previous screen.

6. The “Build Options” section is for those experienced users, who may want to make a change and know what the effect will be but for most users this is best left alone.

7. Click on the “Browse” button on the far right of the “mame” field and navigate to where you have M.A.M.E. installed, locate “Mame.exe” and click open and you will return to your previous screen.

8. Click on the “Browse” button on the far right of the “System Disk” field and navigate to where you installed the AsmToDsk tool, locate the boot disk named “Dos80.dsk” and click open and you will return to your previous screen.

9. Click on the “Choose” button on the far right of the “Rom path” field and navigate to where you have M.A.M.E. installed, locate the Einstein sub directory and click open and you will return to your previous screen.

10. Repeat step 9 for the “Einstein ROM folder field.

11. You have now setup the program and all your settings will be saved for future use.

12. Now click on the “Build COM + DSK” button and you should get a message saying “Build OK”.

12. Finally its time to check your work by clicking on the “Run in MAME” button, the emulator will now start and you will see the familiar Einstein boot Scrren.

13. Now type “1:” and press return, type “DIR” and you will see the ASM file you specified in step 2 has been compiled. Simply type the name of the file and it will run.

Congratulations you have now compiled your program.

Downloads

ZIP