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Frequently-Asked Questions
What
is an IDE?
IDE
(in programming terms) stands for "Integrated
Development Environment". The environment provided
by IDE software should be aimed at making it as easy
as possible to write software by making a vast number
of tools and options available without having to leave
the program.
Another
similar term is GUI or "Graphical User Interface".
I know this sounds a bit much, but IDEs are GUIs meaning
you can use your mouse and click around the screen
carrying out many of the operations you would normally
have to spend hours at a console prompt doing.
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What
computers can I write software for?
Rainbow
is a cross-development system, meaning you can target
a large number of CPUs and computer systems. The range
of systems you can design for is limited only by the
range of CPUs targetable by the cross assemblers in
use. Rainbow includes a handful of popular assemblers
and lets you add your own. Furthermore, you can emulate
most popular target systems if you have the M.E.S.S.
emulator installed.
So, the answer to this question is: You can write
software for hundreds of computers and CPUs.
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Can
I see my software run from the IDE?
Yes,
if M.E.S.S. can emulate it and you have the right
BIOS ROMs for the system in question then Rainbow
can automatically launch into emulation with your
built software mounted. If your software is a ROM
image, it should run right away. If it's built to
a virtual disk, you can run your software just like
you would if you were sitting at the real target computer
with a real floppy disk containing your software inserted
in the drive.
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What
assemblers are included with Rainbow?
The
following cross-assemblers are included with Rainbow,
and more may be added later:
TASM
multi-CPU assembler, CCASM 6809/6309 assembler, CASM
6809/6309 assembler, OS9 ASM (6809 OS-9 assembler),
RMA (6809/6309 OS-9 Level II assembler), the AS-series
assemblers by Frank Kingswood, and several others.
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Can
I add my own assembler to Rainbow?
Yes,
but try to use Win32-compatible console window-compatible
assemblers and not ancient 16-bit MS-DOS assemblers.
Adding
your own assembler is as easy as creating a subfolder
inside of the \Assemblers root folder, rebooting the
IDE, then selecting that assembler from the menu and
clicking "Configure". You'll find your assembler
because it will be named whatever your folder is named.
Inside
of your assembler subfolder is where your assembler
module and support files reside. You can choose the
module and set all of the common command options from
the assembler configuration dialog.
Now,
when you're editing source code, just make sure you
have your assembler selected in the left panel for
each source file, and it will be used during the build
process.
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Feedback and Answers
Greetings Roger,
I've been messing around with the Rainbow IDE. Alas,
my assembly skill is nonexistant. I'm sure I'll get
it eventually, but it's probably going to be very
eventually. So, for now, my programing endeavors are
all in ECB. What I want to do is write ECB programs
in the IDE, then click a button, have it sent to MESS
already loaded up to test, then switch back, make
mods, etc. Then dump the finished program over to
a real CoCo using your handy dandy cable. My main
purpose in using the PC for this is that the code
is much more recycleable and more modular (without
having to "merge" things on a real CoCo)
and the project format in your IDEs is perfect for
this.
My question, then, is: can Rainbow do this with
BASIC code? And if so, how? I can't seem to figure
out.
Response:
Yes, the Rainbow IDE allows editing BASIC programs
that can be saved onto your virtual disks in ASCII
BASIC format or by automatically tokenizing the programs
into binary BASIC format (currently available for
the Tandy Color Computer series). When Rainbow launches
the M.E.S.S. emulator with your virtual disk(s) mounted,
type whatever command you need to do a directory on
that disk. This command depends on the computer and
operating system you are emulating. Most likely the
command is "DIR".
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