Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970123200043.006a64d0@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu>
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 20:00:46 -0600
To: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net
From: Chip Turner <turnerjh AT ctrvax DOT Vanderbilt DOT Edu>
Subject: Re: [opendos] Rants and Raves
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Sender: owner-opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net
Precedence: bulk


At 05:45 PM 1/23/97 -0600, Colin W. Glenn wrote:
>You might consider using A86 instead of the others, it has better speed
>over MASM, and it does a better job of optimizing.

Yeah, but A86 is NaziWare.  Just reading the licensing agreements made my
skin crawl.  It might be a good program, but the author clearly just wanted
to make a buck instead of providing a quality, free tool where one was
needed.  What the world needs is a good, free x86 assembler.

(Yes I realize that GPL and such aren't applicable to everything, but read
the licensing stuff for A86/D86 and tell me the guy doesn't seem
hyper-worried about his precious wallet).

Of course, this is all opinion, and as such, it isn't necessarily accurate
or even coherent (just protecting myself...).  Maybe it would be possible
to port it to gas?  It would be nice if the whole package would compile
under free software.

I'd be happy to help port whatever modules need porting to TASM and DJGPP,
though it would seem converting the MASM stuff might be more difficult than
its worth.
--
Chip Turner -- turnerjh AT ctrvax DOT vanderbilt DOT edu
               http://cswww.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~turnerj1

               "A man who is good ought not to calculate the chance 
               of living or dying; he ought only to consider 
               whether in doing anything he is doing right or
               wrong -- acting the part of a good man or of a bad."
                              Plato, The Apology