Re: Need reviews of HLA Adventure



<MASM.EXE>
Microsoft (R) MASM Compatibility Driver Version 6.11
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1993. All rights reserved.

08/19/1993 07:50 PM 49,152 MASM.EXE
1 File(s) 49,152 bytes
</MASM.EXE>

The error that I've run into and is identified...

<SNIP_XP_Pro_Command_Prompt_cmd.exe>
C:\...\hlaadv>hla hlaadv.hla
Warning in file "hlaadv.hla" at line 7373 [errid:74364/hlaparse.bsn]:
try..endtry block without exception handler.
Near: << endtry >>

Assembling: hlaadv.asm
hlaadv.consts.inc(1325) : error A2041: string or text literal too long
Error returned by Assembler = 1

C:\...\hlaadv>
</SNIP_XP_Pro_Command_Prompt_cmd.exe>

When using HLA.EXE on the hlaadv.hla file, HLA.EXE I think created the
external file, hlaadv.consts.inc and a couple other files. Let me know if that's
how that's supposed to work?

<DOS_DIR>
05/29/2005 10:54 PM 494 assembly.txt
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 376,917 HLAADV.ASM
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 0 hlaadv.bss.inc
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 299,493 hlaadv.consts.inc
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 18,505 hlaadv.data.inc
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 25,585 hlaadv.extpub.inc
11/27/2004 09:12 AM 277,425 HLAADV.HLA
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 181 hlaadv.link
05/30/2005 01:19 AM 0 hlaadv.ro.inc
11/25/2004 03:05 PM 5,773 HLAADV.TXT
11/27/2004 09:12 AM 154,624 hlaadv00.exe
11/27/2004 09:23 AM 326,237 WEST06
12 File(s) 1,485,234 bytes
</DOS_DIR>

<DOS_dir_Extracted_From_Zip_Files>
11/27/2004 09:12 AM 361,611 HLAADV.ASM
11/27/2004 09:12 AM 154,624 HLAADV.EXE
11/27/2004 09:12 AM 277,425 HLAADV.HLA
11/25/2004 03:05 PM 5,773 HLAADV.TXT
11/27/2004 09:23 AM 326,237 WEST06
5 File(s) 1,125,670 bytes
</DOS_dir_Extracted_From_Zip_Files>

So upon running:
HLA.EXE HLAADV.HLA

HLA overwrote the hlaadv.asm file that already existed in that
folder and replaced it with a different file. It also dated the newer
file to the current system date and time that the action occured.

That introduces two problems in particular.
1) It overwrites an existing file without prompting.
2) It does not keep the original date/time of the file it's creating
and instead creates confusion by using the current system date
and time. I don't know what HLA is really supposed to be doing
but I'm seeing this as a possible bug. The date/time information
should be tagged when the .asm file is put into the .hla file. Again,
I'm only guessing at things, so let me know if that's the way it's
really working.

I downloaded the file from Paul Panks site on:
May 29, 2005, 9:00:07 PM.
That's the date on the Zip file, but all the files inside of it are
dated 11/27/2004. So I'm not sure what's going on there. I
thought Paul indicated that it was a new file. When I start the
program up it indicates version 2.32 but Paul in another article
indicates he released version 2.80. I don't know what's going
there.

Hope that helps.

--
Jim Carlock
Please post replies to newsgroup.

randyhyde@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Naw, it's not Paul's problem to fix -- it's mine. If HLA is generating
> assembly code that cannot be handled by MASM, then I should fix this
> problem in HLA rather than requiring end-users to work around the
> problem (shades of RosAsm!).
>

"Sevag Krikorian" <kahlinor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I think the problem is that Paul (accidentally?) included an incomplete
> FASM source for hlaadv with the main distribution and someone tried
> to assemble that using MASM.

--
[kain]
http://www.geocities.com/kahlinor


.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Need reviews of HLA Adventure
    ... That's before there *was* a Nasm, or Fasm, or HLA! ... included by the .asm file. ... If Paul hadn't included the .asm file ... Masm, and then "hla hlaadv". ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: Rocket Science
    ... >> Also, logically, if MASM is the underlying assembler being used by ... then MASM must always be being run in addition to HLA so ... the MASM or FASM or whatever underlying assembler's speed into its own ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: HLA v1.93 is now available
    ... MASM does branch displacement optimization. ... would anyone want to use an assembler that forces *them* to do this ... NASM as a back-end to HLA? ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: On-line Review of "Art of Assembly"
    ... Randy may have meant to say that HLA ... simpler macro, suitable *only* for a simple string. ... There were a few instances where Paul ... app written by an advanced programmer". ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: HLA and embedded controllers
    ... and supply you with code to use as I clean up the HLA stdlib. ... the FASM include files up and operational for FASM. ... and that new MASM requires .NET ... redefining MASM language with these macros. ...
    (alt.lang.asm)