[Coco] Rainbow IDE 2.0 progress

[Roger Taylor]

Hey gang,

Just some Rainbow IDE 2.0 features you'll probably love.  I should 
release this version in less than a week.

By choosing the ROM Pak option for the output object, you can 
auto-mount that ROM (cart) in M.E.S.S. when it launches.  However, if 
you ALSO add a floppy disk image to the project, the ROM will get 
sent to the floppy disk instead, and the DISK will be mounted.  This 
allows ROMs to be built onto CoCo floppy disks, OR built as a .ROM 
file on your PC.

You can also add a binary component to your project, such as a .rom 
file, and use any "ROM" option for the output object, and the .rom 
will either get mounted and run as-is when you launch M.E.S.S., or it 
will be sent to a floppy disk if you have floppy disk images in your 
project.  The resulting disk will contain exact copies of the 
PC-stored .rom files.  See the logic?  Source code or binary -> 
source processor -> output object (copy it or assemble it) -> 
destination media.

So!  Rainbow IDE can be also used as a fancy "imgtool" or "port.exe", 
etc. for moving files from your PC onto floppy disks.  Not only that, 
but those files can be source code built into binaries, or source 
code kept as-is.

Rainbow 2.0 will mount cassette tape images as well that CCASM can 
produce!  That's right... go from source code to a running CoCo 
cassette tape in one click.  M.E.S.S. will pop up and the tape will 
be in the virtual tape deck.  Type CLOAD or CLOADM and you're cooking.

Whether you're developing a floppy disk game, ROM Pak game, or 
cassette tape game, the Rainbow IDE is fully ready to take on the 
most serious projects with minimal configuration and 
headaches.  Actually, we need more CoCo apps in addition to games, 
and it can handle it all.

Please consider trying out Rainbow 2.0 when I release it.  It really 
is becoming a CoCo programmer's dream tool (for Windows, that is).  :)

Cheers, and have a great weekend.
www.rainbowide.com