[Coco] Phoenix IDE update

[Roger Taylor]

Anbody here into customizing the Disk BASIC 1.1 ROM, or any other 
ROM?  Phoenix now has this automated in a way that all you have to do 
is load up your source code that does the patching, and in the right 
sidebar for the file properties, click Functions and you'll see a 
drop-down checkbox list of formalized command-line switch names for CCASM:

Show Listing
Show Symbols
Show All Symbols
Multi-Record LOADM
SIngle Record LOADM
Variable Sized ROM
8K ROM
16K ROM
32K ROM   <-- good foe building Vectrex games like the included 
OmegaChase project!!
...
Projector-3 CODEC (makes a variable-sized read-only type file, can't 
be LOADMed)
Patched Disk BASIC 1.1 ROM (outputs newdecb.rom and newdecb.mp)

These formal names take the mystery out of using raw switches like 
-l  -s  -sa , etc.  Why remember those when you can just put a check 
next to the English name for the function.  Not only does CCASM have 
these settings built-in but many other builders (cross assemblers, 
compilers) will also define switches in this manner.

Anyway. most ROM patching source code is a LOADMable file that tells 
the loader (like LOADM in Disk BASIC) where to overwrite certain 
portions of the ROM.  On a CoCo 3, you might be able to LOADM some 
DOS patchers and have them work right away.  For more complex patches 
like those that replace DSKCOM and so forth, direct loading is a 
no-no and will certainly crash the CoCo.  Instead, you'll want to 
replace the actual ROM in the device.

CCASM can take the patch source code and merge it with a built-in 
copy of DECB11.ROM and output NEWDECB.ROM with the changes 
made.  This is how I'm working on the CoCoNet ROM now.  What used to 
be a painful process is now done AND emulated in one click.  In fact, 
a file is generated that can be loaded into the MPROM Disto EPROM 
burner software (newdecb.mp) for burning.

I'm working to put as many of these types of automated builds into 
Phoenix for CoCo development.

This is the sweetest CoCo development system you will ever, ever, 
ever, eeevvvver see.

-- 
~ Roger Taylor