[Coco] assembly programming on a 16K CoCo 2

[Robert Gault]

doctorx0079 wrote:
> Okay, ATM I have :
> 
> 16K CoCo 2 with plain old standard Color Basic
> 
> FD502 floppy with controller and some blank disks
> 
> 128K CoCo 3 (which has ECB 2.0 of course)
> 
> and a broken cassette drive with no cables.
> 
> I want to make small assembly-language games on the CoCo 2 as well as the
> CoCo 3.
> 
> Is there any way to get the CoCo 2 to use the floppy?
> 
> Would my best bet be to get another tape drive and the EDTASM+ cartridge?
> 
> For the CoCo 3 should I get Disk EDTASM or use the EDTASM+?
> 
> What about Rainbow IDE and Portal-9?
> 
> Are there any web pages with info about this stuff??
> 
> 

Disk EDTASM is better than the cart version. You can find the program at
http://www.discover-net.net/~dmkeil/coco/software/cocodisk.htm
It can be used with both the Coco2 and 3.

What problems if any are you having with the floppy drive? Why do you 
think that the floppy drive will not work with the Coco2?

Either Rainbow IDE or Portal-9 will work for you if you want to create 
programs for the Coco on a PC. However, for the best use of either 
program you will also want the MESS emulator.

If you just want to write assembly programs and not test them prior to 
use, Rainbow IDE or Portal-9 can take the place of Disk EDTASM. However, 
EDTASM also offers a built-in DEBUG routine that permits testing 
programs as part of the editor/assembler package.

I'd forget about the tape system. You can read about Rainbow and 
Portal-9 at http://coco3.com/ which also hosts forums where you can get 
help with assembly language (as you can here.) You can find a list of 
the Disk EDTASM commands at ftp://www.rtsi.com/RSDOS/incoming/EDTASM.txt