X390WIN.TXT                       Tachyon 390 Cross Assembler

February 14, 1997      (C) Copyright 1996-1997, Tachyon Software(R) LLC





Windows version of the Tachyon 390 Cross Assembler includes both a GUI and

a console-mode interface.  The console-mode interface program is X390.EXE

and is described in the User's Guide.  The Tachyon 390 Cross Assembler GUI

GUI program is X390WIN.EXE.  The differences between the console-mode

and GUI programs are described in this file.





I. Environment



The Tachyon 390 Cross Assembler is a 32-bit Windows application.  The WIN32

interface fully supports console mode applications, like those traditionally

found in the DOS, UNIX, and OS/2 command-line environments.  However, the

subset of WIN32 supported by Windows 3.1 and 3.11 (WIN32s) does not support

console applications.  Unlike the console interface program, X390WIN.EXE runs

as a GUI application, allowing it to run under WIN32s as well as the full

WIN32 environments of Windows NT and Windows 95.



To obtain the latest release of WIN32s, you can visit the Microsoft web site

at http://www.macrosoft.com and search for "WIN32s".  On July 1st, 1996, the

current version was 1.30f.  Due to the use of the standard WIN32 file open

dialog, X390WIN.EXE will not run on Windows NT 3.50 nor on WIN32s prior to

1.30 since these environments do not contain support for the common dialogs.





II. Execution



The command line parameters of X390WIN.EXE are processed similarly to the

way they are handled by the X390.EXE program, with two exceptions.  For

X390WIN.EXE, if there are no command line parameters specified or if the

first or only parameter is a question mark, a dialog box will pop up,

allowing you to provide or change the parameters before they are passed

to the assembler.  Also for X390WIN.EXE, the source file parameter can be

either a complete source file name or can be a mask, specifying the directory

and file mask to be used in the file open dialog.



If the source file is specified, it is assembled immediately.  If a mask is

specified or if there is no source file in the command line, you will be

prompted to select the source file to be assembled.  The mask can be specified

as either *.ext or path\*.ext, where "ext" is an extension such as 390 and

"path" is a drive and directory specification.  For example, if the mask is

specified as C:\mystuff\*.390, the file open dialog will list all of the

files in the C:\mystuff directory with the 390 extension.  If no path is

specified, the files are listed from the working directory.  If no source file

is specified, the files are also listed from the working directory, however

the extension used in the mask is the value of the SOURCEEXT option from the

X390.INI file or its default if not specified there.



If neither the parameter dialog nor the file open dialog are presented

and the assembly completes with a return code of zero, X390WIN.EXE will

terminate without waiting to be closed.  This permits X390WIN.EXE to be

used within a make file.



The X390WIN.EXE program may be added to a program group in the Program

Manager or as a Windows 95 "shortcut".  It may also be added as an

"association" to the File Manager/Explorer, allowing you to simply

double-click on the file to be assembled.







III.  Windows 3.1 restrictions



Since Windows 3.1 does not allow Windows programs to be launched from BAT

files or DOS-mode programs, X390WIN.EXE cannot be invoked from most make

utilities or DOS-mode editors.  Also as a result, the X390IVP.BAT and

TXA.SPF files are not shipped with the Win32s version.  To run the

Installation Verification Process, execute the X390WIN program from the

RUN... menu option of the Program Manager, then enter:

   -O -SL&D*.MAC

into the "Assembler Options" dialog box and then select the X390IVP.390

file in the "Open Assembler Source" dialog box.



Also, since Windows 3.1 does not allow a Windows program to launch DOS-mode

programs nor to wait for the completion of a Windows program, the LIBEXIT

option is not supported by X390WIN.EXE when running under Windows 3.1.





IV. Interface



As X390WIN.EXE runs, a window will display the messages produced by the

assembler.  If the TERM option is specified, the messages will include any

error messages and MNOTEs.  When the assembly completes, you can use the

"Copy" option of the "File" menu to copy the messages to the Windows clipboard

or you can use the "Save As" option of the "File" menu to save the messages to

a file.  The "Copy" option is not available if there are more than 64 kilobytes

of message text.



The menu bar also includes "Pause" and "Resume" options.  These allow you

to pause the assembler while it is running and to then resume the assembly.





V. Status



At the present time, the GUI interface provides approximately the same level

of function as the console interface.  Tachyon Software intends to enhance

the GUI to provide more information about the progress of the assembly.

Since the GUI interface increases the assembly time, Tachyon Software will

continue to provide the Windows NT and Windows 95 console interface program

for use when you "feel the need for speed".



