Re: A82: Ash 3.1 again

To: assembly-82@lists.ticalc.org
Subject: Re: A82: Ash 3.1 again
From: ADAMMAN106@aol.com
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998 22:06:02 EDT
Delivered-To: assembly-82-outgoing@towerguard.unix.edu.sollentuna.se
Reply-To: assembly-82@lists.ticalc.org


In a message dated 98-07-26 21:25:59 EDT, you write:

> I was wondering whether anyone uses the posibility to use the prgm commond
>  to start asm programs. If no one uses it I might as well remove and make
>  Ash app. 50 bytes smaller. What do you think, should I remove it ?
>  
>  After a bit of testing I am now sure that the problem with penguins
>  crashing is caused by the differences in the relocationmethod. So
>  hopefully it should not take too long to correct it.
>  
>  Dines

OK, here's my opinion, represented by two opposite situations:

Someone borrows your calc and bowses through your prgm menu (assume this
person has knowledge of the existence of Ash and other asm shells and has a
basic grasp of why Ash programs can only be run from the Ash menu).  This
person also knows enough TI-BASIC to make a simple program.  Anyway, the
person finds something he likes (say, SPAZE for instance) and presses enter.
The program shows up on the homescreen and the person executes it.  When the
person sees the snazzy beginning and the great game, he/she becomes very
excited and starts asking you how the author made the program.  You get
annoyed and explain that it is an Ash program that is special and can be run
like a normal program.  The person then starts asking you how the programmer
did that, so you explain that they just used a different program during
assembly.  Then he/she wants you to teach them ASM, so you give them a few
URLs, but they don't want to go on the web.  They want you to teach them NOW.
Besides, it'll only take a few minutes, right?
WRONG

the person (who has no knowledge of ash and is a general newbie to calcs)
browses through your PRGM menu and finds SPAZE.  When they run it, nothing
happens so they ask you why.  You tell him/her that he/she must run prgmASH.
They do, and leave you alone for a while.

Tell me which you prefer.

~Adamman

PS: many programs that use the PRGM function are made by lazy programmers who
take for granted Ash's initialization process.  There is no initialization
process, so the program is screwed up.