Hi guys,

I'm reading up on 65(C)02 assembly language and have started to look into the tools, i.e. assemblers, simulators, emulators...

There seems to be many tools and I'm kinda confused where to start:
http://6502.org/tools/

My daily driver is Linux. But I also use Windows in a virtual machine (KVM/Qemu/libvirt). So I'd be happy to use 65(C)02 development tools in either OS.

My friend Joe (who is also on this forum) uses the Michal Kowalski simulator which is thankfully still being updated by Daryl - thank you!
https://github.com/jdimeglio/6502-Simulator
https://sbc.rictor.org/kowalski.html

I'm starting out so I guess an assembler would be sufficient at the moment. Then I would eventually look into a simulator/emulator (also what is the difference between an emulator and simulator? I've read a few answers in the forum and elsewhere but I still don't get it.)
I'm currently looking into the ca65 assembler (from cc65), but I would like to try others also.

I did notice the assembler directives differ between the Michal Kowalski assembler and the ca65 assembler. Which is understandable.

So I'd like to get a feel on what others are using for their 65(C)02 tools? It would be helpful. Thanks
Pete

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Greetings Professor Falken.

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http://WilsonMinesCo.com/ lots of 6502 resources
The "second front page" is http://wilsonminesco.com/links.html .
What's an additional VIA among friends, anyhow?

Nice..

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Checkout my 2pass assembler/monitor https://github.com/jdimeglio/6502-Monitor

I suspect I am something of an outlier, but I am very fond of Frank Kingswood's AS65 (https://www.kingswood-consulting.co.uk/ ... index.html).

It's available in Windows and Linux (I use Linux exclusively, with Geany as a text editor), and it uses syntax as close to that of the Avocet assembler I used forty-odd years ago as I can remember. It generates 6502 and 65c02 code though not the 16-bit variants; not a problem for me as I'm strictly eight bit. I don't use a formal debugger but instead tend to include code in my build to allow me to inspect blocks of memory as required (effectively, 'printf' debugging.)

Neil

I once tried to help with the endless debate: see
Terminology: Simulator vs. Emulator

In practical terms, either word will do the job and although any one person might hold strong opinions about the difference, two people might well disagree with their strong opinions. And believe me, they won't convince each other.

You'll find that the Kowalski simulator is so-named by its author, and the visual6502 simulator likewise, for different reasons. Almost every other case calls itself an emulator: hence VICE, MAME, MESS and so on.

What you'll also find is that there's no practical ambiguity, and everyone understands each others usage.

In terms of tool usage, pick something which suits your preference - your platform, your preference for GUI or CLI, your debugging needs, compatibility with others who program for the same platform. You might care about your ability to tweak the sources to adjust the tool you chose, in which case you might care about the implementation language, whether it's compiled or interpreted, perhaps whether it's open source.

You will find that different assemblers have different syntax. That's how it is, and in practice it's barely an inconvenience. Not worth arguing about.