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--- tutorials:fail [2022/03/07 17:18]
lars Tiny page.
+++ tutorials:fail [2024/07/17 01:44] (current)
papa
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+====== FAIL Assembler ======
 **FAIL** is the winning assembler from Stanford SAIL.  It was originally written for the WAITS operating system, but was ported to TOPS-20 and is now available on twenex.org.
+From the help file:
+<code>
+FAIL is a fast, one-pass assembler for the DECsystem-10/DECsystem-20.
+FAIL is documented in DOC:FAIL.MANUAL.
+Although FAIL is a great deal faster than MACRO-20, which is the
+DEC-supplied assembler, new programs should be written in MACRO
+because MACRO has a wider set of features to support complex
+assemblies and extended addressing, e.g., PSECT.
+FAIL is not entirely compatible with MACRO-20, differing most notably in
+its macro capabilities, and its support for ``block structured'' symbols.
+FAIL is unsupported.
+</code>
+FAIL works with the TOPS-20 build commands (''EXECUTE'', ''COMPILE'', ''LOAD''). The standard source file extension is ''.FAI''.
+There is a complete manual on-line in ''DOC:FAIL.MANUAL''. An older version of the manual is available at [[http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/stanford/sail/STAN-CS-74-407_FAIL_Apr74.pdf|Bitsavers']].
+Here's a working Hello program. Save the following program in file ''HELLO.FAI'', then assemble, link, and run it with ''@EXEC HELLO'':
+<code>
+; Hello program in FAIL assembly
+start:  hrroi 1,[asciz/Hello, World!/]
+        PSOUT
+        HALTF
+        jrst start
+end start
+</code>

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