The User Manual ?
ACIDE is a simple text editor with a series of additions that make it ideal as a development environment for use with command line compiler/assemblers (such as Jack Tidwell's JAVRBasic). Most options are similar to those available within windows Notepad but with the added benefit of multiple files, search/replace, linking to external applications and big file sizes...
Preferences (updated 22/05/00)
ACIDE is distributed as freeware however, it remains Copyright Andy Clark 2000. Feel free to pass the software on to others (but make sure you include the manual - acideman.htm). If you are hosting ACIDE on a web/ftp site, please drop me an email to boost the old ego ;-)
I accept no liability for damage or problems arising from the use of ACIDE.
Simple project support.
Windows drag-drop support - open a file by dragging it from Windows explorer
Improved debug window
Updated file histories
New icon!
The package consists of two files; ACIDE.EXE, the application and ACIDEMAN.HTM, the manual.
Simply create a new directory and put the two files into it. It pays to associate (Windows-wise) your source files (bas,c,asm etc) with ACIDE for ease of opening.
When first run, ACIDE creates an ACIDE.INI file in its directory. This is the default settings file and is pre-configured for some common extensions/packages, ie BAS=JavrBasic, ASM=AvrAsm and C=AVR-GCC. For most people, it will just be a case of changing the relevant program paths to get the system fully integrated.
Upgrading - just overwrite the existing files, Acide will use all of your old settings.
Anyone familiar with Notepad should be at home with the basic functions of ACIDE. Most menu options are self explanatory and can be accessed using keyboard shortcuts...
File
Edit
Search
Tools
Project
Debug
Windows
Help
Project support is rather limited, Acide maintains a simple list of files which you can quickly switch between (F6/Shift+F6). Acide behaves as normal with each file in the project (ie swapping windows etc). The name of the current project is indicated in the status
I've found this simple project setup useful when writing things like JavrMods (copyright Jack Tidwell), as you can include your main bas file and your jmod file and switch quickly between them.
Project files end in and APF extentsion (I'll let you guess what that stands for!) and are simply a list of files in the project.
You can include filenames from the project list on application command lines, which should allow you to produce somoe form of make. I didn't want to code anything more complex which would tie Acide to a particular compiler.
One of the main features of Acide is the facility to define 10 custom file extensions that can be opened quickly using the Ctrl+0 thru Ctrl+9 keys...
If you defined extensions; 1=BAS, 2=ASM and 3=LST and you initially opened the file "TEST.BAS", pressing the Ctrl+2 key would automatically open the "TEST.ASM" file (if it exists) and Ctrl+3 would open "TEST.LST". If the file does not exist, a blank page will display.
NOTE: Switching to another extension always loads the most recent file off disk.
With each of these 10 extensions, you can define an associated application command line which is executed by pressing F9...
If you defined command line BAS="c:\javrbasic\javrdos.exe %A", pressing F9 with a .BAS file open would compile that file using JavrDos. The resultant output file would be an ASM file which you could switch to using Ctrl+2.
NOTE: pressing F9 automatically saves the current file (renaming the previous version with a "_" prefix).
With each of these 10 applications, you can define an associated character (in the # column) that marks the start of a reported error line number, this allows the automatic location of source code errors using the debug window.
e.g. AvrAsm surrounds it's error lines with ( ), so if you enter ( in the # column alongside ASM files, if your assembly generates errors, pressing F11/12 will step forward and backwards through the relevant source lines.
You can also define 8 other external applications which can be executed by pressing Ctrl+F1..8...
This is useful for defining applications which don't act directly on the file you're editing, such as terminals, programmers or general purpose apps such as AvrCalc.
Binary to Hex to Decimal Convertor
This is a simple 8 bit convertor, ticking the relevant bits to indicate a "1" and the correct hex/dec number is displayed. You can also enter a number in either the Hex or Dec box to see the binary representation. Clicking the "~" button will logically invert the numbers.
My head hurts when doing manual base conversions, so this is an Aspirin substitute.
This window allows you to change the 10 file extensions and their associated command lines/error delimiters. You can modify the values by typing directly onto the relevant grid location.
You can also configure the other aspects of Acide by using the following menu options...
Preferences
Editor
Associations
Tools
Help
All of the above options are stored in an INI file called ACIDE.INI. When first installed, Acide will generate a default ini and use this for subsequent settings. However, when you save a source file, a copy of these settings are saved in the source file directory and this local copy will be used when reopening that file. This allows you to have multiple configurations of Acide.
Reserved switches are defined below...
i.e. for data file - "c:\data\testprj\test1.bas"
| Switch | Name | Example |
| %P | path | "c:\data\testprj" |
| %N | filename | "test1" |
| %E | extension | ".bas" |
| %F | path+filename | "c:\data\testprj\test1" |
| %A | full filename | "c:\data\testprj\test1.bas" |
| %H | filename without path | "test1.bas" |
| %L | project name | "myproject" |
| %0..9 | filename[0..9] from project list | "fred.c" |
| %? | user prompt | you are prompted to enter a parameter |
| %D | changes dir to | application directory |
| %V | leaves app. window visible | |
| %B | debug mode | captures dosbox output |
| %G | bell | dings when done! |
All other switches are passed though directly. So, for example, the command line for AVRASM would be;
c:\avrasm\avrasm.exe -i %A %F.LST %F.ROM
which, for the data file "c:\test\led.asm" would generate a command line of;
avrasm.exe -i c:\test\led.asm c:\test\led.LST c:\test\led.ROM
You can set up to 10 code bookmarks. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+0..9 will set a bookmark at the current line. Pressing Alt+0..9 will move the cursor to that line. NOTE these bookmarks are volatile (not saved) and also global across all code windows.
Click Tools|snippets (Ctrl+T) to open a separate window containing various bits and pieces of code that you can cut and paste between your current file. This is useful as a repository for your popular code chunks and is automatically stored in a file called 'ACIDE.SNP' in the ACIDE app directory. If you've got a piece of code that you use often, select and copy it then open the snippet window and paste it down, clicking ok will then save the code for future use. NOTE: right click for a menu.
With the %B command line option, the output of your compiler/assembler etc is displayed in a separate window. Press [Home] to go to the first error, then F11/F12 (or the up/down arrows) to step forwards/backwards through the lines. If you have set the correct error delimiter (see preferences) the line containing the error in your source code will be highlighted. If you want to modify the highlighted source line, pressing [Enter] will pass the focus back to the source. If you scroll manually through the error window, pressing [Enter] (or double clicking) whilst on a line containing an error will also highlight your source line.
ACIDE can be associated with a file by using Open with in Windows. E.G. Shift+RightClick on a .BAS file and select Open With, browse to the ACIDE program directory and select ACIDE.EXE, then check the Always use this... and click Ok. From now on, double clicking on a BAS file will open that file in ACIDE.
HINTS:
For those that like to hand-code HTML pages, define one of the extensions as HTM/HTML and set its command line to IEXPLORE.EXE, pressing F9 will the give you a quick preview of the page.
Check my homepage for ACIDE updates... http://pages.zoom.co.uk/andyc
Email me with any problems, bug reports or praise... andyc@zoom.co.uk
Have fun...