[SOLVED] MADS Assembler Gives an Error When I Try to Use Data from Previously Created Label

[VinsCool]

Hi there!

I am really unsure what I am doing wrong here, I might just be dumb, so I apologise for asking something I should have known already! Hahaha

 

I'm trying to construct a block of data using all sort of parameters, which require a bit of calculations at assembly time.

So far pretty much everything has been working just fine, but I've been stuck at 1 specific spot.

 

No matter how I try to syntax it, MADS would always give me this error:

elen	dta tlen + (ENV_OFFSET * (ENV_LENGTH - 1)) + 1 	; $B9 is expected 
RMT Instrument Deconstruction.txt (58) ERROR: Value out of range (17836 must be between 0 and 255)

 

Here's the part in question where it all happens: 

tlen	dta PAR_NUM + TBL_LENGTH - 1			; $2B is expected 
tgo	dta PAR_NUM + TBL_GOTO 				; $0C is expected 
elen	dta tlen + (ENV_OFFSET * (ENV_LENGTH - 1)) + 1 	; $B9 is expected

 

The numbers in the comments are what I expect to get, and they are all good until the elen line, the moment the error occurs. 

Does anyone know why this happens?

 

---

 

[EDIT] Wait! I think I found what is happening now!

 

Exactly when I finished writing this thread post, I identified the culprit that caused the error: tlen 

That is a bit annoying now, because I specifically need to use tlen in the calculation, due to being a variable, and not a constant! 
To make sure I wasn't just being stupid, I tried to replace tlen directly with $2B on the elen line, and everything worked perfectly this time, so I know the calculation should be correct...

 

Anyway, now that I've written so much more than I intended, I figured I could use some more time to test a few things.

 

When the error occurs, I also seem to get a value of $AC, which is obviously incorrect:

 

But if I used the value of $2B directly instead, everything is correct this time:

 

I also need to use that same value on the ego line below, but I commented it out for now since it's pretty much the same error that is occurring.

I'm stuck on this line for like 1 hour now, I've thoroughly read the MADS-ASSEMBLER manual, and I really couldn't find any solution. 😰

 

I have guessed maybe it tried to use the memory address directly, but I could not see why this would happen, since everything else worked just fine.

Still, I couldn't find how to actually type it, I tried stuff like ?tlen #tlen $tlen :tlen, etc, and nothing seems to work, and I'm out of ideas.

It's either a syntax error, or the same out of range error, nothing that would just use the value living at the tlen label.

 

Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?

I'm getting frustrated at this point lol 

Edited October 17, 2022 by VinsCool
Problem solved, see replies

[shanti77]

"tlen" is an address in memory, which is 16 bits, unless you put it on side zero.

Try:

 

tlen=PAR_NUM + TBL_LENGTH - 1

 

or

tlen	equ PAR_NUM + TBL_LENGTH - 1

 

[VinsCool]

2 minutes ago, shanti77 said:

"tlen" is an address in memory, which is 16 bits, unless you put it on side zero.

Try:

 

tlen=PAR_NUM + TBL_LENGTH - 1

 

or

tlen	equ PAR_NUM + TBL_LENGTH - 1

 

Thanks, I also found a solution just a moment ago, great timing!

I really was an idiot after all  

 

I simply made sure to get these calculations done elsewhere, the resulting values were then used directly as the data: 

;* Instrument Offsets 

PTR_TLEN	= PAR_NUM + TBL_LENGTH - 1 
PTR_TGO		= PAR_NUM + TBL_GOTO 
PTR_ELEN	= PTR_TLEN + (ENV_OFFSET * (ENV_LENGTH - 1)) + 1 
PTR_EGO		= PTR_TLEN + ENV_GOTO + 1 

;-----------------

 

And that's it!

That's what I should have done in the first place to avoid this problem!

 

Now, it's all good and dandy with the assembled data, so I can continue working on my dumb project  

Thanks for your suggestion anyway!

I am pretty sure it would have worked as well 😅

 

To anyone reading this thread: Problem solved, sorry for the inconvenience!