E Module Generator

                                     by
                               Jesse McClusky
                            (thought@eskimo.com)


SUMMARY:
 This program compiles E Module (.m) files for the Amiga E Compiler, version
 2.1b (Copyright by Wouter van Oortmerssen.)

 Since I don't have a hard drive (yet), and the only Aminet CD-ROM I have is
 the first one (it came with my CD Drive), that's the only version I've used
 so far.  Therefore, I have no idea if the modules generated by this are
 evenusable by the newer versions of Amiga E.  I do, however, plan on making
 them compatible as soon as I get either (1) a newer Aminet CD-ROM, or (2) a
 hard drive.  Number 2 should be occuring within a month, so not to worry.
 (:

FORMAT:
 The file format this program accepts as input is similar in many respects
 to E code itself, but should be adhered to strictly.  I haven't fully
 tested all possible compinations of invalid syntax, so try not to put much
 of it in there.  However, if you do accidentally do so, and discover that
 it either crashes or generates incorrect output without warning you, let me
 know (at the above address, preferably with the code that bombed it).

 That said, the format for each of the 3 types follows:

CONST name=val

 Creates a constant of the given name with the given value.  This is almost
 exactly like the E keyword of the same spelling.  If the name is not
 capitalized, it will be by the E Module compiler (EM from here on).  The
 val may be any legal constant value as used by the E language (IE, integer,
 float (4.903), hex ($4fD), binary (%100110), and negative of any of the
 preceding types).

 If you wish to specify more than one constant at a time, you may separate
 them with 1 or more 'space' characters.  A 'space' character is defined as
 any character with an ASCII value of less than 48 (30 hex), excluding the
 "-" and "." characters (45 and 46, respectively).  This includes spaces,
 commas, linefeeds, carraige returns, tabs, quotes (single AND double), etc.
 After the space character, simply specify another name=val sequence.  You
 may assign as many constants in a row as you wish.


OBJECT objname
  member1:type
  ...
ENDOBJECT

 Creates an object of the given name with the listed members.  Very similar
 to the E OBJECT format.  (The ... represents zero or more repetitions of
 the previous line)  Members are separated by one or more 'space' characters
 (see above).  The type may be CHAR, INT, LONG or a POSITIVE value which
 represents the size of a substructure.  The value may be of the same format
 as used for constants (as defined above), provided it is greater than or
 equal to zero (0).


LIBRARY 'libname.library', libbase
  FuncName(registers)
  ...
ENDLIBRARY

 Creates a library and base variable of the given name with the functions
 listed.  The function's name should start with a capital and then lowercase
 letters, and the name should be followed IMMEDIATELY by an open parenthesis
 "(" or you WILL get an error.  The registers should have NO spaces in them,
 and should be either A0 to A7 or D0 to D7, separated by commas.  Functions
 are separated by one or more space characters, and you may have as many as
 you wish.

 NOTE:  A LIBRARY should be alone in a module, and belongs in the EMODULES:
        directory, and not a subdirectory.  Also of note is that anything
        after the ENDLIBRARY will be ignored by both the EM compiler and the
        Amiga E Compiler.


COMMENTS:

 Comments begin with the "/*" sequence and end with the "*/" sequence.
 Everything inside will be ignored.  However, nested comments won't work
 because I didn't put in comment counting.  I didn't feel it was necissary.
 If, however, someone really wants me to, I will.


USAGE:

 em source

 Generates a module named source.m from the file source.


MISC STUFF:

 If you use ShowModule (which comes with Amiga E) and redirect the module's
 output to a file, you can edit the file and recompile the module.  First,
 you have to:  ShowModule >output_file EMODULES:module.m
 where output_file is the name of the new file to send the module source to.
 module.m is the path and filename of the original module file.

 Next, you need to edit the output_file and delete the first three (3)
 lines.  Then, if there are any OBJECT definitions in the file, delete the
 first 5 characters of each line (the '(---)') in the object.  Then save the
 file and type:  em output_file
 This will generate a file that should be exactly the same as the original
 '.m' file you got it from.  The new file will have the same name as the
 source output_file, with a '.m' extension.

 You can use this procedure to modify existing modules, following the
 formatting guidelines given above.  Although, why you'd want to modify
 perfectly fine existing modules is beyond me.  Chances are you'll want to
 use the EM program to add modules for your own libraries.  (:  But this is
 a good test to make sure it works.  (:


DISCLAIMERS:

 I hate this stuff.
 No warrenty is either stated or implied that this program will operate as
 indicated, or is appropriate for any specific given purpose.  The creater
 of this code is not held responsible for any damages this code incures.

 This code is Copyrighted (C) 1995 by Jesse McClusky.
 It may be distributed freely and without charge, and may NOT be modified in
 any way without the direct written permission of its author.


FINALLY:

 Many thanks to the creator of the Amiga E Compiler, Wouter van Oortmerseen.

 If you need to contact me, I can be reached at:

 INTERNET:  thought@eskimo.com
 Snail Mail:
   Jesse McClusky
   13035 110th Ave N.E.
   Kirkland, WA   98034
   USA