SkoolKit 7.2 has been released. Copies are, as usual, available on demand from the download page, the Python Package Index, the Ubuntu PPA, and the Fedora copr repo.

Making the headlines in this release is the ability of control files to specify comments over multiple lines by means of the new dot directive. This makes long comments much easier to read and write, and also enables #LIST and #TABLE macros to be recorded in the natural way: line by line, as they would typically appear in the skool file. In addition, sna2skool.py will restore such comments line by line, giving you much greater control over the layout of a skool file that is built from a control file. And on top of that, the new --keep-lines option of skool2ctl.py will use dot directives to preserve comments. In light of these new powers, support for skool file templates has been deprecated.

Also vying for attention in this release are ASM templates. Finally, after five years (or thereabouts) of HTML templates, SkoolKit now also provides the ability to tinker with the output of skool2asm.py. Just point the new Templates configuration parameter of skool2asm.py at a file containing your own custom comment, equ, instruction, label, org and register templates, and off you go.

Not to be outdone, HTML templates have struck back with the ability to display the byte values of assembled instructions via the asm_instruction template. Just set the new Bytes parameter in the [Game] section to your desired byte format specification (e.g. Bytes=02X), and make sure instructions are actually assembled by using @assemble=2.

And that’s it for the most conspicuous new features in 7.2. For details on the less conspicuous new features, head over to the changelog, where you can learn about configuration parameters for skool2ctl.py and how the #LINK and #R macros now work with upper case hexadecimal address anchors (among other things).