SkoolKit 8.1 has been released. Whenever you’re ready, please head over to the download page, the Python Package Index, the Ubuntu PPA, or the Fedora copr repo to pick up a copy.

After the fanfare of 8.0, SkoolKit 8.1 is a relatively quiet release with some modest enhancements across the board. First on that list of enhancements is the ability of skool2bin.py to parse a skool file in @rsub or @rfix mode (via the aptly named --rsub and --rfix options). So now skool2bin.py can parse a skool file in any of the possible modes, which means you may no longer have to reach for an assembler in order to build a bugfixed TAP file of your favourite game. Well, that’s the plan, anyway.

Second on the arbitrarily ordered list of enhancements is skool2bin.py again, this time with its new --data option, which makes it process @defb, @defs and @defw directives. This enables manipulation of the memory snapshot derived from a skool file beyond the ability of any assembler operating on the output of skool2asm.py. Perhaps now the only reason to reach for an assembler is to place it in a drawer, out of the way of the actually useful tools cluttering your desktop.

Still on the subject of @defb, @defs and @defw, these directives no longer require an address parameter. If that parameter is omitted, it defaults either to the address of the next instruction, or to the address immediately after the last byte of the previous @defb, @defs or @defw directive attached to the same instruction. After you’ve let that idea sink in, I hope you’ll agree that it makes sense.

Last on the list of enhancements I will be giving air time to today is the humble register name field (in the register section of a skool file entry header) and its ability to contain whitespace and skool macros (which will be expanded). In earlier versions this field was limited to a single, space-free sequence of characters in which macro-like tokens were ignored. But now, by the use of a special syntax, you can go crazy and place such strings as B, C or #R49152 there.

To see what other changes are lurking in this release, I suggest giving the changelog a quick scan. After that, why not grab a copy of 8.1 and see if that trusty assembler of yours really can be put to bed?