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Table of Contents

• About wAx
• 6502 Disassembler
• 6502 Assembler
  • Comments
  • Immediate Mode Operands
  • Accumulator Mode Operand
  • Arithmetic
  • Entering Data
  • The Command Pointer
• Advanced Assembler Topics
  • Labels
  • Symbol Table Manager
  • BASIC Variable Interpolation
  • Multi-Pass Assembly
  • Undocumented Instruction Support
• Memory Display
• Memory Editor
• Register Editor
• Go
• Breakpoint Manager
• Disk/Tape/SD Storage
• Transfer
  • Pattern Fill
• Search
  • Hex Search
  • Text Search
  • Code Search
• Assertion Tester
• Numeric Conversion
• Change BASIC Stage
• User Tool

Appendices

• Appendix A: wAx Error Messages
• Appendix B: wAx Memory Usage
• Appendix C: Quick Reference

Assembling wAx

The wAx source code targets the xa cross assembler (https://www.floodgap.com/retrotech/xa/). Various degrees of modifications may need to be performed to target other assemblers, especially with respect to label redefinition syntax (-loop), data pseudo-ops (.byte, etc), and sometimes (more annoyingly) case for text data.

To assemble wAx, use the following command (Linux and macOS):

xa -o wax2.bin ~/wAx2/src/wax.asm

Then, to add a location header for loading on a VIC-20, use the following command (Linux and macOS):

printf "\x00\xa0" | cat - wax2.bin > wax

Then, transfer the file to your favorite VIC-20 storage medium and LOAD "WAX",device,1

Starting wAx

From Cartridge

With your VIC-20 turned off, plug the wAx cartridge in, then power up your VIC. Start wAx with

SYS 40960

From Disk or SD Card

Load wAx with

LOAD "WAX",8,1

When it is loaded, start wAx with

SYS 40960

wAx is friendly to your BASIC programs. When you start wAx, it will fix the BASIC pointers that are usually corrupted with LOAD,8,1. You may feel free to load wAx with a BASIC program in memory, but you will need to start wAx after the load operation to fix BASIC pointers.