Short:        ACE Basic
Author:       Manfred Bergmann
Uploader:     manfred bergmann me com
Type:         dev/basic
Version:      2.6.0
Replaces:     ace-basic
Requires:     OS2.0+
Architecture: m68k-amigaos >= 2.0
Distribution: Aminet
URL:          https://github.com/mdbergmann/ACEBasic

                                  CHANGELOG
                                  =========

v2.6 (2026-01-26)
-----------------

New Features:

  - GadTools Gadget Integration: Full support for GadTools-based gadgets
    with modern Amiga look and feel. New syntax:
    GADGET id, status, label$, (x1,y1)-(x2,y2), kind [, TAG=value ...]

  - Gadget Kinds: Support for BUTTON, CHECKBOX, INTEGER, STRING, LISTVIEW,
    MX (mutual exclude), CYCLE, PALETTE, SCROLLER, SLIDER, TEXT, and
    NUMBER gadgets.

  - GADGET FONT: New syntax to set font for GadTools gadgets:
    GADGET FONT name$, size

  - GADGET SETATTR/GETATTR: Runtime modification and querying of gadget
    attributes via tags.

  - ASSERT statement: Runtime assertion checking for defensive programming.
    Syntax: ASSERT expression [, "message"]
    Prints "ASSERT FAILED: <message>" and exits on failure; passes through
    silently when the condition is true. Implemented as an assembly-level
    runtime library function (assert.s in db.lib).

  - 68020 native code generation: When compiling with the -2 flag or
    OPTION 2+ in source, the compiler emits native 68020 instructions
    (muls.l, divs.l, divsl.l) for long multiply, divide, and modulo
    instead of calling library routines (lmul, ace_ldiv, ace_lrem).
    Emits "machine 68020" assembler directive for vasm.

Documentation:

  - txt2guide.rb: Ruby script to auto-generate AmigaGuide documentation
    from text sources (ref.txt, ace.txt).

Testing:

  - GadTools test suite: New 'gtgadgets' test category for GadTools gadgets.
  - Legacy gadgets tests: Separate 'legacygadgets' category for original
    BOOPSI gadgets.
  - Assert test suite: New 'assert' test category with ok and fail cases.
  - 68020 arithmetic test: opt020 test case validating native 68020 code
    generation for multiply, divide, and modulo operations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

v2.5 (2026-01-22)
-----------------

New Features:

  - AGA Screen Support (modes 7-12): Full support for AGA chipset screens
    with up to 256 colors (8-bit depth).

Toolchain Changes:

  - vasm/vlink replaces legacy assembler/linker: Uses vasm and vlink as
    the standard toolchain instead of a68k/blink.

Bug Fixes:

  - FFP/vbcc floating-point compatibility fix: Fixed FFP handling in
    runtime library (sleep_for_secs and float routines) for vbcc
    compatibility.

Build System:

  - GNU Makefile build system: New Makefile-ace and Makefile-lib in
    src/make/ replacing legacy AmigaDOS build scripts.
  - Rebuilt runtime libraries: Fresh db.lib and startup.lib compiled
    with the new toolchain.

Project Housekeeping:

  - Directory restructured: prgs/ renamed to examples/, build scripts
    moved to src/make/, test infrastructure organized under verify/.
  - Test suite added: 35 test cases covering syntax, arithmetic, floats,
    and control flow, run via ARexx runner on emulated Amiga.
  - Documentation consolidated: Single README.md, .doc files renamed
    to .txt.