1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
4 <title>cl65 Users Guide
5 <author><url url="mailto:uz@cc65.org" name="Ullrich von Bassewitz">,<newline>
6 <url url="mailto:greg.king5@verizon.net" name="Greg King">
10 cl65 is the compile & link utility for cc65, the 6502 C compiler. It was
11 designed as a smart frontend for the C compiler (cc65), the assembler (ca65),
12 the object file converter (co65), and the linker (ld65).
15 <!-- Table of contents -->
18 <!-- Begin the document -->
22 cl65 is a frontend for cc65, ca65, co65 and ld65. While you may not use the
23 full power of the tools when calling them through cl65, most features are
24 available, and the use of cl65 is much simpler.
29 The cl65 compile and link utility may be used to convert, compile, assemble
30 and link files. While the separate tools do just one step, cl65 knows how to
31 build object files from C files (by calling the compiler, then the assembler)
35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
36 Usage: cl65 [options] file [...]
38 -c Compile and assemble but don't link
42 -l name Create an assembler listing file
43 -m name Create a map file
44 -mm model Set the memory model
45 -o name Name the output file
46 -r Enable register variables
47 -t sys Set the target system
48 -u sym Force an import of symbol `sym'
51 -C name Use linker config file
52 -Cl Make local variables static
53 -D sym[=defn] Define a preprocessor symbol
54 -E Stop after the preprocessing stage
55 -I dir Set a compiler include directory path
56 -L path Specify a library search path
57 -Ln name Create a VICE label file
59 -Oi Optimize code, inline more code
60 -Or Optimize code, honour the register keyword
61 -Os Optimize code, inline standard funtions
62 -S Compile but don't assemble and link
63 -T Include source as comment
64 -V Print the version number
65 -W name[,...] Supress compiler warnings
66 -Wa options Pass options to the assembler
67 -Wc options Pass options to the compiler
68 -Wl options Pass options to the linker
71 --add-source Include source as comment
72 --all-cdecl Make functions default to __cdecl__
73 --asm-args options Pass options to the assembler
74 --asm-define sym[=v] Define an assembler symbol
75 --asm-include-dir dir Set an assembler include directory
76 --bin-include-dir dir Set an assembler binary include directory
77 --bss-label name Define and export a BSS segment label
78 --bss-name seg Set the name of the BSS segment
79 --cc-args options Pass options to the compiler
80 --cfg-path path Specify a config file search path
81 --check-stack Generate stack overflow checks
82 --code-label name Define and export a CODE segment label
83 --code-name seg Set the name of the CODE segment
84 --codesize x Accept larger code by factor x
85 --config name Use linker config file
86 --cpu type Set cpu type
87 --create-dep name Create a make dependency file
88 --create-full-dep name Create a full make dependency file
89 --data-label name Define and export a DATA segment label
90 --data-name seg Set the name of the DATA segment
92 --debug-info Add debug info
93 --feature name Set an emulation feature
94 --force-import sym Force an import of symbol `sym'
95 --help Help (this text)
96 --include-dir dir Set a compiler include directory path
97 --ld-args options Pass options to the linker
98 --lib file Link this library
99 --lib-path path Specify a library search path
100 --list-targets List all available targets
101 --listing name Create an assembler listing file
102 --list-bytes n Number of bytes per assembler listing line
103 --mapfile name Create a map file
104 --memory-model model Set the memory model
105 --module Link as a module
106 --module-id id Specify a module id for the linker
107 --o65-model model Override the o65 model
108 --obj file Link this object file
109 --obj-path path Specify an object file search path
110 --print-target-path Print the target file path
111 --register-space b Set space available for register variables
112 --register-vars Enable register variables
113 --rodata-name seg Set the name of the RODATA segment
114 --signed-chars Default characters are signed
115 --standard std Language standard (c89, c99, cc65)
116 --start-addr addr Set the default start address
117 --static-locals Make local variables static
118 --target sys Set the target system
119 --version Print the version number
120 --verbose Verbose mode
121 --zeropage-label name Define and export a ZEROPAGE segment label
122 --zeropage-name seg Set the name of the ZEROPAGE segment
123 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
126 Most of the options have the same meanings as the corresponding compiler,
127 assembler, and linker options. See the documentation for those tools for an
128 explanation. If an option is available for more than one of the tools, it
129 is set for all tools where it is available. One example for that is <tt/-v/:
130 The compiler, the assembler, and the linker are all called with the <tt/-v/
133 There are a few remaining options that control the behaviour of cl65:
137 <tag><tt>-E</tt></tag>
139 This option is passed to the cc65 compiler; and, it forces cl65 to stop
140 before the assembly step. That means that C-level preprocessor directives
141 are obeyed; and, macroes are expanded. But, the C source isn't compiled.
142 If the <tt/-o/ option isn't used, then the C code results are written into
143 files with a ".i" suffix on their base names. Assembler files, object
144 files, and libraries given on the command line are ignored.
147 <tag><tt>-S</tt></tag>
149 This option forces cl65 to stop before the assembly step. That means that
150 C files are translated into assembler files; but, nothing more is done.
151 Assembler files, object files, and libraries given on the command line
155 <tag><tt>-c</tt></tag>
157 This option forces cl65 to stop after the assembly step. That means
158 that C and assembler files given on the command line are translated into
159 object files; but, there is no link step. Object files and libraries
160 given on the command line are ignored.
163 <tag><tt>-o name</tt></tag>
165 The -o option is used for the target name in the final step. That causes
166 problems if the linker will not be called, and there are several input
167 files on the command line. In that case, the name given with -o will be
168 used for all of them, which makes the option pretty useless. You
169 shouldn't use <tt/-o/ when more than one output file is created.
172 <tag><tt>--print-target-path</tt></tag>
174 This option prints the absolute path of the target file directory, and exits
175 then. It is supposed to be used with shell backquotes or the GNU make shell
176 function. That way, you can write build scripts or Makefiles accessing target
177 files without any assumption about the cc65 installation path.
180 <tag><tt>-t sys, --target sys</tt></tag>
182 The default for this option is different from the compiler and linker, in the
183 case that the option is missing: While the other tools (compiler, assembler,
184 and linker) will use the "none" system settings by default, cl65 will use
185 "c64" as a target system by default. That was chosen because most people
186 seem to use cc65 to develop for the C64.
189 <tag><tt>-Wa options, --asm-args options</tt></tag>
191 Pass options directly to the assembler. This may be used to pass options
192 that aren't directly supported by cl65. Several options may be separated by
193 commas; the commas are replaced by spaces when passing them to the
194 assembler. Beware: Passing arguments directly to the assembler might interfere
195 with some of the defaults because cl65 doesn't parse the options passed. So,
196 if cl65 supports an option by itself, do not pass that option to the
197 assembler by means of the <tt/-Wa/ switch.
200 <tag><tt>-Wc options, --cc-args options</tt></tag>
202 Pass options directly to the compiler. This may be used to pass options
203 that aren't directly supported by cl65. Several options may be separated by
204 commas; the commas are replaced by spaces when passing them to the
205 compiler. Beware: Passing arguments directly to the compiler might interfere
206 with some of the defaults because cl65 doesn't parse the options passed. So,
207 if cl65 supports an option by itself, do not pass that option to the
208 compiler by means of the <tt/-Wc/ switch.
211 <tag><tt>-Wl options, --ld-args options</tt></tag>
213 Pass options directly to the linker. This may be used to pass options that
214 aren't directly supported by cl65. Several options may be separated by
215 commas; the commas are replaced by spaces when passing them to the linker.
216 Beware: Passing arguments directly to the linker might interfere with some of
217 the defaults because cl65 doesn't parse the options passed. So, if cl65
218 supports an option by itself, do not pass that option to the linker by means
219 of the <tt/-Wl/ switch.
227 Because cl65 was created to simplify the use of the cc65 development
228 package, it tries to be smart about several things.
232 <item> If you don't give a target system on the command line, cl65
235 <item> When linking, cl65 will supply the name of the library file for
236 the target system to the linker; so, you don't have to do that.
238 <item> If the final step is the linker, and the name of the output file was
239 not explicitly given, cl65 will use the name of the first input file
240 without the extension, provided that the name of that file has an
241 extension. So, you don't need to give the executable name in most
242 cases; just give the name of your "main" file as the first input file.
245 The command line is parsed from left to right, and the actual processing tool
246 (compiler, assembler, ...) is invoked whenever a file name is encountered.
247 This means that only the options to the left of a file name are in effect when
248 this file is processed. It does also mean that you're able to specify
249 different options for different files on the command line. As an example.
252 cl65 -Oirs main.c -O -g module.c
255 translates main.c with full optimization and module.c with less optimization
256 and debug info enabled.
258 The type of an input file is derived from its extension:
261 <item>C files: <tt/.c/
262 <item>Assembler files: <tt/.s/, <tt/.asm/, <tt/.a65/
263 <item>Object files: <tt/.o/, <tt/.obj/
264 <item>Libraries: <tt/.a/, <tt/.lib/
265 <item>GEOS resource files: <tt/.grc/
266 <item>o65 files: <tt/.o65/, <tt/.emd/, <tt/.joy/, <tt/.tgi/
269 Please note that the program cannot handle input files with unknown file
275 The morse trainer software, which consists of one C file (morse.c) and one
276 assembler file (irq.s) will need the following separate steps to compile
277 into an executable named morse:
280 cc65 -g -Oi -t c64 morse.c
283 ld65 -o morse -t c64 c64.o morse.o irq.o c64.lib
286 When using cl65, this is simplified to
289 cl65 -g -Oi morse.c irq.s
292 As a general rule, you may use cl65 instead of cc65 at most times,
293 especially in makefiles to build object files directly from C files. Use
306 cl65 (and all cc65 binutils) are (C) Copyright 1998-2004 Ullrich von
307 Bassewitz. For usage of the binaries and/or sources the following
310 This software is provided 'as-is', without any expressed or implied
311 warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
312 arising from the use of this software.
314 Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
315 including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
316 freely, subject to the following restrictions:
319 <item> The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
320 claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
321 in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
322 appreciated but is not required.
323 <item> Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not
324 be misrepresented as being the original software.
325 <item> This notice may not be removed or altered from any source