# The dat2s utility

# Compiling Datafiles to Assembler

The utility dat2s can be used to convert a datafile into an asm (.s) source file, which can then be assembled and linked into your program. This avoids the need for a separate datafile to accompany your program, and means the data will automatically be loaded into memory at startup. You should be aware, though, that large datafiles can take a long time to compile, and that it is not possible to compress data which is compiled in this way.

The simplest way to invoke dat2s is with the command:

dat2s filename.dat -o output.s

The resulting asm file can then be assembled with the command:

gcc -c output.s

This will produce an object module called output.o, which can be linked into your program, for example:

gcc myprog.c -o myprog.exe output.o -lalleg

Your program can then access the contents of the datafile as simple global variables. Definitions for these variables can be obtained by telling dat2s to output a header file as well as the asm file, with the '-h' option. You can also use '-p' to set a prefix string for all the object names. For example, when applied to the datafile:

"BMP" - A_BITMAP "BMP" - ANOTHER_BITMAP "SAMP" - EXPLODE "PAL" - SOME_COLORS "FONT" - THE_FONT

the command:

dat2s filename.dat -o output.s -h output.h -p item

produces the header:

extern BITMAP item_a_bitmap; extern BITMAP item_another_bitmap; extern SAMPLE item_explode; extern PALETTE item_some_colors; extern FONT item_the_font; extern DATAFILE item_data[];

You can refer to these objects directly, for example:

blit(&item_a_bitmap, screen, 0, 0, 0, 0, SCREEN_W, SCREEN_H);

Alternatively, you can use the datafile array for compatibility with code that was originally written for separately loaded datafiles, with the standard syntax item_data[index].dat.

If your datafile contains truecolor images, be sure to call fixup_datafile() after you have set the graphics mode. You must also call fixup_datafile() if your platform does not support constructors (currently any non GCC-based platform).

Note that compiled sprites are not supported and will cause dat2s to abort whenever it encounters one of them. However you can use the '-S' option to instruct dat2s to convert them to regular BITMAP objects.

Note that datafiles compiled by dat2s must not be appended to shared objects, only to standalone executables. Use dat2c for this purpose.