## ALP Programming Guide and Reference

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### Installing MASM2ALP

The MASM2ALP utility consists of a single file:

    masm2alp . exe

To install MASM2ALP on OS/2:

1.Copy masmalp.exe into a directory of your choice. If the utility will be invoked from the command line (rather than by absolute reference from a makefile or command file), then the selected directory should be among those referenced by the PATH environment variable.

It is recommended that both masm2alp.exe and alp.exe be installed in the same directory, especially in build environments where reliance on environment variables is discouraged. If masm2alp.exe is invoked by absolute path name (rather than via a PATH search), it will use that same path when it first attempts to execute alp.exe. This technique allows execution of alp.exe without requiring it to be referenced in the PATH. If the search fails, the path name prefix will be removed and MASM2ALP will rely on the operating system to locate alp.exe.

2.If you also use the Microsoft Macro Assembler, you must decide if MASM2ALP will replace MASM or co-exist with it. This usually means renaming the MASM executable (masm.exe) to something else, then renaming masm2alp.exe to masm.exe. Alternatively, you may choose to leave the names unchanged, taking manual steps in your makefiles or build scripts to insure that the correct executables are referenced from your build environment.

3.Optionally, default values for command line options may be established by defining the MASM environment variable. MASM2ALP interprets the contents of this environment variable before processing the command line. Any values set in this manner are translated and passed to alp.exe via the command line. The <BaseEXE>_OPTIONS environment variable used by alp.exe is not queried or modified by MASM2ALP.

4.If it becomes necessary to analyze a problem with MASM2ALP (such as failure to invoke alp.exe, or other unexpected behavior), defining the ALP_ ECHO environment variable to any non-empty value will cause MASM2ALP to echo the generated command line to the standard output device.