.EF     Error File

Syntax:

        .EF  filename[.ext]

See also:

.CP   .LF   .LI   .SF   .TF   .TW  

Function:

The .EF directive allows you to send all reported assembling errors to a specific file or device. Opening this file will allow you to quickly locate the locations in your source files which contain the errors.

Boundary Sync:

In Version 3 of the SB-Assembler this directive will perform a boundary sync.

Explanation:

The SB-Assembler will send all reported errors to the file that was opened with the .EF directive. Apart from this the errors will still be sent to the normal list file and screen if the listing is switched on. Errors will always be displayed on the screen and logged in an opened error file, regardless of the selected list options.
The errors reported in the error file are labeled with the originating source file name and the line number in which the error occurred. This allows you to quickly locate the affected source lines.
The error file remains empty if no errors are reported during the assembling process.

If the error file does not exist yet it will be created. If a file with the same name already exists in the given path it will be overwritten without prior notice.

If you want to make use of the .EF directive you should place that directive preferably among the first few lines of the main source file, before potential errors may occur. Otherwise some errors may not be logged.
In Version 2 of the SB-Assembler only one error file can be created in one assembly run. That error file can not be closed until the end of the assembling process, at which point the SB-Assembler will close all files it had opened.
Version 3 of the SB-Assembler can open multiple error files, for whatever reason you may think of. Errors are always written to the currently open error file. Therefore errors found in pass 2 will always be written to the last opened error file.
The error file will be opened during the first pass of the assembling processes. This allows logging of errors that occur in the first pass as well.

As usual, the filename may be preceded by a path name. On Microsoft systems a drive letter may also proceed the path name. If no extension .ext is given the SB-Assembler assumes the default extension for error files, which is .err.
It is also possible to send error messages to a device like a printer for instance.

Examples:

            .EF  errors              The errors are sent to the
;                                     file ERRORS.ERR
            .EF  LPT1:               The errors are sent to the
;                                     first printer (mind the : )
            .EF  C:\TEXT\ERRORS.PRN  The errors are sent to
;                                      the file ERRORS.PRN on
;                                      drive C:\TEXT

Please note that some operating systems are case sensitive when it comes to path names and file names.