DiSS-Assembler

[DiSSaRRaY]

Hey guys,

I've decided I wanted to do something stupid and start fooling around with assembler (but please don't tell C#, she won't be very pleased )

So, I've currently downloaded the MASM32 compiler and a few tutorials (tutorial 1, tutorial 2 - not the best, but it'll do for now). My boss is going to bring me a book on Assembler instruction sets, so that'll probably help a lot since it's for MASM32. \

The reason I actually downloaded this compiler:

MASM differs from conventional compilers in that it does not have any built in runtime library at all and without the basic building blocks the student's task is much more difficult and has a much higher failure rate. Instead of being face with boring and uninteresting technical data removed from its context, by providing a runtime library with macro support the student can learn the various levels of technical data while writing code that actually works and does something useful.

That really interested me, since I want to start from the basics and work my way up, aka: My gat af sukkel I want to get more into the low level programming world, electronics and robotics. I decided that this will be my first choice.

Thanks to RockSpider, Deimos and Duende for inspiring me to try assembler. This might be a lot of fun (including a lot of frustration).

Wish me luck


::Useful Links::
More will follow as time goes by. If you want me to add a link to the list, post it or PM me

IDE's
Eclipse
NetBeans
MASM32 Compiler
NASM


Assembler
Windows Assembly Programming Tutorial
The Art of Assembly Language Programming


C++
Bruce Eckel - Thinking in C++
Standard Template Library Programmer's Guide
cplusplus.com - The C++ Resource Network

C#
Running Shell (DOS) commands using C#

XNA
XNA Creators Club
Learning XNA 3.0 by Aaron Reed


SQL
Designing High Performance Stored Procedures (The Sudoku Solution)


MySQL
MySQL Reference Manual


.NET
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 + 3.0 SP2 + 2.0 SP2 + Language Pack
DotNetZip Library


Web Development
ASP.NET Ajax Control Toolkit
obout Suite
Advanced HTML
From PSD to HTML
Tables vs Divs


Regular Expressions
Regular Expressions - A Simple User Guide
Search and Replace Regular Expressions
Regular Expression Library

[RockSpider]

Sheesh, man. using Assembler in this day and age is like learning to read and write ancient Greek - interesting, but pretty damn pointless. Just the right reason we need to do it.

Playing with an assembler does open one's eyes to what happens at the very lowest level in a computer. My time messing with an assembler gave me new respect for the tools and languages that already existed back in the 80's.

Have a ball and keep us posted on your progress.

[DiSSaRRaY]

I've installed it at worked and had a look at it... Really doesn't look too intimidating.
The syntax seems familiar to me for some reason. I still need to figure out how to actually write a program Haven't had time to read the tutorials...

[MavHawk]

I've downloaded the program. Was surprised to find that the compiler file size was a few mb. It installed perfectly. ....i'll play around with some of the examples first. Looks like a very good tool to have. Thanks DiSSaRRaY.

[DiSSaRRaY]

LOL, here's something very interesting:

What's wrong with asm?
* Assembly is hard to learn.
* Assembly is hard to read and understand.
* Assembly is hard to debug.
* Assembly is hard to maintain.
* Assembly is hard to write.
* Assembly language programming is time consuming.
* Improved compiler technology has eliminated the need for assembly language.
* Today, machines are so fast that we no longer need to use assembly.
* If you need more speed, you should use a better algorithm rather than switch to assembly language.
* Machines have so much memory today, saving space using assembly is not important.
* Assembly language is not portable.

What's right with asm?
* Speed. Assembly language programs are generally the fastest programs around.
* Space. Assembly language programs are often the smallest.
* Capability. You can do things in assembly which are difficult or impossible in HLLs.
* Knowledge. Your knowledge of assembly language will help you write better programs, even when using HLLs.

Bad-Good ratio - 11:4. That's a little scary.

Another good reference I found: The art of Assembly Language Programming
I can't wait to get home and try something out

I think I'll just try to write a small application which simply adds numbers until the user is finished.

I saw that the Borland Developer Studio has excellent capabilities in working with Assembler in your coding, or displaying the Assembler code for each line of code and allowing you to fully customize and optimize the code. Excellence (which is why working with a very well experienced programmer (aka: boss man) is awesome ).

We researched a bit of inline C# and Assembler coding... seems like it is possible, but not entirely sure. Guess I'll rather just learn a bit of Assembler before trying it.

[DiSSaRRaY]

I've downloaded the program. Was surprised to find that the compiler file size was a few mb. It installed perfectly. ....i'll play around with some of the examples first. Looks like a very good tool to have. Thanks DiSSaRRaY.

Ah! Didn't see this post.... Trust me, it's not a tool... it's a headache lol...
Have fun dude! And check out the resources I've posted so long.

[DiSSaRRaY]

Still haven't had much time to fool around with it.
Went to Kyalami on Saturday to check out the Super Series racing... what a fun day that was

Hopefully this week I'll be able to mess around with assembler more... as well as XNA Game Studio 3.0 hehe. We might enter a competition to create "A Fun Game"... I'll post the competition link once I get it again.

[MavHawk]

Count me inn, i'd love to be part of that project. I can assist with graphics and charater designs. I've never writen code for a game, but i'd love to learn.

[DiSSaRRaY]

Haaazzaaa!!! I found the link, quite easy actually lol.
We found out about this at the Microsoft DevDays 09', so we thought we might take a chance and see what happens... I just want to do it so I can do some "real" coding

Here's the link: Boring Games Are Dead
Note: I haven't even visited this page, I just got the link and posted... Visiting after this post hehe

[Pollynator]

I have done some XNA coding, I did a game for my Honors Project in XNA, it was a Multiplayer 2D game.
So if you want some resources just contact me I'd be willing to help.

Best place to start is the XNA Creators Club