From: raymoon@dgsys.com (Raymond Moon) Newsgroups: alt.lang.asm,comp.lang.asm.x86,news.answers,alt.answers,comp.answers Subject: x86 Assembly Language FAQ - A86 and D86 Supersedes: <4e40q7$2bi@news.dgsys.com> Followup-To: alt.lang.asm,comp.lang.asm.x86 Date: 21 Feb 1996 01:33:54 GMT Organization: MoonWare Lines: 341 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Distribution: world Expires: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 23:59:59 GMT Message-ID: <4gdsq2$o9c@news.dgsys.com> Reply-To: raymoon@moonware.dgsys.com Summary: This is the FAQ for the x86 Assembly Language programmers for the alt.lang.asm and comp.lang.asm.x86 newsgroups. This particular section of the FAQ contains x86 assembly information specific to the Eric Isaacson's shareware A86 assembler and D86 debugger. Keywords: x86 Assemby Language ASM FAQ A86 D86 Archive-name: assembly-language/x86/a86 Posting-Frequency: monthly (21st of every month) Last-modified: 1996/01/17 ------------------------------ Subject: 1. Introduction and Intent This is the x86 Assembly Language FAQ for the comp.lang.asm.x86 and alt.lang.asm newsgroups. This FAQ is posted monthly on or about the 21st of the month on both newsgroups and news.answers, alt.answers and comp.answers. It also is archived at the normal FAQ archival sites and the SimTel mirror sites in the msdos/info directory. Lastly, the current version is available from my web page as: http://www2.dgsys.com/~raymoon/faq/asmfaq.zip Currently, this FAQ is broken into six sections. The following are the section filenames and the scope of each section of the FAQ. assembly-language/x86/general/part1 - This is the basic portion of the FAQ that contains information of interest to all assembly language programmers. In general, the information contained in this portion of the FAQ is not specific to any particular assembler. assembly-language/x86/general/part2 - This is a continuation of the above FAQ. assembly-language/x86/general/part3 - This is a continuation of the above FAQ. assembly-language/x86/microsoft - This portion of the FAQ contains information specific for the Microsoft MASM. assembly-language/x86/borland - This portion of the FAQ contains information specific for the Borland TASM. assembly-language/x86/a86 - This portion of the FAQ contains information specific for the Shareware A86 Assembler and D86 Debugger. The scope and content of this FAQ is to go beyond just answering the frequently asked questions. I am including pointers to assembly language treasure troves that are hidden out on the internet. I believe that this will enhance the FAQ's value not only to the novices but also to the old hands. Any subject listed as "OPEN" means that this topic as been requested but no one has come forth and volunteered to write this section. Volunteers please indicate your intentions to the author listed below either by posting to either newsgroup or by sending e-mail to the author at the below address. The general guidelines for submission are: * accuracy and conciseness; * pointers to where on the internet more detailed information is available; and * any code submitted will be generic so that most assemblers can assemble successfully. Any subject listed as "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" has a volunteer currently writing that subject. If you desire to assist or have some information that you believe would be of help in writing that particular subject, contact the contributor of that subject or post to both newsgroups. Once a subject is submitted to me, I will post it on both newsgroups for comment. After any changes that may be necessary are made, I will include it in the next posting of the FAQ. For the ease of determining what has changed since the last FAQ, the Table of Contents will have "REVISED" at the end of the subject line for all revised subjects. If more than one FAQ revision has been missed, the "Last Changed:" entry at the end of each subject can be used to determine which subjects have been revised during the intervening time frame. The information in this FAQ is free for all to use as long as you acknowledge the source. This FAQ can be reproduced in part or in its entirety as long as the copyright is included. This FAQ can be made available on public servers, like ftp, gopher or WWW servers. Please do not modify the file, such as converting it into some other format, without prior permission of the author. All references to files and locations are in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) format. Some web browser will be able to use these URLs directly as hot links. If the format is not clear to you, get RFC 1738. It is available from: ftp://is.internic.net/rfc/rfc1738.txt Suggestions for changes and comments are always welcome. They can be posted to either newsgroup or e-mailed directly to the me. Author: Raymond Moon, raymoon@moonware.dgsys.com Copyright 1996 - Raymond Moon ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Last Changed: 17 Feb 96 ------------------------------ Subject: 2. Table of Contents 1. Introduction And Intent REVISED 2. Table Of Contents REVISED 3. What is A86 Assembler and Where Can I Get It 4. Structuring Assembly Language in A86 5. A386/D386 Availability 6. A86 Source Code Site 7. Acknowledgments ------------------------------ Subject: 3. What is A86 Assembler and Where Can I Get It 3.1 A86 ASSEMBLER - A86V402.ZIP The A86 is Eric Isaacson's shareware assembler. The latest version is 4.02 and support up to the 286 instruction set. This assembler does not support the extended registers and instructions introduced with the 386 processor. This assembler accepts assembly language source files, and transforms them directly into either: (1) .COM files executable under MS-DOS, starting at offset 0100 within a code segment; (2) .OBJ files suitable for feeding to a linker; or (3) object files starting at offset 0, suitable for copying to ROMs. A86 is a full featured program designed to be as closely compatible to the standard Intel/IBM assembly language as possible. Some of A86's features are: - Assembly speed - Ease of use - Support modular programming even in .com files - Support very large programming projects - Full featured macro capability - Support for math coprocessor instructions - Supported by its own debugger, D86 New features of version 4.02 are: - INCLUDE file support - listings - no limit on size of sourse files - forward references in complex expressions - END operand - default ORG END in DATA SEGMENT 3.2 D86 DEBUGGER - D86V402.ZIP The D86 is Eric Isaacson's shareware debugger. The latest version is 4.02. D86 is a screen-oriented debugger that facilitates the troubleshooting of faulty computer programs written for the IBM-PC and all compatibles. D86 can freeze the state of a program so that the values of registers, flags, and memory can be investigated. The program's execution can be monitored by stepping it one instruction or procedure at a time; or starting the program running, telling D86 to stop it when it reaches certain locations. D86 recognizes the symbol-table output of the A86 assembler, creating a symbolic disassembly of a A86 program, and allowing referenced to locations and variables by name. Some of D86's features are: - Values of registers, flags and stack top are displayed at a fixed location on the screen. - Support for viewing memory contents in a variety of types including complicated structures. - Support for displaying math coprocessor registers New features of version 4.02 are: - Keystroke scripts - macro keys - Undo command - file copy and delete 3.3 OTHER FILES A86CNVRT.ZIP This file contains information on converting MASM files into A86 files. The information is dated and a better source is Chapter 12 of the A86 documentation. D86BIOS4.ZIP If your computer does not have an IBM-compatible BIOS, this file will help getting D86, the debugger, to work with your BIOS. 3.4 FILE AVAILABILITY All files are available from SimTel ftp://ftp.coast.net/SimTel/msdos/asmutil mget ?86* For all files or mget ?86v402.zip or the basic A86 and D86 files Contributor: Raymond Moon, raymoon@moonware.dgsys.com Last changed: 4 Nov 95 ------------------------------ Subject: 4. Structuring Assembly Language in A86 John Barnes has converted the macros from Kurt Schindler's "Structure: The Complete Toolkit for Structuring Assembly Language Programs." John Barnes warns that the every macro has not been proofed and tested completely. These macros are available from SimTel. ftp://ftp.coast.net/SimTel/msdos/asmutil/struca86.zip Contributor: Raymond Moon, raymoon@moonware.dgsys.com Last changed: 8 Jan 95 ------------------------------ Subject: 5. A386/D386 Availability I have received the following information about A386/D386 availability from the author, Mr.Eric Isaacson: A preliminary version of A386+D386 currently is shipping on the registered A86+D86 disk. The A386 implements the entire 386/486/Pentium instruction set, including 32-bit registers, 32-bit expression arithmetic, and 32-bit memory indexing. The only major feature not yet implemented is segments of type USE32 (i.e., flat mode). There is not any schedule date for completing that last feature. Note that the A86-only registered disk does not have A386. the A386 disk is available for $80 to get A386 ($82 overseas, $84 in Indiana). The printed manual that covers everything is an additional $10 ($15 overseas, $10.50 in Indiana). If you already have registered A86+D86, the A386 disk is available for the normal update service fee of $10 ($12 overseas, $10.50 in Indiana). If A86 but not D86 is registered, the A386 disk is available for $40 ($42 overseas or Indiana). Again, the printed manual is extra. Contributor: Raymond Moon, raymoon@moonware.dgsys.com Last changed: 20 May 95 ------------------------------ Subject 6: A86 Source Code Site 6.1 WHERE The following programs include A86 source code and are available: ftp://kludge.byron.apana.org.au/pub/jtsoftware 6.2 WARNING - NOT A SPEED DEMON Just a warning that the Oz link may be a bit slow (100 cps) but none of the files are huge. The largest, colrboot.zip and kwikhelp.zip are on SimTel. 6.3 A FASTER WAY IS NOW AVAILABLE Jim Tucker has installed procmail and all files at the above ftp site now are available by e-mail request. For information e-mail: To: netpic@byron.apana.org.au Subject: send help The response is automatic and the body of the message will be ignored. The help file will explain how to request a descriptive list of all files, an ls -al' of the directory and how to request the files. Non-ASCII files, i.e., .zip files, will be returned UUEncoded. You may request Jim Tucker's UUDecoder, MUUD.COM, an ASCII executiable Netrun program, which does not need decoding. 6.4 FILES AVAILABLE AND DESCRIPTION ================================================================================ FILES MARKED * are available on SimTel (check the version number). FILES MARKED # include A86 assembler source code ================================================================================ colrboot.zip *# Writes a boot sector to floppies which displays color text if user tries to boot from the disk. Works with non-system disks through BIOS. The display is NOT a file. Choice of many displays. Can boot from C drive etc. Useful A86 boot sector source code included. kwikhelp.zip *# Lets you create your own TSR screens easily and quickly. Includes A86 source code. eatpaper.zip # 10 silly TSRs which make your dot matrix printer do silly things. Source code included. Useful if you want to write TSRs to control your printer. kbutils.zip # A single TSR that includes: Constant fat cursor that *always* works, instant abort from program loops, send LF FF Skip perf code to the printer from hotkeys. The source code is included. muud.zip # A mini-UUDecoder. Does most things but reads only a single source file. Its claim to fame is it is only 950 bytes and uses only 40 lines of ASCII in NETRUN. The NETRUN file is included so you can e-mail it to somebody without a decoder. Includes the source code. MUUD.NPX This is muud in executable ASCII. It will run with either DOS or UNIX end line codes without decoding! rot13.zip # A trivial thing. You might like to see the source. Uses my macros but the algorithm might be useful. drlite.zip # Shows lites on screen when drive(s) active (my computer is under the desk). Works a treat. cputimer.zip # Net people are always asking how do you time a CPU. Here's how I do it. Dead easy. Source included. colrprmt.zip # I have drives A-H and need to easily see which one is current. I came up with this. It changes the color of the DOS prompt. It cheats a lot, but it works. Source included. mymacros.zip # I use macros a bit... especially "say@ 'blah blah'" This might help. You'll need to be versed in A86. You should also have the registered version of A86. tetris.zip # It seems silly to include a game in a serious program. (NETPIC -#). It's only 500 bytes so what the heck. Here's the program (stand alone) and the source code. I've removed the macros so A86 will assemble this for you. fptofile.zip # Yet another print to disk. This one is better. Has hot keys for on-off. Variable buffer size JIM (load high). Change target filename while loaded. Etc etc etc. This includes the FULL source code for A86 (it will assemble as is) and FULL listings file. Grab this if you are learning assembler. com2data.zip # Converts a COM or EXE file (or anything really) to ASM data statements. I use this to execute a C program from within a .COM program written in assembler. Includes source code and source suggestions for use. Contributor: Jim Tucker, jtucker@byron.apana.org.au or jtucker@adam.com.au Last changed: 29 Aug 95 ------------------------------ Subject: 7. Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge all the people who have assisted me or any of the contributors. For their time and effort, this FAQ is a better product. John Krueger and Gary Smith