y ppl chose NASM and TASM for operating system

[ravi]

hi

As i am a noob i couln't understand ,why people use NASM or TASM or any other assembler for their TINY OPERATING SYSTEM  like APPLICATIONS.I have seen many tuts with sorces but  i had to left them jst b'coz they were not in MASM . ARE NASM  and TASM better than that of MASM ?

Ravi

[hutch--]

Judge for yourself, MASM is capable of a 1k working Window.

[roticv]

There is nothing stop you from using masm if you own it legally. If you do and make use of it look at the limitations specified in the EULA. Anyway I never heard of people coding in TASM for OS coding, but people who code OS usually use NASM or FASM for portions that requires assembly. Personally I use FASM for such purposes.

[BogdanOntanu]

Anyway I never heard of people coding in TASM for OS coding

I use TASM for Solar OS. I prefer it to MASM because:
-I can use invoke/call with variabled defined AFTER the invoke
-I prefer the more explicit USE, ARG, LOCAL syntax variation
-I own a copy of TASM and could not buy a MASM one.
-it is the fastest assembler available and this matters for huge projects

Of course there are problems in TASM that have been solved in MASM.
But since i do know my ways I can affort to go around the problems.

I see no problem with people using *watever* assembler for their personal OS projects unless the assembler is very cryptic and you can not understand the algorithms anymore --- like OCTASM ---

I never intended to copy and paste code from other peoples work.
I rather understand the algorithms involved and do rewrite / tweak the code to my own ways.

I am developing my own assembler TASM/MASM compatible just to be able to do as I please and unchain myself from TASM :D

So making your own OS is like doing everything yourself ... for fun, learning and experimentation;
and under such circumstances one should never cry if other people do exactly the same...

[Vortex]

Judge for yourself, MASM is capable of a 1k working Window.

Hutch, you can do also the same thing with Tasm with the condition that you use MS link to link the Tasm object file.

[hutch--]

Vortex,

This may be so but the point I wanted to make is the 1k is the minimum and MASM easily delivers this minimum size.

[thomasantony]

Hi,
I use NASM for OsDev. Basically because there are lots of tools for it and it is something like the
assembla franca :toothy of OSDeving. You can also use direct jumps like jmp 0FFFFh:00h etc.
and you can easily produce plain binary files without playing with segment definitions and ORG statements. I MASM, a wrongly placed ORG 7C00h can make a file which has 7C00h zeroes in it :bdg . FASM is also good. But since I started with NASM, I am too lazy to translate even if the syntaxes are similiar. Its your choice.

Thomas  :U

[Bieb]

I thought it wasn't possible to write OS's in MASM.  Anyhow, even if it is possible, it would be against the MASM License Agreement.

[hutch--]

This much, an operating system is a far larger undertaking than a floppy disk boot sector and while OS development in free versions of MASM probably cannot be done, boot sectors on floppies are not "operating systems" so ther would be little problem writing one in MASM if it is possible.

An operating system is a far larger undertaking than anyone is going to do in an assembler (unless you are Bogdan Ontanu) so in most instances, the style of OS development that single programmers write as test pieces do not violate the MASM EULA.

This said, it is my impression that an assembler like NASM is probably best suited for the real mode to protected mode switch code. I gather FASM can also be used for this type of code.

[Xor Stance]

And Masm use only in Windows, because even if owned a payed ver of Masm, it would be hilarious in a deep sense something maded in MS
to write an another OS.

[rea]

Then if some one pass a little the stage of boot loader can be start to be considered a OS¿?

[thomasantony]

This much, an operating system is a far larger undertaking than a floppy disk boot sector and while OS development in free versions of MASM probably cannot be done, boot sectors on floppies are not "operating systems" so ther would be little problem writing one in MASM if it is possible.

An operating system is a far larger undertaking than anyone is going to do in an assembler (unless you are Bogdan Ontanu) .....

Grr..... :bdg :tdown

I take that as a challenge. I will take RooOs(my OS) beyond SolarOS or MenuetOS no matter how much time it may take :thumbu :thumbu :boohoo: :boohoo: :bdg

Thomas :U

[AeroASM]

I thought it wasn't possible to write OS's in MASM.  Anyhow, even if it is possible, it would be against the MASM License Agreement.

Why? I have been OK so far with my "test piece". Looks like I ll have to get nasm then.