Request for detailed information about the differences between the assembly ver.

[stk]

Hi experts,

can someone explain(detailed) the following questions:

1.
Is there a first assembly dialect which rules are valid in each later developed assembly dialect,
and is someone using this today?

2.
If i learn for example GoASM, is it possible to use MASM later if i want, without starting to learn
MASM like any other newby in MASM who has no assemlbly experience?


Thank you!

regards,
stk

[jorgon]

stk

The assembler mnemonics are mostly common to all assemblers.  These mnemonics are not established by the authors of the assembler itself.  Instead, they are established by the manufacturers of the processors.  You can see this by looking at the manuals and data sheets for the processors themselves (these can be obtained from the Intel or AMD sites for example).

Also the names of the registers are mostly common between assemblers, since they too have been chosen by the processor manufacturers.

Things that differ between assemblers are the way data is declared and referenced, and how functions are declared and used.  Also there are differences in how macros, equates and structures are used.  However even with these things there is a large overlap in the syntax that is used.

Since the various assemblers have a lot in common, personally I would see no difficulty at all in learning the syntax for one assembler, and then moving to another if you decide you like it better.

[stk]

from jorgon:

and then moving to another if you decide you like it better.

not better, but is it possible that i can't solve a problem which the assembly
dialect i am using (GoASM) so that i must use another, or can each assemblers
do the same and it's only the choice of the programmer which he want to use?

[jorgon]

What problem do you have?

[stk]

Sorry i mean not problem, i mean project.
So is it possible that a programmer starts a project which
is realizable only with the GoASM or MASM or FASM or TASM or whatever
assembler?

stk

[hutch--]

stk,

The instructions available under any given processor family remain the same from one assembler to another but the notation and capacity between assemblers have considerable variation which reflects their variable capacity. If you are practiced at one assembler and know a reasonable amount about how all of it works, it is reasonably simple to transfer the skills to another assembler when you write bare mnemonic code but many capacities available in one assembler will not be available in another.

[stk]

hutch--,

thank you.