Re: MASM now on the Web!

[drhowarddrfine]

Aaaw, maaaaaaannnnnnn.

[Ossa]

Nice to have it there, thanks.

Even though I have never written commercial applications yet, the EULA does put me off - when coupled with the loss of functionality it seems that when I DO get to 64-bit, I won't be using MASM. GoAsm (or maybe FASM?) seems to be the way to go at the moment.

[edit] I'm somewhat surprised actually: I assume that MASM comes with other versions of VC++/or with the XP (or XP64) DDK, as otherwise hardware driver developers/games programmers cannot use it commercially. If so, I will just order the DDK and get it with a much nicer EULA. [/edit]

Ossa

[PBrennick]

For myself, I call this a victory.  Sure it is a baby step, but it 'is' a step in the right direction.

Paul

[hutch--]

Kang Su,

Thanks for letting us know, I have no doubt that many people in the hobbyist / student area will find this an interesting download if they have the bandwidth to get a 340 meg download with the Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition.  :U

[sinsi]

It doesn't require VC Express (or any Visual Studio product) if you just unzip it.

[hutch--]

I have just done a complete install of the VC express edition and by turning off the IDE option, the download drops to 94 meg which is a lot better than the 340 for the complete package. It installs NET 2.0 and you get the latest set of binaries with LINK, CL.EXE and RC.EXE. The ML update that Kang Su posted then installs in an instant and you have the most up to date set of Microsoft binaries for your personal projects.

NOTE that the VC Express edition of ML cannot be used for commercial development.

There are a couple of minor issues with the WINDOWS.INC include file in MASM32 that have to be dealt with and this will be done shortly.

This is the edition of ML.

Code Select Expand


Microsoft (R) Macro Assembler Version 8.00.50727.104
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

        ML [ /options ] filelist [ /link linkoptions ]

/AT Enable tiny model (.COM file)         /omf generate OMF format object file
/Bl<linker> Use alternate linker          /Sa Maximize source listing
/c Assemble without linking               /safeseh Assert all exception
/Cp Preserve case of user identifiers              handlers are declared
/Cu Map all identifiers to upper case     /Sf Generate first pass listing
/Cx Preserve case in publics, externs     /Sl<width> Set line width
/coff generate COFF format object file    /Sn Suppress symbol-table listing
/D<name>[=text] Define text macro         /Sp<length> Set page length
/EP Output preprocessed listing to stdout /Ss<string> Set subtitle
/F <hex> Set stack size (bytes)           /St<string> Set title
/Fe<file> Name executable                 /Sx List false conditionals
/Fl[file] Generate listing                /Ta<file> Assemble non-.ASM file
/Fm[file] Generate map                    /w Same as /W0 /WX
/Fo<file> Name object file                /WX Treat warnings as errors
/FPi Generate 80x87 emulator encoding     /W<number> Set warning level
/Fr[file] Generate limited browser info   /X Ignore INCLUDE environment path
/FR[file] Generate full browser info      /Zd Add line number debug info
/G<c|d|z> Use Pascal, C, or Stdcall calls /Zf Make all symbols public
/H<number> Set max external name length   /Zi Add symbolic debug info
/I<name> Add include path                 /Zm Enable MASM 5.10 compatibility
/link <linker options and libraries>      /Zp[n] Set structure alignment
/nologo Suppress copyright message        /Zs Perform syntax check only
/errorReport:<option> Report internal assembler errors to Microsoft
    none - do not send report
    prompt - prompt to immediately send report
    queue - at next admin logon, prompt to send report
    send - send report automatically


[kanggatl]

I'm glad to see some people downloading it. 

I should note that while I would have liked a non-restricted EULA, it was a choice between getting something out to address people whom I knew wanted it today (lots of students and hobbyists) or to wait longer (due to more paperwork, justification, all that not-so fun stuff) to address to address an audience that probably already has MASM.  As someone earlier pointed out, most commercial vendors will either use the DDK or have an MSDN subscription, and get MASM that way. 

Also, while MASM is for non-commercial use only, VC Express can be used for commercial development.  See Q4 on this page (the question of commercial use of the Express Editions comes up a LOT):  http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/support/faq/

And yes, baby steps.  Gotta walk before you run... and sometimes when you start running you trip... but you clean your knees and try again.

Kang Su Gatlin
kanggatl AT microsoft DOT com

[James Ladd]

Kang Su Gatlin,

Thanks.

Please can you tell Tony Goodhew to spend more time here ?

Rgs, James.

[hutch--]

Kang Su,

Thanks for putting in the effort of getting this download available. At some stage in the future it would be handy to have it licenced in the same way as the VC exspress edition as per Q4 on the link you have supplied but its no mad rush.

With the VC 2005 binaries, I have been impressed with the progress on CL.EXE. I have long played with VC6 CL and the later VC2003 toolkit version and both were good performers but the CL version in VC2005 is a better tool again and has a lot cleaner options in terms of optimisation. I am also impressed with the assembler code output as it is a lot tidier than the earlier versions.

Putting tools of this quality in the hands of younger developers is a good marketting strategy in that what a programmer learn with they can think in for many years later. My generation learnt of MSC6 (1990), the original SDK, MASM 6.0 and the PDS and QB versions of basic and this architecture sticks to you over many years so it is a sensible investment to make in younger programmers.

I am inclined to think that .NET is the future for the vast middle range of software development and this will impact on current markets like VB, VC/MFC, Delphi and the like but there will always be a market in what is now called "unmanaged code" using tools like CL and ML for OS components, performance critical code and similar applications.

[daydreamer]

nice

[drizz]

some bugs are still not fixed, might as well use v6.15....

Code Select Expand


.686
.model flat,c
option casemap:none
.code
proc0 proc c args:vararg
ret
proc0 endp
start proc c
LOCAL i:byte,j:word
;; this wont work
invoke proc0,i,j
;; this works
invoke proc0,sbyte ptr i,sword ptr j
ret
start endp
end start


[GregL]

This is a very nice gesture on the part of Kang Su Gatlin and Microsoft. It is much appreciated.  :U 

I must admit I too am a bit put off by the EULA, hopefully that will change in the future. In my opinion the EULA should match the VC++ 2005 Express Edition EULA.

[Manos]

It doesn't require VC Express (or any Visual Studio product) if you just unzip it.

I unziped this but I took setup.exe, vc_masm1.cab and vc_masm.msi.
If I run setup.exe or vc_masm.msi, I take a message that tell me
that VC Express required.

Manos.

[japheth]

> If I run setup.exe or vc_masm.msi, I take a message that tell me
> that VC Express required.

if you extract the stuff several times (use 7zip), you are getting:

- MASMSetup.exe
  - setup.exe
    - vc_masm1.cab
      - FL_ml_exe_____X86.3643236F_FC70_11D3_A536_0090278A1BB8
    - vc_masm.msi

the longish name can be renamed to ML.EXE, there is no difference to the binary installed by the regular setup.exe. Besides ML.EXE, you just need MSVCR80.DLL (view the compatibility thread)

[japheth]

> Feel free to write if you have any questions

Well, yes, I have one: are there any new features included in masm v8 compared to the previous version? I don't dare to add "features which justify a new main version number". The old and well-known bugs all have remained in the new version, new bugs may have been introduced, so I wonder if there is anything to benefit from.