Ex-Assembler Programmer Would Like To Do It Again...

[Pandroid]

Hi,

I formally worked as a real-time software engineer back in the 1970s/80s and, as many people on Tek-Tips will sympathise with, I'm pretty addicted to programming. I have recently been using Dev-C to develop console-based stuff and found it a useful exercise but without the thrill I get when coding/testing/debugging assembler code.

So for the past week or so I've been trawling around for an assembler that I can use. I've downloaded free versions of GoAsm, MASM, TASM, and FASM, along with any documentation and examples I could find to help with them.

I have managed to install GoAsm and the EasyCode IDE but am having real trouble finding simple examples, or tutorials, of console-based programs.

My question is:

Could anyone please suggest a well-supported assembler for the beginner that can run both Windows console-based and Windows API programs. One with numerous idiot-proof examples would be appreciated as I have the handicap of ZERO Windows programming experience. A free version would be appreciated but I am willing to pay for a 'decent' example?

If I don't get help soon I'm gonna have to start looking for Commodore 64s and reverting to 6502 assembler...sad eh?

Pandroid

There are 10 types of people in this world...
Those who understand binary and those who don't!

 

[Glenn9999]

If it helps, I looked at one time when I got in mind to learn ASM and found The Netwide Assembler as perhaps the best example of a free code assembler. And I found a few instruction manuals on ASM so I should be fine there. Of course, with time the way it is, and my other projects of interest, I haven't gotten the time to start learning, but hopefully that can change some year down the road.

As far as examples, I'm not sure what you're looking for. Much isn't going to change in the x86 asm arena so you can take for gospel most anything produced since that was created. There are a few new instructions that have been introduced, but nothing significant to worry about too much.

Perhaps the big obstacle to learn is the Win32 API, which would be what you would have to go through to handle Windows things. To start in the Win32 API, you might want to learn/use a higher level language so you can brush aside the ASM and see what is going on in each of your calls. You might even prototype/test to start out so you know you get the Win32 API part right before you work in ASM on anything. Win32 API Console programs aren't that hard, though, so you should be able to roll out some OBJs to handle that for you in no time.

But the key thing to point out is that high-level languages are just as efficient as ASM in many things, to the point that human coding time is considered much more valuable. Most these days code in the HLL and then profile the program and use ASM to optimize the hot-spots the profiler reveals. From a practical standpoint, you would do well to do this...

Hope that helps.

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Measurement is not management.