Assembly Language for Intel-Based

Computers, 4th Edition

Kip R. Irvine

Chapter 3: Assembly Language

Fundamentals

Slides prepared by Kip R. Irvine

Revision date: 09/15/2002

• Chapter corrections (Web) Assembly language sources (Web)

(c) Pearson Education, 2002. All rights reserved. You may modify and copy this slide show for your personal use, or for
use in the classroom, as long as this copyright statement, the author's name, and the title are not changed.
 Chapter Overview

• Basic Elements of Assembly Language

• Example: Adding and Subtracting Integers
• Assembling, Linking, and Running Programs
• Defining Data
• Symbolic Constants
• Real-Address Mode Programming

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 2
 Basic Elements of Assembly Language

• Integer constants
• Integer expressions
• Character and string constants
• Reserved words and identifiers
• Directives and instructions
• Labels
• Mnemonics and Operands
• Comments
• Examples

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 3
 Integer Constants
• Optional leading + or – sign
• binary, decimal, hexadecimal, or octal digits
• Common radix characters:
• h – hexadecimal
• d – decimal
• b – binary
• r – encoded real

Examples: 30d, 6Ah, 42, 1101b

Hexadecimal beginning with letter: 0A5h

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 4
 Integer Expressions
• Operators and precedence levels:

• Examples:

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 5
 Character and String Constants
• Enclose character in single or double quotes
• 'A', "x"
• ASCII character = 1 byte
• Enclose strings in single or double quotes
• "ABC"
• 'xyz'
• Each character occupies a single byte
• Embedded quotes:
• 'Say "Goodnight," Gracie'

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 6
 Reserved Words and Identifiers
• Reserved words (Appendix D) cannot be used as
identifiers
• Instruction mnemonics, directives, type attributes,
operators, predefined symbols
• Identifiers
• 1-247 characters, including digits
• case insensitive (by default)
• first character must be a letter, _, @, or $
• Directives
• command understood by the assembler
• not part of Intel instruction set
• case insensitive

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 7
 Directives

• Commands that are recognized and acted

upon by the assembler
• Not part of the Intel instruction set
• Used to declare code, data areas, select
memory model, declare procedures, etc.
• Different assemblers have different directives
• NASM != MASM, for example

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 8
 Instructions

• Assembled into machine code by assembler

• Executed at runtime by the CPU
• Member of the Intel IA-32 instruction set
• Parts
• Label
• Mnemonic
• Operand
• Comment

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 9
 Labels

• Act as place markers

• marks the address (offset) of code and data
• Follow identifer rules
• Data label
• must be unique
• example: myArray (not followed by colon)
• Code label
• target of jump and loop instructions
• example: L1: (followed by colon)

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 10
 Mnemonics and Operands

• Instruction Mnemonics
• "reminder"
• examples: MOV, ADD, SUB, MUL, INC, DEC
• Operands
• constant (immediate value)
• constant expression
• register
• memory (data label)

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 11
 Comments
• Comments are good!
• explain the program's purpose
• when it was written, and by whom
• revision information
• tricky coding techniques
• application-specific explanations
• Single-line comments
• begin with semicolon (;)
• Multi-line comments
• begin with COMMENT directive and a programmer-
chosen character
• end with the same programmer-chosen character

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 12
 Instruction Format Examples

• No operands
• stc ; set Carry flag
• One operand
• inc eax ; register
• inc myByte ; memory
• Two operands
• add ebx,ecx ; register, register
• sub myByte,25 ; memory, constant
• add eax,36 * 25 ; register, constant-expression

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 13
Example: Adding and Subtracting Integers

TITLE Add and Subtract (AddSub.asm)

; This program adds and subtracts 32-bit integers.

INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
.code
main PROC
mov eax,10000h ; EAX = 10000h
add eax,40000h ; EAX = 50000h
sub eax,20000h ; EAX = 30000h
call DumpRegs ; display registers
exit
main ENDP
END main

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 14
 Example Output

Program output, showing registers and flags:

EAX=00030000 EBX=7FFDF000 ECX=00000101 EDX=FFFFFFFF

ESI=00000000 EDI=00000000 EBP=0012FFF0 ESP=0012FFC4
EIP=00401024 EFL=00000206 CF=0 SF=0 ZF=0 OF=0

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 15
 Suggested Coding Standards (1 of 2)

• Some approaches to capitalization

• capitalize nothing
• capitalize everything
• capitalize all reserved words, including instruction
mnemonics and register names
• capitalize only directives and operators
• Other suggestions
• descriptive identifier names
• spaces surrounding arithmetic operators
• blank lines between procedures

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 16
 Suggested Coding Standards (2 of 2)

• Indentation and spacing

• code and data labels – no indentation
• executable instructions – indent 4-5 spaces
• comments: begin at column 40-45, aligned vertically
• 1-3 spaces between instruction and its operands
• ex: mov ax,bx
• 1-2 blank lines between procedures

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 17
 Alternative Version of AddSub
TITLE Add and Subtract (AddSubAlt.asm)

; This program adds and subtracts 32-bit integers.

.386
.MODEL flat,stdcall
.STACK 4096

ExitProcess PROTO, dwExitCode:DWORD

DumpRegs PROTO

.code
main PROC
mov eax,10000h ; EAX = 10000h
add eax,40000h ; EAX = 50000h
sub eax,20000h ; EAX = 30000h
call DumpRegs
INVOKE ExitProcess,0
main ENDP
END main

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 18
 Program Template
TITLE Program Template (Template.asm)

; Program Description:
; Author: Instructors: please
; Creation Date: customize as needed
; Revisions:
; Date: Modified by:

INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
.data
; (insert variables here)
.code
main PROC
; (insert executable instructions here)
exit
main ENDP
; (insert additional procedures here)
END main

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 19
Assembling, Linking, and Running Programs

• Assemble-Link-Execute Cycle
• make32.bat
• Listing File
• Map File

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 20
 Assemble-Link Execute Cycle
• The following diagram describes the steps from creating a
source program through executing the compiled program.
• If the source code is modified, Steps 2 through 4 must be
repeated.

Link
Library
Step 2: Step 3: Step 4:
Source assembler Object linker Executable OS loader
Output
File File File

Listing Map
Step 1: text editor File File

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 21
 make32.bat
• Called a batch file
• Run it to assemble and link programs
• Contains a command that executes ML.EXE (the
Microsoft Assembler)
• Contains a command that executes LINK32.EXE (the
32-bit Microsoft Linker)
• Command-Line syntax:
make32 progName
(progName does not include the .asm extension)

Use make16.bat to assemble and link Real-mode programs

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 22
 Listing File

• Use it to see how your program is compiled

• Contains
• source code
• addresses
• object code (machine language)
• segment names
• symbols (variables, procedures, and constants)
• Example: addSub.lst

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 23
 Map File

• Information about each program segment:

• starting address
• ending address
• size
• segment type
• Example: addSub.map

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 24
 Defining Data
• Intrinsic Data Types
• Data Definition Statement
• Defining BYTE and SBYTE Data
• Defining WORD and SWORD Data
• Defining DWORD and SDWORD Data
• Defining QWORD Data
• Defining TBYTE Data
• Defining Real Number Data
• Little Endian Order
• Adding Variables to the AddSub Program
• Declaring Uninitialized Data

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 25
 Intrinsic Data Types (1 of 2)

• BYTE, SBYTE
• 8-bit unsigned integer; 8-bit signed integer
• WORD, SWORD
• 16-bit unsigned & signed integer
• DWORD, SDWORD
• 32-bit unsigned & signed integer
• QWORD
• 64-bit integer
• TBYTE
• 80-bit integer

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 26
 Intrinsic Data Types (2 of 2)

• REAL4
• 4-byte IEEE short real
• REAL8
• 8-byte IEEE long real
• REAL10
• 10-byte IEEE extended real

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 27
 Data Definition Statement

• A data definition statement sets aside storage in

memory for a variable.
• May optionally assign a name (label) to the data
• Syntax:
[name] directive initializer [,initializer] . . .
• All initializers become binary data in memory

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 28
 Defining BYTE and SBYTE Data
Each of the following defines a single byte of storage:

value1 BYTE 'A' ; character constant

value2 BYTE 0 ; smallest unsigned byte
value3 BYTE 255 ; largest unsigned byte
value4 SBYTE -128 ; smallest signed byte
value5 SBYTE +127 ; largest signed byte
value6 BYTE ? ; uninitialized byte

A variable name is a data label that implies an offset (an address).

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 29
 Defining Bytes

Examples that use multiple initializers:

list1 BYTE 10,20,30,40

list2 BYTE 10,20,30,40
BYTE 50,60,70,80
BYTE 81,82,83,84
list3 BYTE ?,32,41h,00100010b
list4 BYTE 0Ah,20h,‘A’,22h

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 30
 Defining Strings (1 of 3)

• A string is implemented as an array of characters

• For convenience, it is usually enclosed in quotation marks
• It usually has a null byte at the end
• Examples:

str1 BYTE "Enter your name",0

str2 BYTE 'Error: halting program',0
str3 BYTE 'A','E','I','O','U'
greeting BYTE "Welcome to the Encryption Demo program "
BYTE "created by Kip Irvine.",0

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 31
 Defining Strings (2 of 3)

• To continue a single string across multiple lines, end

each line with a comma:

menu BYTE "Checking Account",0dh,0ah,0dh,0ah,

"1. Create a new account",0dh,0ah,
"2. Open an existing account",0dh,0ah,
"3. Credit the account",0dh,0ah,
"4. Debit the account",0dh,0ah,
"5. Exit",0ah,0ah,
"Choice> ",0

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 32
 Defining Strings (3 of 3)

• End-of-line character sequence:

• 0Dh = carriage return
• 0Ah = line feed

str1 BYTE "Enter your name: ",0Dh,0Ah

BYTE "Enter your address: ",0

newLine BYTE 0Dh,0Ah,0

Idea: Define all strings used by your program in the same

area of the data segment.

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 33
 Using the DUP Operator
• Use DUP to allocate (create space for) an array or
string.
• Counter and argument must be constants or constant
expressions

var1 BYTE 20 DUP(0) ; 20 bytes, all equal to zero

var2 BYTE 20 DUP(?) ; 20 bytes, uninitialized
var3 BYTE 4 DUP("STACK") ; 20 bytes: "STACKSTACKSTACKSTACK"
var4 BYTE 10,3 DUP(0),20

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 34
 Defining WORD and SWORD Data

• Define storage for 16-bit integers

• or double characters
• single value or multiple values

word1 WORD 65535 ; largest unsigned value

word2 SWORD –32768 ; smallest signed value
word3 WORD ? ; uninitialized, unsigned
word4 WORD "AB" ; double characters
myList WORD 1,2,3,4,5 ; array of words
array WORD 5 DUP(?) ; uninitialized array

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 35
 Defining DWORD and SDWORD Data

Storage definitions for signed and unsigned 32-bit

integers:

val1 DWORD 12345678h ; unsigned

val2 SDWORD –2147483648 ; signed
val3 DWORD 20 DUP(?) ; unsigned array
val4 SDWORD –3,–2,–1,0,1 ; signed array

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 36
 Defining QWORD, TBYTE, Real Data

Storage definitions for quadwords, tenbyte values,

and real numbers:

quad1 QWORD 1234567812345678h

val1 TBYTE 1000000000123456789Ah
rVal1 REAL4 -2.1
rVal2 REAL8 3.2E-260
rVal3 REAL10 4.6E+4096
ShortArray REAL4 20 DUP(0.0)

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 37
 Little Endian Order

• All data types larger than a byte store their individual

bytes in reverse order. The least significant byte occurs
at the first (lowest) memory address.

• Example:
val1 DWORD 12345678h

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 38
 Adding Variables to AddSub
TITLE Add and Subtract, Version 2 (AddSub2.asm)
; This program adds and subtracts 32-bit unsigned
; integers and stores the sum in a variable.
INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
.data
val1 DWORD 10000h
val2 DWORD 40000h
val3 DWORD 20000h
finalVal DWORD ?
.code
main PROC
mov eax,val1 ; start with 10000h
add eax,val2 ; add 40000h
sub eax,val3 ; subtract 20000h
mov finalVal,eax ; store the result (30000h)
call DumpRegs ; display the registers
exit
main ENDP
END main

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 39
 Declaring Unitialized Data

• Use the .data? directive to declare an unintialized data segment:

.data?
bigArray DWORD 5000 DUP(?)
• Versus
.data
smallArray DWORD 10 DUP(0)
bigArray DWORD 5000 DUP(?)

Advantage: the program's EXE file size is reduced.

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 40
 Symbolic Constants

• Equal-Sign Directive
• Calculating the Sizes of Arrays and Strings
• EQU Directive
• TEXTEQU Directive

Unlike a variable definition, a symbolic constant does no

use any storage.
Symbols are used only during the assembly time.

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 41
 Equal-Sign Directive
• name = expression
• expression is a 32-bit integer (expression or constant)
• may be redefined
• name is called a symbolic constant
• good programming style to use symbols

Esc_key = 27
mov al, Esc_key
Count = 5
Array Count Dup(0)
Count = 10
Mov al, Count

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 42
 Calculating the Size of a Byte Array

• current location counter: $

• subtract address of list
• difference is the number of bytes

list BYTE 10,20,30,40

ListSize = ($ - list)

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 43
 Calculating the Size of a Word Array

• current location counter: $

• subtract address of list
• difference is the number of bytes
• divide by 2 (the size of a word)

list WORD 1000h,2000h,3000h,4000h

ListSize = ($ - list) / 2

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 44
Calculating the Size of a Doubleword Array

• current location counter: $

• subtract address of list
• difference is the number of bytes
• divide by 4 (the size of a doubleword)

list DWORD 1,2,3,4

ListSize = ($ - list) / 4

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 45
 EQU Directive

• Define a symbol as either an integer or text

expression.
• Cannot be redefined

PI EQU <3.1416>
pressKey EQU <"Press any key to continue...",0>
.data
prompt BYTE pressKey

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 46
 TEXTEQU Directive
• Define a symbol as either an integer or text expression.
• Called a text macro
• Can be redefined

continueMsg TEXTEQU <"Do you wish to continue (Y/N)?">

rowSize = 5
.data
prompt1 BYTE continueMsg
count TEXTEQU %(rowSize * 2) ; evaluates the expression
move TEXTEQU <mov>
setupAL TEXTEQU <move al,count>
.code
setupAL ; generates: "mov al,10"

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 47
 Real-Address Mode Programming (1 of 2)

• Generate 16-bit MS-DOS Programs

• Advantages
• enables calling of MS-DOS and BIOS functions
• no memory access restrictions
• Disadvantages
• must be aware of both segments and offsets
• cannot call Win32 functions (Windows 95 onward)
• limited to 640K program memory

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 48
 Real-Address Mode Programming (2 of 2)

• Requirements
• INCLUDE Irvine16.inc
• Initialize DS to the data segment:
mov ax,@data
mov ds,ax

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 49
 Add and Subtract, 16-Bit Version
TITLE Add and Subtract, Version 2 (AddSub2.asm)
INCLUDE Irvine16.inc
.data
val1 DWORD 10000h
val2 DWORD 40000h
val3 DWORD 20000h
finalVal DWORD ?
.code
main PROC
mov ax,@data ; initialize DS
mov ds,ax
mov eax,val1 ; get first value
add eax,val2 ; add second value
sub eax,val3 ; subtract third value
mov finalVal,eax ; store the result
call DumpRegs ; display registers
exit
main ENDP
END main

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 50
 46 69 6E 69 73

Irvine, Kip R. Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers, 2003. Web site Examples 51