[comp.unix.ultrix] VAX Ultrix assembler info

ghelmer@dsuvax.uucp (Guy Helmer) (11/20/90)

Hello!  I am in desperate need of guidance, as I am in search of
good reference materials for the VAX Ultrix assembler.  The target
audience of this information is undergrad students, and I need to
find a good reference detailing things like the instruction set
and registers, grammar of the assembler, running the assembler and
loader, and other things pertinent to teaching a class VAX assembler
language.

I am having a bit of trouble locating such material.  All help
is graciously accepted.  Thank you.

-- 
Guy Helmer                           helmer@sdnet.bitnet, uunet!dsuvax!ghelmer
work: DSU Computing Services, Business & Education Institute    (605) 256-5315
play: MidIX System Support Services                             (605) 256-2788
postnews: message content ambiguous; spurious information added as required

grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins) (11/21/90)

In article <1990Nov19.203115.14061@dsuvax.uucp> ghelmer@dsuvax.uucp (Guy Helmer) writes:
> Hello!  I am in desperate need of guidance, as I am in search of
> good reference materials for the VAX Ultrix assembler.  The target
> audience of this information is undergrad students, and I need to
> find a good reference detailing things like the instruction set
> and registers, grammar of the assembler, running the assembler and
> loader, and other things pertinent to teaching a class VAX assembler
> language.

You have a bit of a problem...  The unix assemblers aren't really intended
as general purpose assemblers, rather they are compiler back ends that
you can hand write code for if you really want to.

There is a section on the VAX assembler in the orginal Berkeley manual
set that is distributed as Ultrix supplementary documentation.  It's
pretty sketchy.

> I am having a bit of trouble locating such material.  All help
> is graciously accepted.  Thank you.

Much as I hate to admit it, but if you intend to teach a traditional
assembly language class, I'd recommed using VMS, where you can find
a traditional full-featured macro-assembler.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,     uucp:   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing:   domain: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com
Commodore, Engineering Department     phone:  215-431-9349 (only by moonlite)

moss@cs.umass.edu (Eliot Moss) (11/24/90)

I use the Ultrix Supplementary documents information for my compilers class
(having acquired the appropriate copyright permissions!) as well as a small
softcover book that I sweet talked my local Digital sales rep into providing
(enough copies for the class). The book gives reasonable details of the VAX
architecture and programming. Of course, some of the opcodes are not precisely
the same (Berkeley had different ideas), and this is for folks who are
presumed to have coded in assembly before. It works well for us, when
supplemented with appropriate lectures .....			Eliot Moss
--

		J. Eliot B. Moss, Assistant Professor
		Department of Computer and Information Science
		Lederle Graduate Research Center
		University of Massachusetts
		Amherst, MA  01003
		(413) 545-4206; Moss@cs.umass.edu