aland@infmx.informix.com (Colonel Panic) (12/28/90)
Here is a summary of the responses I received regarding books for Intel
80*86 assembler (and specifically MASM 5.1+). Hope this proves
helpful. Thanks to all who responded.
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 13:06:53 -0500
From: Jim Kenyon <uunet!css.itd.umich.edu!jkenyon>
Try the Waite Group's ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PRIMER for the IBM PC & XT
-- by now it probably contains 286 and 386 additions --
It has good, simple, example programs to get you started. It certainly
isn't an Assembly Bible but is a good place to start.
BTW, coming from 370 land, you have a certain advantage -- 370's base
displacement scheme is sort of like the segment-offset scheme in the
Intel line.
-Jim
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 10:47:31 -0500
From: uunet!ds1.scri.fsu.edu!curci (Raymond Curci)
I use the "iAPX 86/88, 186/188 User's Manual - Programmer
Reference" published by Intel. Many of the companies that distribute
Intel ICs have these books for free. It gives a consise explanation of
the architecture, followed by an alphabetical listing of the instruction
set. All instructions are on separate pages including an explanation,
related flags, instruction timings, etc. The book is a little bit
terse, but will probably save you time if you already have experience
programming in another assembly language. Of course, the best manuals
to teach you about MASM v5.1 are probably the manuals packaged with the
software.
Ray Curci
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From: uunet!math.rutgers.edu!bumby (Richard Bumby)
I bought a couple of books that I would not recommend. In exchange
for some reviewing, a publisher sent me a textbook for an
undergraduate assembly language course that was aimed at the IBM-PC.
This seemed pretty good, but the assembler directives were not
identical to the ones used by the assembler that came with my Manx
Aztec-C. If you have MASM, this should not be a problem. Some hints
follow.
If you just want to write assembly language, and are not concerned
with the machine language, disregard all descriptions of the machine
language. I bought one book because it contained this information, but
then found that it did not bother to mention the default segments
assumed in the memory to memory moves (I forget the actual name of the
instruction).
Complete examples of programs will be useful. It's nice to know all
about each instruction, but there are enough of them that you need a
guide to the inportant ones. Someone who can devise a good simple
example is a master teacher. You probably know enough to recognize
examples that will teach you something.
You should probably post a summary of the responses -- especially
those that identify the weaknesses in the books being pushed at your
local shop.
--
--R. T. Bumby ** Math ** Rutgers ** New Brunswick ** NJ08903 ** USA --
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 20:34 EST
From: uunet!CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu!BUMY%VAX5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU
Dear Alan,
Saw your post asking for books on MASM. The 1 I was most impressed
with unfortunately is out of print. It was by the Waite group and introduced
MASM 2. I currently have the Microsoft Macro assemble bible also by the
Waite group and I think it would be an excellent introduction as well as
a primary reference. With the simplified templates starting in version
5, I think the learning process would be much faster if I had to redo it.
The book is well organized and also covers the debugger but a bit skimpy on
tutorial type stuff. However, there are extensive code fragments to show
how the instructions are used. Highly recomended if you want to do serious
MASM programming.
$26.95 ISBN 0-672-22659-6
by Nabajyoti Barkakati
Jerry M. Wright Dept Pharmacology Cornell Univ Ithaca,NY 14853
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Date: Fri, 23 Nov 90 15:11:12 EST
From: uunet!rpi.edu!quimby
The best I've seen is "The 8086 Book", Russell Rector - George
Alexy, Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1980. It includes a very detailed
description of the architecture, a thorough breakdown of
each instruction, and tables and charts for everything.
Indespensable, but doesn't cover the 286/386 or x87. For
those try "80386/80286 Assembly Language Programming", also
from Osborne/McGraw-Hill. The instruction breakdown isn't
as good as Rector-Alexy, but the section on x287/x387
programming makes up for it.
Quimby
(replies to: quimby@mts.rpi.edu, quimby@rpitsmts.bitnet)
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Date: Tue, 27 Nov 90 13:16:00 -0800
From: uunet!WLV.IMSD.CONTEL.COM!pete%WLBR (Pete Lyall)
I just went through the same search ... best find: Mastering Turbo
Assembler. Good cross reference listings for BIOS calls, interrupts,
and the ASM mnemonics (which surprisingly, many books on the subject
DON'T have...). $25 +/- I picked it up at a B. Dalton or WaldenBooks..
Pete Lyall
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Date: Tue, 27 Nov 90 15:19:03 CST
From: uunet!tusun2.mcs.utulsa.edu!mcknight (Chuck McKnight - Law)
Alan,
Get the Peter Norton Guide to Assembly Language on the IBM PC. It's the book
I started with. It gives a good grounding in the basics.
Chuck
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--
Alan Denney # aland@informix.com # {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland
"Out on the highway doing 98... radio's blastin', and he's tempting fate
He swears he saw an angel in a black Corvette
She was blowing him kisses through her cigarette
Boy's gone crazy; it's not just a phase, he's one step over the line..."
"Boy's Gone Crazy", Was (Not Was)kaufman@delta.eecs.nwu.edu (Michael L. Kaufman) (01/01/91)
In article <1990Dec27.204757.13329@informix.com> aland@infmx.informix.com (Colonel Panic) writes: >Here is a summary of the responses I received regarding books for Intel >80*86 assembler (and specifically MASM 5.1+). Hope this proves >helpful. Thanks to all who responded. The best book on programming in assembler that I have ever seen is called "The Zen of Assembler" by Michael Abrash. It is not a book for beginers however. Michael Michael Kaufman | I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on kaufman | fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in @eecs.nwu.edu | the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be | lost in time - like tears in rain. Time to die. - Roy Batty