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RicardoDiaz
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Learning Assembly - 2007/05/08 17:22 Hi, I would like to learn assembly. Is there anything I should learn before learning it? Because I've took some tutorials and it all seems unfamiliar, I can't understand it. Also, I have an Intel iMac, I was told it comes with the GAS assembler, which uses the AT&T syntax (does it?). But I was told the Intel syntax was the standard so what syntax should I learn?

Thanks

Post edited by: RicardoDiaz, at: 2007/05/08 17:23
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gaf
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Re:Learning Assembly - 2007/05/09 10:53 Is there anything I should learn before learning it?
When attempting to learn assembler you should already have some decent programming background and advanced knowledge of at least one other high-level language. If you're used to writing your programmes in a nice and object-oriented languages like java it might also be a good idea to have a look at some simple C first. As an intermediate step C could teach you the neccessary low-level basics (pointers, memory managements) that can't be learned in many other languages that try to hide these nasty details under the rug

As assembler runs directly on your hardware it might also be a idea to improve your knowledge on processors and computer architecture in general

Because I've took some tutorials and it all seems unfamiliar, I can't understand it. Also, I have an Intel iMac, I was told it comes with the GAS assembler, which uses the AT&T syntax
I've never used OSX but from what I know GCC should be available. You could check if gas is installed by typing "as --version"

But I was told the Intel syntax was the standard so what syntax should I learn?
In my opinion the gas syntax is a bit more complex, which might make Intel assembler a better choice for beginners. In the end it shouldn't really matter as both gas and Intel are similiar enough to still switch later on

According to the OSDEV Wiki gas nowadays seems to support both syntax:

"Up until v2.10 of binutils, gas supported only AT&T syntax, which differs significantly from the Intel syntax used by virtually every other assembler. Today, gas supports both syntax sets (.intel_syntax and the default .att_syntax), and even allows disabling the otherwise mandatory '%' register prefix (..._syntax noprefix)"

regards,
gaf
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