Hello Pros

[Jediah]

Hiya guys!
First i would like to say, your site is awsome.
i am a bit confused, i use ubuntu 10.10 what kinda software do i need for assembly?
and how do i do it in ubuntu?
i have some VB C# express experience.
can someone tell me how i start?

[Solar]

Try this:

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$ gcc -v

If this gives you a "command not found", do this:

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sudo apt-get install gcc

That installs you the GCC compiler, which by default also installs binutils (i.e., linker, GNU assembler, objdump etc.). You might also want to 'sudo apt-get install make' and follow the Makefile tutorial while you're at it.

I strongly recommend stopping there, and trying your hand at generic user-space C / ASM coding for quite a while before walking the OS Dev road any further. You have to be familiar with language and toolchain before you stand a chance to find anything but frustration in kernel space.

[Jezze]

Perhaps also depending on preferences:

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sudo apt-get install nasm

[Solar]

Ah, damn. I thought I could lead an untarnished soul on the road of enlightenment. Now you've spoiled his immortal soul.

[Combuster]

I would not ever recommend Binutils/GAS for doing x86 assembly. It deviates from the official manuals enough that they become an inadequate development resource - and then I mean things like renaming opcodes for no apparent reason (and all the other sillyness even intel_syntax noprefix does not fix).

GAS is the backend for GCC, let's not use it for something it wasn't meant to do.

[quok]

And yet you must be familiar with the differences of GAS if you're going to use inline assembly at all. That, and the fact that GAS comes with Binutils, is exactly why I prefer to use GAS and not NASM. I like to keep the number of dependencies needed to build my projects to a minimum as much as possible. That's also why I'm sticking with GNU Make when there are (arguably) much better replacements out there.

Besides, AT&T syntax is the One True Syntax. Anything else amounts to heresy.

[Combuster]

Religious issues aside, yasm works as a replacement for gas, and can do proper intel syntax. Two camps happy.

[Jediah]

Thank you all for your quick answare, you guys are awsome!