OSDev.org

Does anybody have any suggestions on the best assembly tools to use?

FASM + Notepad?

Regards
inflater

Yasm and Vi?

GAS and nvi?

How do you use an assembler with notpad

Traditionally one types out an assembly program using a text editor...

How does this not make sense to you?

inflater wrote:FASM + Notepad?

FASM + Notepad2! Asm Developer also like Syntax Highlighting!

Asm Developer like inflater doesn't like fancy colors on a (already long'n'thin) assembly code, until it starts to have the worst matemathical equations.
I like the Code Completion in Delphi, btw.

Regards
inflater

crazygray wrote:Does anybody have any suggestions on the best assembly tools to use?

The two programs I am about to mention are both actively developed and run on DOS, Windows, Unix/Linux/BSD, Macintosh and OS/2.

VIM is a pretty robust editor and supports syntax highlighting. There are both graphical versions and command line versions.

NASM is the reason that assemblers such as YASM and FASM even exist. It is the original and most popular non-propriety syntax-deviant assembler out there. It comes with great documentation and there are thousands of examples you can find all over the web that work with NASM. Of course, as with any real assembler, it is a command-line tool.

Remember, both of the above programs will run on nearly any system that you want them to... and they work great

yasm+context(win)/kate(*nix)

yasm beat nasm to 64-bit support, has a better design, and a more free license, supports both ATT and intel syntax properly and is nasm-compatible and therefore 0wns gas wrt the i386 architecture `-.-´

Combuster is correct

Perhaps eventually the BSD's will be able to replace GAS.. There is already a lot of work going into the BSD licenced PCC compiler.

I wouldn't be surprised...an assembler is (in theory anyway) much simpler than a C compiler...

inflater wrote:Asm Developer like inflater doesn't like fancy colors on a (already long'n'thin) assembly code, until it starts to have the worst matemathical equations.

I bet my life right now that you don't write Assembly code in Notepad. You could but you don't! If you do, then your source code should have the most ridiculous formatting period since you can't even adjust the tab style/indention length in Notepad. Notepad is the worst editor for programmers as far as the code style and formatting is concerned

Brynet-Inc wrote:Combuster is correct

Not entirely. YASM does support AT&T and did beat NASM to 64-bit, but development of NASM has brought out bugs and design flaws within YASM, as well as diStorm64... some of which I think have already been fixed.

A big example, is that NASM will not use the the pseudo EIP/RIP register to dictate absolute/relative addressing... which just so happens to be one of the aforementioned design flaws due to various ambiguous situations it can create. We simply utilize ABS or REL, with an option to select the default mode.

Beacuse of this, and other reasons, the author of YASM is keeping sync with NASM development in order to (loosely?) mimic whatever NASM does.

Also, YASM does not necessarily have a better design, only a modular one. YASM is trying to be good at many things. NASM is trying to be great at one thing. So there lies a philosophical design difference that you just cannot bluntly compare. Although, NASM has recently gone through some very badly needed code optimization... especially in terms of dealing with label names and the like.

In the end, most zealots mark it up to the license. Personally, I don't care much for GPL and I avoid it (along with anything else that looks like a virus) whenever I can--in favor of Public Domain or BSD-like licenses. However, NASM is using LGPL and this is not limiting anyone from doing anything except blatantly copying the source code... so there is not much to actually complain about beyond foolish ideology

The default Win32 FASM package comes with a nice little IDE with basic synatx highlighting. I use to use it before I switched to C++/NASM.