Different Emulators to write 8086 assembly language programs

Subject: IWM

Content

• Emu8086

• TASM(Turbo Assembler)

• MASM(Microsoft Macro Assembler)

• NASM(Netwide Assembler)

• FASM(Flat Assembler)

Emu8086

• Emu8086 combines an advanced source editor, assembler, disassembler, software emulator with debugger, and step by step tutorials

• It permit to assemble, emulate and debug 8086 programs.

• This emulator was made for Windows, it works fine on GNU/Linux (with the help of Wine).

• The source code is compiled by assembler and then executed on Emulator step-by-step, allowing to watch registers, flags and memory while program runs.

how to run program on Emu8086

• Download Emu8086 through this link : https://download.cnet.com/Emu8086-Microprocessor-Emulator/3000-2069_4-10392690.html

• Start Emu8086 by running Emu8086.exe

• Select “Examples" from "File" menu.

• Click “Emulate” button (or press F5).

• Click “Single Step” button (or press F8) and watch how the code is being executed.

Turbo Assembler(Tasm)

• Turbo Assembler (TASM) is a computer assembler developed by Borland which runs on and produces code for 16- or 32-bit x86 DOS or Microsoft Windows.

• The Turbo Assembler package is bundled with the Turbo Linker, and is interoperable with the Turbo Debugger.

• Turbo Assembler (TASM) a small 16-bit computer program which enables us to write 16 bit i.e. x86 programming code on 32-bit machine. It can be used with any high level language compliers like GCC compiler set to build object files. So that programmers can use their daily routine machines to write 16-bit code and execute on x86 devices.

how to run program using TASM

• Download TASM through this link : https://techapple.net/2013/01/tasm-windows-7-windows-8-full-screen-64bit-version-single-installer/

• Start TASM by running tasm.exe

• It will open DOSBOX.

• For Compiling : tasm filename.asm

• for Linking : tlink filename.obj

• For Execution : filename.exe

Microsoft Macro Assembler(MASM)

• The Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) is an x86 assembler that uses the Intel syntax for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows.

• It takes your code pre-processes it and converts it to binary. The links it to runnable executable or an Object file.

• MASM is routinely capable of building complete executable files, dynamic link libraries and separate object modules and libraries to use with the Microsoft Visual C development environment as well as MASM

how to run program using MASM

• Download MASM through this link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B36ww40izFp6dkVWOVk0c1VnOFE/view

• It will open DOSBOX.

• For Compiling : masm filename.asm

• for Linking : link filename.obj

• For Execution : filename.exe

Netwide Assembler(NASM)

• it was written and developed by the Simon Tatham , Julian Hall, PeterAnvin.

• The Netwide Assembler, NASM, is an 80x86 and x86-64 assembler designed for portability and modularity.

• It supports range of object file formats, including Linux and *BSD a.out, ELF, COFF, Mach-0,16 bit and 32 bit obj format, win32, win64.

• It will also output plain binary files, Intel hex and Motorola S-Record formats.

• It supports all currently known x86 architectural extensions, and has strong support for macros.

how to run program using NASM

• Download NASM through this link : https://www.nasm.us/pub/nasm/releasebuilds/2.14.02/

• It will open DOSBOX.

• Compile : nasm filename.asm –o filename.com or nasm –f elf64 filename.asm –o filename.o or nasm -f win64 test.asm -o test.o

• afd filename.com or ld filename.o –o filename or ld test.o -o test.exe

Flat Assembler(FASM)

• FASM is an assembler for x86 processors.

• It supports Intel-style assembly language on the IA-32 and x86-64 computer architectures.

• It is a low-level assembler and intentionally uses very few command-line options

• FASM does not support as many high-level statements as MASM or TASM

how to run program using FASM

• Download FASM through this link : https://flatassembler.net/download.php

• After installation run FASMW.exe

• Write the code and run file (press f9).

Difference Between TASM, MASM, NASM• TASM, MASM, and NASM are x86 assemblers.

• TASM and MASM are DOS/Windows-based while NASM is available for other platforms as well like linux.

• TASM produces 16-bit/32-bit output, MASM and NASM also produce 64-bit output.

• TASM, MASM prefer Intel syntax while NASM use AT&T. NASM uses a variant of the Intel syntax.

• TASM, MASM, NASM have their own syntax for directives affecting the assembly process, macros and comments. These usually differ from assembler to assembler.

• TASM can assemble MASM sources in "MASM mode".

• NASM can assemble TASM code in "TASM mode".

• So, we can take TASM code and assemble them using NASM on Linux using that mode. the code might still need adjustments. If the code have OS dependencies, these will require your attention as well as you move from Windows to Linux.

Syntax Difference between TASM/MASM and NASM• TASM/MASM : mov ax,number while in NASM : mov ax,[number]

• TASM/MASM : mov ax,offset number while in NASM : mov ax, number because NASM does not support “offset” directive.

• MASM : .data .code while in NASM : SECTION .data SECTION .text

• Uninitialized data labels in MASM : name type ?

• Uninitialized data labels in NASM : name: type count

• Macro in MASM : name MACRO arg1, arg2 .... ENDM

• Macro in NASM : %macro name argcount ..... %endmacro

Thank You!!!