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Index > Compiler Internals > EXPRPARS.INC/fp_before_dot:

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ouadji



Joined: 24 Dec 2008
Posts: 1081
Location: Belgium
ouadji 29 Oct 2011, 20:17

about "b", ok, i understand, i'm agree.
but "a" seems unnecessary.
What is the purpose of this instruction "a"? (mov al,[esi])
This question is not to bore you Tomasz, not at all,
but just to understand. Thank you.
Code:
;EXPRPARS.INC

       call    fp_optimize
 mov     [fp_format],0
       mov     al,[esi]        ;<----- a ???
fp_before_dot:
      lods    byte [esi]      ;<----- b
        cmp     al,'.'
    je      fp_dot

    

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Post 29 Oct 2011, 20:17
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revolution
When all else fails, read the source


Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 20363
Location: In your JS exploiting you and your system
revolution 29 Oct 2011, 20:29
ouadji: Try using a debugger to step through and see just what byte is being skipped over.
Post 29 Oct 2011, 20:29
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ouadji



Joined: 24 Dec 2008
Posts: 1081
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ouadji 29 Oct 2011, 21:01

it's already done Wink
Would it be reasonable to make a comment like this without checking with a debugger?
no flags change, no registers change. For me, "mov al,[esi]" is completely useless.

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Post 29 Oct 2011, 21:01
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revolution
When all else fails, read the source


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Location: In your JS exploiting you and your system
revolution 30 Oct 2011, 00:10
So maybe that is the point, to allow a user in a debugging session to see the upcoming value?

Anyhow, yes, it appears to be useless, but it causes no real harm. Most probably a hang over from some previous code that has since been changed. I really don't see the point of being so pedantic with the fasm code. Tomasz already stated some time back that he views it as an artistic expression in addition to the pure functional necessity.
Post 30 Oct 2011, 00:10
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ouadji



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ouadji 30 Oct 2011, 09:13
Quote:
to allow a user in a debugging session to see the upcoming value?
Indeed, why not.
Quote:
he views it as an artistic expression in addition to the pure functional necessity.
Of course, like all programming geeks (addicted, maniac ... Wink)
Joking aside, yes, a program is also an expression of oneself and therefore an artistic expression. It's obvious.

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Post 30 Oct 2011, 09:13
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Tomasz Grysztar



Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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Tomasz Grysztar 30 Oct 2011, 09:52
No, there was no artistic thought in leaving this instruction there. As revolution suspected, it's something that was left from the previous version of the code where it was actually needed, and since it does not cause any harm it was then forgotten. There are probably more things like this in fasm sources, considering how many times each part was revised during the 12 years. In fact, it would be interesting to find out if there is any piece of code that is still unchanged from 1.0.
Post 30 Oct 2011, 09:52
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