format PE console
entry start

include 'win32a.inc'
include 'dota.inc'      ; imports


section '.data' readable  writeable

prompt db "Enter a number:",9,9,0
result db 10,"The number is %d!",1010b,0

number db "%d",0

num dd ?

section '.main' code readable
start:
        push    prompt
        call    [printf]
        push    num
        push    number
        call    [scanf]
        push    dword [num]    ; 
        push    result
        call    [printf]
        push    0
        call    [ExitProcess]
    

scanf("%d",&num); //& pointer -> num
    

@ctl3d32, That link is not working.... It may be just me though.

rugxulo wrote:

If you're already proficient in several HLLs, then why bother with x86 assembly? Sure, assembly can be fun, but it's also very error-prone. You'll constantly be living inside a debugger.

I am looking to learn assembly, no matter the costs. I understand that it is more difficult.

Quote:

I also wonder if this is a misguided attempt to "speed up" or "optimize" your software. Probably not worth it, you're most likely headed in the wrong direction.

It is not, and by any means was a way to speed up and/or optimize. I am merely curious in learning the language on my current platform.

Quote:

Emulators aren't that bad, and VT-X is baked into (most) x86 hardware, hence it's not as "slow" as it could be (e.g. VBox or KVM). Heck, Win8 (64-bit Pro) already has Hyper-V. While I do indeed enjoy DOS (and 16-bit), I'm not actively encouraging that here. I'm just saying, emulators aren't too bad.

I agree, emulators are not bad. I never said they were. I am trying to code and run in windows 8 64 bit. My platform.

Quote:

But overall I think you're not looking at the big picture. You don't want "obsolete", but everything is obsoleted eventually.

I don't want to code my programs that can't even run in my current working environment. This does not mean forever, but for now. I am not sure why you assume so much of what I am saying and asking.

Quote:

Honestly, even though I haven't done it myself, I would advise you to learn Linux 64-bit instead, presumably with Seyfarth's book (*nix edition, natch).

I must ask why advise me something that you yourself have not even done? What are the benefits? Will it help me in a windows environment? Linux is another plan for me, I have several distros, but I needed a windows tutorial for the sake of learning and running code on my windows platform.

Quote:

BTW, why didn't you upgrade to Win10? It runs Linux 64-bit binaries now. Well, there's half my point, binaries will run on both, so it's a good target (maybe). Hey, you didn't want GUI anyways.

I hate windows. I bought a laptop with windows 8 already installed. It serves its purpose, for games, music software, etc. Yes I know Linux has good DAWs and WINE, etc. I have windows 8, and it is alright with me. Linux is on another computer. Windows 10 may offer better, however the underlining OS is far from secure. But that is another topic altogether, and how much I would love to chat about the vulnerabilities, I will digress from that possible tangent.

Once again you say something is better, but show your dislike for it...

Quote:

And, while I hate it, I do think 64-bit is better to learn than 32-bit (although it's not criminally wrong either way).

I am rather confused by this.

I just don't trust anybody to preserve anything anymore, even if it works, even if it was well-tested and developed over decades. Therefore, I don't recommend jumping on a sinking ship, even if it technically "works", if only because I assume it will be thrown away "soon". So, honestly, you're fighting against the grain wasting time with IA-32. A million geeks would yell and scream at you for doing so intentionally. So I can't in good conscience tell you to do what everyone else hates. But it's not a crime, just unpopular and "going away eventually".

He's picked his toolset and target OS. Distracting him with superfluous arguments about platform longetivity and stack alignments is doing him a disservice. Let's not forget what's actually going on here; he needs something to get his foot in the door to learn assembly. AMD64 and Linux/whatever can come later.

I was able to compile the code on my system which is Windows 8, 64 bit

If you're only going to do the same ol' boring stuff that you can do in C, then it's not worth doing. Just learning "mov ax,word [mydata]" is not beneficial enough.

It just seems like a red flag, a situation asking for trouble. "Let's learn xyz flavor of the month, it'll live forever!" I'm no Comp. Sci. professional, but I feel like all the professors would strongly argue against too much system-specific code. Some is okay for learning, but don't obsess over it, it won't last!

This works. However I am not understanding the pointer thing.

int myNum = 42;    

myNum dq 42    

mov eax, myNum ; eax <- ptr to QWORD that contains 42
mov eax, [myNum] ; eax <- 42    

Why in the world would you recommend 32-bit when he/she already has a 64-bit system?? Are they ever going to run their code on a 32-bit only machine (e.g. early P4s)? Then why bother??

The last thing we want is for him/her to come back in a few years and say, "I wasted my time, I didn't know that nobody used Win32 anymore." It's like those people who say, "Learn C before C++", which isn't fair and is mostly a waste of time.

format  PE      Console
entry   start

include 'win32a.inc'

section 'idata' import data readable

library kernel32, "kernel32.dll", \
                msvcrt, "msvcrt.dll"

import  kernel32, \
                ExitProcess, "ExitProcess"

import  msvcrt, \
                printf, "printf"

;section 'data' data readable writeable

prints          db      "",1010b,0
prompt1         db      "Enter a number:",1001b,0000b
prompt2         db      "Now enter another number:",9,0
result          db      "%d added to %d = %d.",1010b,0
getNumber       db      "%d",0

section '.main' data readable

lines:
                mov     ecx, 4
                myLoop:
                                push            prints
                                call            [printf]
                                add             esp, 4
                                dec             ecx
                LOOP myLoop
                ret

start:
                
                call                    lines
                push                    0
                call                    [ExitProcess]
                

    

void lines()
{
        printf("\n");
        return;
}

// Original code is
/*void lines(int x)
{
        int i;
        for(i=0;i!=x;i++)
                printf("\n\n");
        return;
}
*/
However I have no idea how to pass a variable to a func like lines(4) in assembly.
    

@system error: You know your behavior is exactly that of a kid not getting his way in an argument, covering his ears while shouting the same thing over and over again, right?

Sigh, oh dear. If a hypothetical design required Bubble Sort on a huge data set, and I were to complain about it (because it doesn't use Quick Sort for example), system error would proudly come and claim "just because you don't know how to use Bubble Sort doesn't mean it sucks!"

Grasping at straws, aye. That's all you've been doing, if you look at it.

(and my main complaint was *because* we are forced to use this ABI to interact with library functions -- i.e. it's a bad design (in terms of waste and bloat) that escalates now, and into the future, for every compliant call -- including calls that use AVX which have to realign the stack anyway so you gain absolutely *nothing* from 16-byte alignment for future code, PERIOD)

func_fastcall:
       sub rsp,8
       ... do your things
       add rsp,8
       ret    

func_furr:
      push rbp
      mov rbp,rsp
      sub rsp, some_locals
      and rsp,-16
      ... your INCOMPETENT thing
      mov rsp,rbp
      pop rbp
      ret 8*incompetent size     

I warned you long ago that jumping straight into some advanced level in assembly programming wouldn't do you any good and would lead to even more confusions. What you're doing right now is actually delaying your progress and will take u longer than it should to understand simple asm concepts. Your early focus should be to get yourself comfortable and well-acquainted around the CPU components, - registers, memory and stack and the corresponding instructions. You need to re-calibrate your learning focus to the correct one.

In assembly programming, we don't actually need printf or any C library. We use them as a tool of proof only. We use them to visually verify the feedback from the CPU (displaying the registers, memory content etc). That's all there is. That's the reason I gave you the code template and it's C counter part to begin with.

You been beating around the bush for quite a few days now without asking how to actually see the value of a register using printf service - that's the kind of question that you should ask us here as of now. But I don't see any of that. You're not focusing on the real objective of learning assembly language - how to 'talk' to the CPU and its components.

And it loops forever....Why not only 4 times?

First off, I have been pleading and asking where to begin. Your outburst just now, and scolding me like a three year old girl, justifies that you are clueless to what I have been asking. You all have been throwing around code like rotten like, expecting me to eat it diligently. I have been trying to learn the registers, memory, and stacks. However I am simply a beginner. If there is a correct one, don't come off with a scold when you yourself failed to provide me a basic, "Here is what you start off with" step. I am constantly researching, and still trying to find out more of this assembly language.

Second, I have been beating around the bush?! I have been studying, exercising, and coding, using methods I am learning. Do I really need you to be griping at me, when you yourself led me down this path, without no possible routes elsewhere? How do you ask a question when you have no idea about the question in the first place? I am trying to learn asm and if I knew the correct questions, which I had already notified you about, I would ask them.

With all that being said, if you feel I am doing this all wrong, point me in the right direction with less scolding. I have no need for your false assumptions of me, and what I am trying to do.

I AM TRYING TO LEARN ASM

Not anything else. Can you help? Or do you plan on scolding me like a child for something I am unknown to?

You been beating around the bush for quite a few days now without asking how to actually see the value of a register using printf service - that's the kind of question that you should ask us here as of now. But I don't see any of that. You're not focusing on the real objective of learning assembly language - how to 'talk' to the CPU and its components.