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vid
Verbosity in development


Joined: 05 Sep 2003
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vid 07 Jun 2006, 13:36
hi, can't find good old align macro.

i just need to formula to calculate, how many bytes to fill to align something to some given value Smile
Post 07 Jun 2006, 13:36
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LocoDelAssembly
Your code has a bug


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LocoDelAssembly 07 Jun 2006, 13:44
bytesToFill = $ mod alignValue ?
Post 07 Jun 2006, 13:44
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vid
Verbosity in development


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vid 07 Jun 2006, 13:54
no, byt maybe alignval - ($ mod alignval) seems a little better, except case when $ mod alignval is 0. I want that elegant form from old align macro Smile
Post 07 Jun 2006, 13:54
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Quantum



Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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Quantum 07 Jun 2006, 14:20
(($ + alignval - 1) and -alignval) - $

BTW, what happened to good old align directive?
Post 07 Jun 2006, 14:20
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vid
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vid 07 Jun 2006, 14:22
it's not for FASM coding. i just needed algorithm.

good not-that-old align directive is still working
Post 07 Jun 2006, 14:22
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vid
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vid 07 Jun 2006, 14:28
it's not for FASM coding. i just needed algorithm.

good not-that-old align directive is still working

thanks
Post 07 Jun 2006, 14:28
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Quantum



Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 122
Quantum 07 Jun 2006, 15:19
And not-that-good (unless I'm the only one missing howto insert a custom byte value instead of the predefined 90h). Nops look kind of weird inside a data block.
Post 07 Jun 2006, 15:19
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LocoDelAssembly
Your code has a bug


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LocoDelAssembly 07 Jun 2006, 16:03
And using NOPs in code is not too much efficient neither, anyway you can override align with your own macro
Code:
macro align alignval {rb (($ + alignval - 1) and -alignval) - $}    


However make sure of use it on data sections because it reserves and initialize with zeroes if more data follows the align (which is the most probable).

[edit]
Code:
macro align alignval, customval
{
if customval eq
  align alignval
else
  times (($ + alignval - 1) and -alignval) - $ db customval
end if
}    
But note this one if you use align but then no more data comes the customval will be written anyway while the original align works in the same way that the first align macro but initializes with 90h instead.[/edit]
Post 07 Jun 2006, 16:03
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Tomasz Grysztar



Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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Tomasz Grysztar 07 Jun 2006, 16:50
Section 2.2.5 contains of fasm's manual an example how you can customize the alignment in any way you want. It's quite easy to make into macro.

And the so-called "good old align macro" you can find as one of the first examples in the 2.3.3 section.

I know, nobody reads it, but it still contains a few useful things, you know. Wink
Post 07 Jun 2006, 16:50
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Quantum



Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 122
Quantum 07 Jun 2006, 19:52
2 locodelassembly and Tomasz Grysztar:
I already knew that, but thanks anyway. The point is I never asked for a macro solution. align is a directive, not a macro. I don't like macros at all. But that's only my very humble personal opinion.

2 locodelassembly:
Quote:

However make sure of use it on data sections because it reserves and initialize with zeroes if more data follows the align (which is the most probable)

People usually store uninitialized data in a block storage space section (BSS) or any other virtually extended (bss-like) place of another section (data/text). So, I'm not sure I understand your tip.
Post 07 Jun 2006, 19:52
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vid
Verbosity in development


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vid 07 Jun 2006, 20:10
Quote:
I know, nobody reads it, but it still contains a few useful things, you know. Wink

because we don't know what remained and what has changed. i don't want to read entire 200kb pure text file to find 0.05% of new things...
Post 07 Jun 2006, 20:10
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Tomasz Grysztar



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Tomasz Grysztar 07 Jun 2006, 20:13
Actually the "align" macro was there for all the time, even in the previous manual.
Post 07 Jun 2006, 20:13
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amcl



Joined: 08 May 2006
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amcl 07 Jun 2006, 20:29
Quantum wrote:

People usually store uninitialized data in a block storage space section (BSS) or any other virtually extended (bss-like) place of another section (data/text).


Sorry my response is offtopic, useless and pedantic, but BSS stands for 'Block Started by Symbol'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.bss
Post 07 Jun 2006, 20:29
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Quantum



Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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Quantum 07 Jun 2006, 21:18
2 amcl:
Quote:

BSS stands for 'Block Started by Symbol'

That's what many people believe (including D. Ritchie). But I prefer the former definition (mentioned somewhere by M. Pietrek). Oh, and never trust a wiki Wink
Post 07 Jun 2006, 21:18
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LocoDelAssembly
Your code has a bug


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LocoDelAssembly 08 Jun 2006, 01:59
Quote:

So, I'm not sure I understand your tip.

That is because my english is terrible. I'd tried to say that never use my align macro on code sections because it will pad with zeroes which is a problem if those zeroes gets executed. And about the second macro (which has the same problem with code section unless you use a valid single byte opcode as customval or not pass a customval), the problem is if you have a source like this:
Code:
macro align alignval, customval
{ 
if customval eq 
  align alignval 
else 
  times (($ + alignval - 1) and -alignval) - $ db customval 
end if 
}

db 1
align 16, 0    
Will produce a 16 byte binary file while the original align (the directive) will be only a 1 byte binary file.
Post 08 Jun 2006, 01:59
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Quantum



Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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Quantum 08 Jun 2006, 02:36
2 locodelassembly:
Quote:

I'd tried to say that never use my align macro on code sections because it will pad with zeroes which is a problem if those zeroes gets executed

I see know. Well, a piece of padding code not intended to be executed should be filled with 0xCC bytes instead of 0x90's. At least MS VC guys think so.

Quote:

And about the second macro

That was clear from the beginning. Another little minus goes to macros Wink

Quote:

That is because my english is terrible.

I whouldn't say that. Mine is worse. Mi español es un poco mejor. What really matters is that we finally understood each other.
Post 08 Jun 2006, 02:36
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shism2



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 248
shism2 08 Jun 2006, 02:53
There was someone on this forum who made a macro which calculates the necessary alignment. I don't remember who and how to find it. But it was on here before.
Post 08 Jun 2006, 02:53
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LocoDelAssembly
Your code has a bug


Joined: 06 May 2005
Posts: 4624
Location: Argentina
LocoDelAssembly 08 Jun 2006, 03:18
Yep but the problem is that align is normally used to align loops where the preceding bytes will normally get executed.
Code:
mov ecx, someValue
align 16
.loop:
dec .loop
jnz .loop    

The bytes between "mov ecx, someVal" and .loop (if any) will be executed so apropiate opcodes are requiered here. Anyway good point about $CC, it could be used when you align PROCs.

Si no has entendido dime y seguimos por PM en español así no te confundo más Wink

Regards
Post 08 Jun 2006, 03:18
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shism2



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
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shism2 08 Jun 2006, 04:34
ta hablodo a mi ?
Post 08 Jun 2006, 04:34
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Quantum



Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 122
Quantum 08 Jun 2006, 16:10
2 locodelassembly:
Quote:

Yep but the problem is that align is normally used to align loops where the preceding bytes will normally get executed.

In case of loops, nops ain't always the best solution. For example, instead of 2 consecutive nops it's more efficient to place a mov eax,eax.
Post 08 Jun 2006, 16:10
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