Assembly languages

Assembly languages are processor-specific low-level languages. They are rarely used any more except for handling very low-level machine-specific tasks, since languages like C can generally satisfy most requirements, even low-level ones. The other main use of assembly language is to provide the "glue" to enable different languages to be used in a single program. It is however useful to know something about assembly language to get a feel for what goes on inside a processor, as well as for understanding code generation in compilers and for debugging when there is no source code available.

Development tools:

	NASM An excellent free 80x86 assembler which includes versions for DOS and Windows as well as full source code.    ¤  Nov 1997. Freeware. Home site: http://www.cryogen.com/Nasm/
	A86 4.02 A shareware 80x86 assembler.    ¤  Sep 1995. Shareware. Home site: http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/asmutil.html
	TMA macro assembler A macro assembler for 80x86 processors up to the Pentium Pro with full source code.    ¤  Jul 1998. Free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Home site: http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/asmutl.html
	68K Edit A Motorola 68000 editor, assembler and simulator for Windows.    ¤  Jan 1999. Freeware. Home site: http://xrmx.simplenet.com/programs/68000/ ((now gone))
	T68K A suite of cross development tools for the Motorola 68000, including an assembler and C compiler. Source code is also available.    ¤  Jan 1999. Freeware. Home site: http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/crossasm.html
	Other development tools Debuggers, disassemblers and so on.
	Libero A tool which lets you design programs visually using state diagrams and then generates code in C, C++, Java, PHP, assembler, or a range of other languages.    ¤  May 1999. Freeware. Home site: http://www.imatix.com/

Tutorials and FAQs:

	The Art of Assembly Language Programming A comprehensive in-depth tutorial on all aspects of 80x86 assembly language by Randall Hyde.    ¤  30 Sep 1996. Reproduced by permission. Home site: http://webster.cs.ucr.edu/
	Gavin's Guide to 80x86 Assembly 80x86 assembly language tutorial by Gavin Estey, the maintainer of the rec.games.programmer FAQ.    ¤  24 Mar 1997. Reproduced by permission. Home site: http://www.strangecreations.com/library/assembly/tutor/
	The 8086 Family Assembly Language FAQ Frequently asked questions on 80x86 assembly language in general.    ¤  20 Feb 2000. Freely redistributable. Home site: http://www2.dgsys.com/~raymoon/faq/gen1.html
	A86 Assembler FAQ Frequently asked questions on the A86 shareware assembler.    ¤  5 Feb 2000. Freely redistributable. Home site: http://www2.dgsys.com/~raymoon/faq/a86.html
	The Microsoft MASM FAQ Frequently asked questions on Microsoft's MASM assembler.    ¤  5 Feb 2000. Freely redistributable. Home site: http://www2.dgsys.com/~raymoon/faq/masm.html
	The Borland TASM FAQ Frequently asked questions on Borland's TASM assembler.    ¤  5 Feb 2000. Freely redistributable. Home site: http://www2.dgsys.com/~raymoon/faq/tasm.html
	The Game Developer's FAQ Information about developing computer games from the newsgroup rec.games.programmer.    ¤  8 May 1997. Reproduced by permission. Home site: http://www.strangecreations.com/library/games/rgpfaq.htm

Software resources:

Source code examples

External resources:

	Assembly Internet Resources A collection of assembly language links by EG3 Communications.
	Tore's Programming Page A site with links to several tutorials.
	Strange Creations Gavin Estey's excellent collection of programming resources (especially information about games programming).
	Intel Secrets Or "What Intel doesn't want you to know". An excellent site with lots of information about undocumented "features" of Intel processors.
	X2FTP An excellent FTP archive in Finland with lots of material related to games programming.
	Intel The home site of the manufacturers of the x86 processor family.
	Motorola The home site of the manufacturers of the 68000 processor family.
	Assembly language links at Yahoo These are also available at Yahoo UK.
	The comp.lang.asm.x86 newsgroup A newsgroup discussing 80x86 assembly language.