Mad_guy

Yeah, well, recently I decided to switch off my old Assembler, Emu8086, and try another Assembler.
Since I'm on a Win32 machine, most people recommend MASM32, but a lot of people have also recommended NASM, which is more suited for *Nix systems.

I was just wondering which I should probably use. I know I can use Masm32 without the standard includes (because I like to see what's going on at the time of programming, and I like the style) but I don't know where to go, because Masm shouldn't use INTs and I should instead use the Win32 API, which I don't really know how to manipulate that well. Since Emu adapted me to INTs and Nasm uses them while Masm does not.


I was just wondering: Which should I use? Masm or Nasm?

Mjordan2nd

Personally, I like NASM on both *nix machines and WIndows machines.

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Mad_guy

That's kinda the only problem.

I have no idea where to learn more about Nasm syntax, I can't just learn from trial and error because I don't have the foggiest on how Nasm syntax works in itself.


Any resources for learning to use Nasm? Or, tutorials by which the author uses Nasm or some such?

Mjordan2nd

I find the following to be pretty good:

http://www.drpaulcarter.com/pcasm/

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"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Christian_Rosenkreuz_777

IMHO, TASM is best. Other assemblers, like MASM, add too much extra spiel in your program (at least in my experience. . . then again I've only tried it a few times). After all, the whole point of Assembly is to be able to tell the computer exactly what to do, without worrying about extras thrown in with the compiler. TASM is especially good when writing really low-level stuff. IMO, MASM is more under the category of High Level Assembler (though it's probably the best at that). Come to think of it, I may be thinking of something else. I'm thinking the MASM in The Art Of High-Level Programming. . . Oh well. I suppose it depends on what you're doing.

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Mad_guy

But you have to admit, MASM makes Windows Assembly a hell of a lot easier because you have the Win32 API at your fingertips.

Plus, because -you are not forced- to use the API during coding, you can make your ASM programs just as fast and usable as Assembly programs made with, TASM or NASM for example.

Some of the best Assembly coders I've ever seen use MASM, and don't use the API because they've found things to work around it.

I suppose for Win32 coding, MASM is way better than some other things.

I'm thinking MASM for Windows and the API, and T/NASM for just general stuff.

Christian_Rosenkreuz_777

You're right. MASM is a lot better for win32 programming, but I could never bother myself to learn the syntax. The only stuff I use assembly for is DOS stuff, like old-skool viruses and stuff like that.
So, in conclusion, MASM is good for 32-bit windows programming, TASM is good for DOS stuff.
Again, it's just what i learned first.

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