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Mastering Assembly Programming
Mastering Assembly Programming

Mastering Assembly Programming: From instruction set to kernel module with Intel processor

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Mastering Assembly Programming

Setting Up a Development Environment

We are slowly approaching the point where we will be able to begin to actually deal with Assembly language itself--writing code, examining programs, solving problems. We are just one step away, and the step is setting up a development environment for Assembly programming.

Despite the fact that the assembler used in this book is a Flat Assembler (FASM), it is important to cover at least two other options and, therefore, in this chapter, you will learn how to configure three types of development environment:

  • Setting up a development environment for Windows-based applications using Visual Studio 2017 Community: This will allow the direct integration of Assembly projects with existing solutions
  • Installing GNU Compilers Collection (GCC): Although it is possible to use GCC on both Windows and *nix platforms, we will emphasize GCC usage on Linux
  • ...

Microsoft Macro Assembler

As the name of this assembler states, it supports macros and has a nice set of built-in ones. However, it is hard to find a more or less valuable assembler without this feature today.

The first assembler I ever used was Macro Assembler (MASM) (I do not remember which version) on DOS installed on a Sony laptop with 4-MB RAM and a 100-MB hard disk (ah, good old times), and MS-DOS edit.exe was the only IDE. Needless to say, the compilation and linking was performed manually in the command line (as if DOS had any other interface).

In my opinion, this is the best way to learn Assembly or any other programming language--just a simple editor with as few features as possible (however, syntax highlighting is a great advantage, as it helps in avoiding typos) and a set of command-line tools. Modern integrated development environments (IDEs) are very complex, yet...

GNU Assembler (GAS)

The GNU Assembler or GAS, or simply AS, is the most used assembler on *nix (Unix and Linux) platforms. While it is cross-platform (having the right build of GAS, we can compile Assembly code for a wide variety of platforms including Windows), flexible and powerful, it defaults to the AT&T syntax, which is, for those used to Intel syntax, weird, to say the least. GAS is free software released under the terms of GNU General Public License v3.

Installing GAS

GAS is distributed as part of the binutils package, but since it is the default backend for GCC (GNU Compilers Collection), it would be better if we install GCC. In fact, installing GCC instead of binutils alone will slightly simplify the creation...

Flat Assembler

Now that we have seen the complexities introduced by MASM and GAS, whether it is syntax or setup complexity, let's take a look at Flat Assembler, a free, portable, self-compiling assembler for Windows and Linux with Intel syntax (very similar to that of MASM, but much less complicated and much more understandable). Exactly the tool we need for easier and faster understanding of Intel Assembly language and usage thereof.

In addition to support for various executable file formats (DOS COM files to begin with, through Windows PE (both 32 bit and 64 bit) and up to ELF (both 32 bit and 64 bit)), FASM has a very powerful macro engine, which we will definitely take advantage of. Not to mention the fact that FASM can be easily integrated into existing development environments for more complex projects.

...

Summary

By now, we have reviewed three different assemblers: Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM), this is an integral part of Visual Studio, GNU Assembler (GAS), this is the default backend for GNU Compilers Collection (GCC), Flat Assembler (FASM), this is a standalone, portable, flexible, and powerful assembler.

Although we will be using FASM, we may still refer to the other two from time to time, when the need arises (and it will).

Having an installed and working assembler, we are ready to proceed to Chapter 3, Intel Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), and start working with the Assembly language itself. There is a long road ahead, and we have not made the first step yet. In Chapter 3, Intel Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), we will go through the instruction set architecture of Intel processors, and you will learn how to write simple programs for both Windows and Linux, 32 and...

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Key benefits

  • Understand the Assembly programming concepts and the benefits of examining the AL codes generated from high level languages
  • Learn to incorporate the assembly language routines in your high level language applications
  • Understand how a CPU works when programming in high level languages

Description

The Assembly language is the lowest level human readable programming language on any platform. Knowing the way things are on the Assembly level will help developers design their code in a much more elegant and efficient way. It may be produced by compiling source code from a high-level programming language (such as C/C++) but can also be written from scratch. Assembly code can be converted to machine code using an assembler. The first section of the book starts with setting up the development environment on Windows and Linux, mentioning most common toolchains. The reader is led through the basic structure of CPU and memory, and is presented the most important Assembly instructions through examples for both Windows and Linux, 32 and 64 bits. Then the reader would understand how high level languages are translated into Assembly and then compiled into object code. Finally we will cover patching existing code, either legacy code without sources or a running code in same or remote process.

Who is this book for?

This book is for developers who would like to learn about Assembly language. Prior programming knowledge of C and C++ is assumed.

What you will learn

  • • Obtain deeper understanding of the underlying platform
  • • Understand binary arithmetic and logic operations
  • • Create elegant and efficient code in Assembly language
  • • Understand how to link Assembly code to outer world
  • • Obtain in-depth understanding of relevant internal mechanisms of Intel CPU
  • • Write stable, efficient and elegant patches for running processes

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Sep 27, 2017
Length: 290 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787287488
Category :
Languages :

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Product Details

Publication date : Sep 27, 2017
Length: 290 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787287488
Category :
Languages :

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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
Intel Architecture Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Setting Up a Development Environment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Intel Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Memory Addressing Modes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Parallel Data Processing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Macro Instructions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Data Structures Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Mixing Modules Written in Assembly and Those Written in High-Level Languages Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Operating System Interface Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Patching Legacy Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Oh, Almost Forgot Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.1
(8 Ratings)
5 star 25%
4 star 12.5%
3 star 37.5%
2 star 0%
1 star 25%
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RPDevJesco Dec 13, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book covers all the main points of diving into the exciting world of assembly programming. I purchased the digital and physical copy of the book and wholeheartedly believe that it should be a book on every programmer's shelf.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Hamlet Solano Diaz Jan 25, 2020
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Complete
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Victor Jul 14, 2018
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This book gives an excellent introduction into low-level programming and assembly programming itself. It gives you just an idea of how everything works and so you'll not become a guru after reading this book, you'll just have something common in your mind, some idea you will be able to use later. There are another books with better quality of assembly programming teaching but this one is good for the beginners too.I liked it especially for this kind of introduction like "explain like I am five" - you'll not know everything in really low-level details but you'll be able to dive into it later. I also realized how this book is good after reading the "Low Level Programming" by Igor Zhirkov (Apress): you already know enough to read the latter one but the LLP is actually much more good in explaining details than the "Mastering Assembly Programming".As a summary, I'd suggest to start learning assembly programming from this book and then go to the "Low level programming" after.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Rui Craveiro Jan 24, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
This book is really complete, but it is better as a reference material than a learning tool. The author failed to take the reader's hand and spend much more time walking him through the fundamentals instead of providing all the broad details the book provides. I suspended reading it for a more pedagogical alternative, but I will get back to it once I already master the basics.
Feefo Verified review Feefo
DNAunion Dec 26, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
It don't particularly like the organization. I would prefer it to start in chapter 1 (after getting an environment setup) with the basic "Hello World" program, and build from slowly and clearly from there. Instead, it starts by listing Intel CPU registers in chapter 1. By chapter 3 the discussion is not so easy to follow: the text does not explain well but instead gives short statements, apparently assuming you have some preexisting knowledge of assembly. Again, a better approach would be to build slowly upon the foundation of "Hello World" - adding one or two new instructions along the way, and explaining what each new instruction does - instead of jumping into listings of CPU registers and then listings of the instruction set.I realize the book is titled MASTERING ... not BEGINNING ..., but the beginning of the book states, "This book is primarily intended for developers wishing to enrich their understanding of low-level proceedings, but, in fact, there is no special requirement for much experience, although a certain level of experience is anticipated."
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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