Good place to start learning assembly?

[teknomage1]

I'm a self taught programmer who mostly uses high level languages. Is there a good place anyone can recommend to start learning x86 assembly?

I mostly develop on linux, so preferably it'd be something that could be compiled? (do you compile assembly code?) with the GNU toolset.

[Hamlin]

ASM is *technically* compiled, but most of us who use it regularly refer to that process as 'assembling' the code, rather than compiling.

So far as learning to write in X86, I highly recommend looking up the instruction set for the 386, 486, and 586 processors. Google can help you with that, as well as finding a freeware x86 cross assembler for your operating system of choice.

I also recommend a DOS program called 'HELPPC' which not only contains a remarkably complete list of processor opcodes and their operands, but also goes into great detail on methodology. To my knowledge, however, 'HELPPC' is only available for DOS. If you have trouble finding it on the internet, let me know and I'll send you a copy.

[redhead]

The assembler comes with the GNU toolset, it is called as (1), when I first started messing with asssembly I turned towards Alpha assembly, mainly because it didn't drag along alot of compatibilety instructions like the x86 assembly does..
And because I was asked to help develop an embeded controling utility for an alpha based device, where most parts was kept as assembly since it was using a 8bit instruction set in a pseudo 7bit environment, so you had to be sure what you had in your registeres at all times.

On the down side, that made me more sloppy with learning x86 assembly, since I had it like anyone who goes from something like VB to C, with the attitude, But I'm used to do it like this, why can't I just do.....

Since then I've mainly kept to Alpha and Motorola, so for x86 I might not be the right one to turn to....

[teknomage1]

Thanks, it looks like they ported the dos utility HELPPC to a web document http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~stanisls/helppc/ .

I'll also check out the manpages for 'as' .

[wolf99]

best thing to do is get the instruction set AND the memory map of chip.
I learned 8051 using borland. if ya check out this link, you can find a good place to learn 8051 assembly which is small and fast and easy to learn

[ahluka]

I found a really, really beefed up article on 8086 architecture and assembly:
http://courses.ece.uiuc.edu/ece390/b.../artofasm.html

A very long read and awesome reference.