If we can get the computer to do a simple translation like hex to binary then we can get it to do a slightly more useful translation of mnemonics to machine code. The mnemonics are easily remembered shorthand versions of the instructions which we have already met LDA, LSR, ADDA etc. A program which converts mnemonics to machine code is called an Assembler and the language based on these mnemonics is known as Assembly Code.
The Assembler uses a look-up table to convert each mnemonic into the appropriate code. An instruction like DECA is simple the code is 4A. With an instruction like LDA, however, there are many possible codes depending upon the addressing mode. The program must obviously specify which mode should be used.
LDA #$FF - Immediate addressing 86
LDA <$56 - Direct Page addressing 96
LDA $FE00 - Extended addressing B6
LDA $0F,X - Indexed addressing A6
LDA [$2020] - Indirect addressing A6
Thus there is a precise format for the 'address' part of the
instruction which indicates which mode to use. In the last two
cases the instruction code is the same but the 'post-byte' or
second byte of the instruction is different.
So the first thing we can get the assembler to do is to look up the instruction codes for us - but in fact it can do a great deal more.
We have all had problems with the relative addressing used in Branch instructions even though it is really a fairly simple calculation. The assembler can do this calculation for us.
Assembler Input Assembler Output
(Source Code) (Object Code)
$0030 LDX #$C646 8E C6 46
$0033 LEAX -1,X 30 1F
$0035 BNE $0033 26 FC
By now this will be a very familiar loop. The assembler will work
out the twos complement of the difference between the address of
the next instruction and the destination address. Moreover the
assembler will use the normal or short branch instruction with an
8 bit offset or the long branch if the offset is outside the
range -128 to +127.
The next thing we can get the assembler to do is to keep track of all the addresses in the program. Rather than specifying the destination of a branch explicitly as an address we can give the appropriate location a name and simply refer to the name from then on. The assembler works out what actual address the name corresponds to and works out the offset accordingly.
ORG $0030 ;Program starts at $0030
LDX #$C646
LOOP LEAX -1,X
BNE LOOP
The Assembler works out that the address of the instruction
labelled LOOP is $0033 and uses this number in the calculation of
the offset. This makes editing the program a great deal easier
since we can add lines and the assembler will work out all the
new addresses. We can have as many labels like this as we like
and they can refer to instruction locations as shown here,
or any other locations in memory.
ORB EQU $FE00
INA EQU $FE01
DDRB EQU $FE02
DDRA EQU $FE03
ORG $0020
LDA #$FF
STA DDRB
LOOP1 LDA INA
STA ORB
BRA LOOP1
The first four statements simply equate the label to the value so
that whenever that label is encountered again the appropriate
value is substituted. This means that labels can be defined just
once at the beginning of the program. If we wish to change the
actual addresses then we only have to change the definition
statements and re-asssemble the program for it all to work
correctly.
The assembler works by reading the source code program and building up a symbol table which lists all the labels and their equivalent values. This causes no problems with the programs listed so far, but we often want to refer to locations by label before they have been encountered.
ADDA 0,X
BCC NOCARRY
INC MSBYTE
NOCARRY DECB
etc.
Here the label NOCARRY is encountered by the assembler before it
has been given a value. In addition the assembler does not know
whether the offset will fit into 8 bits or 16 bits which in turn
affects the addresses of all subsequent instructions and indeed
the address of NOCARRY itself. To overcome this the assembler
will read through the program a number of times. The first time
it builds up the symbol table assuming a 16 bit offset will be
required in a situation like that above. It then reads through
again knowing the actual addresses and correcting the symbol
table as necessary to take account of the fact that only an 8 bit
offset is needed. It is of course possible that this shortening
of the program brings offsets into 8 bit range that were not
previously. So the assembler must keep on reading through until
no further shortening is possible. It then does a final read
through translating all the codes using the final version of the
symbol table.
The assembler is therefore a fairly sophisticated software package. In some cases it is possible for the assembler to run on the computer system it is assembling programs for. E.g. the BBC microcomputer had a built in assembler. In the case of the simple lab kits there is not nearly enough memory to run such a large program, and so if we want to run an assembler we have to do it on a different computer system. In this case it is referred to as a Cross-Assembler. The assembler we have runs on the PCs on the Novell network and is such a cross-assembler. It is one produced by Motorola and the format of the source code conforms to the standard Motorola format which you may find in a number of books on the subject.
| ORG $1234 | Tells the assembler to enter the next instruction (or data byte) at the location $1234. |
| END | Marks end of source code. |
| EQU | Equates a symbol to a value. |
| FCB $0F | Form a Constant Byte - Allocates a memory location and enters the data specified. Can be used to create tables of values in memory. |
| FDB $1234 | Form a Double Byte - Allocates a pair of memory locations and enters the data specified - MSByte first. |
| FCC 'Message' | Form Constant Characters - Allocates sufficient memory bytes to hold the string enclosed in quotation marks. The ASCII values of the characters are entered into the following locations. |
| RMB $20 | Reserve Memory Bytes - Reserves the specified number of memory locations without entering any data into them. |
| ; | Whatever follows on the line is a comment and should be ignored. |
In addition most assemblers will allow simple arithmetic to be carried out using the symbols and basic operators.
VIA EQU $FE00
ORB EQU VIA
INA EQU VIA+1
DDRB EQU VIA+2
DDRA EQU VIA+3
etc.
Here we are defining the address at which the VIA is located and
then defining the addresses of all the registers in the VIA with
reference to that starting address. This means that if we want
the software to run on a different system with the VIA at a
different address all we have to do is change one line in the
program and re-assemble it.
VIA EQU $8008
Or if we have a table of values and wish to have a location which
stores the number of entries in the table:-
TABLE FCB $0A
FCB $15
ENDTAB FCB $7B
NUMBER FCB ENDTAB-TABLE