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NASM Programming Notes

The document outlines key concepts in NASM programming, including the roles of the assembler and linker, steps to execute a NASM program, and various assembler directives. It covers system calls, array element access, macros, procedures, and conditional jumps, as well as instructions for arithmetic operations and data types. Additionally, it discusses operating modes, stack management, and multiplication methods.

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15 views6 pages

NASM Programming Notes

The document outlines key concepts in NASM programming, including the roles of the assembler and linker, steps to execute a NASM program, and various assembler directives. It covers system calls, array element access, macros, procedures, and conditional jumps, as well as instructions for arithmetic operations and data types. Additionally, it discusses operating modes, stack management, and multiplication methods.

Uploaded by

43 FYIT Sayali Patil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NASM Programming Concepts - Summary Notes

Assembler & Linker

Assembler converts .asm to .o files. Linker converts .o files to executables (.exe or a.out).

Steps to Execute a NASM Program

1. Write code: program.asm

2. Assemble: nasm -f elf64 program.asm -o program.o

3. Link: ld program.o -o program

4. Run: ./program

Assembler Directives

.data, .bss, .text, global, extern, section - used to manage memory and program structure.

dd, dw, db, dq, dt, resb, resw

db: byte (1 byte)

dw: word (2 bytes)

dd: doubleword (4 bytes)

dq: quadword (8 bytes)

dt: ten bytes

resb: reserve bytes

resw: reserve words

.data, .bss, .text Sections

.data: initialized data

.bss: uninitialized data

.text: program instructions

System Calls (64-bit)

Exit: rax=60, rdi=status


NASM Programming Concepts - Summary Notes

Read: rax=0, rdi=fd, rsi=buf, rdx=len

Write: rax=1, rdi=fd, rsi=buf, rdx=len

Accessing Array Elements

mov rax, [array + rbx] ; rbx = index in bytes

Use of Counter

Used in loops to count iterations (e.g., ecx/rcx).

Macro

Text substitution at compile time.

Example:

%macro display 1

mov rsi, %1

call print_string

%endmacro

Procedure

A function called with 'call' and exited with 'ret'. Used for code reuse.

Macro vs Procedure

Macro: Compile time, faster, no call overhead.

Procedure: Runtime, reusable, modular.

Conditional vs Unconditional Jump

Conditional: jz, jnz, js, jne etc.

Unconditional: jmp
NASM Programming Concepts - Summary Notes

String Length Register

Usually RAX after syscall read.

Call and Return Instruction

call: jumps to label and stores return address

ret: returns control

ROL and CMP Instructions

ROL BX,1: Rotate BX left by 1

CMP AX,BX: Compare AX and BX

Find Largest Number in Array

Loop through array and compare elements, store max.

Swap Instruction

xchg AX, BX

Program Logic

Sequence of operations to perform a task.

BT Instruction

Bit Test - checks a bit and updates CF.

ASCII for Newline

0x0A

Positive/Negative Check
NASM Programming Concepts - Summary Notes

Use js (jump if sign), jns (jump if not sign).

DIV Instruction

div operand: divides AX/RAX by operand, result in AL/AX/RAX, remainder in AH/DX/RDX

PUSH Instruction

push rax: pushes rax onto the stack.

Hex vs BCD

Hex: Base-16 (0-9, A-F)

BCD: Decimal digits stored in 4 bits each

HEX to BCD & vice versa

HEX to BCD: divide by 10 repeatedly

BCD to HEX: combine digits as binary

JNZ, JZ, JMP, JBE

JNZ: Jump if not zero

JZ: Jump if zero

JMP: Unconditional jump

JBE: Jump if below/equal

Accept & Display Number Procedure

Accept: read syscall, convert ASCII to int

Display: convert int to ASCII, write syscall

Operating Modes
NASM Programming Concepts - Summary Notes

Real Mode (16-bit), Protected Mode (32-bit), Long Mode (64-bit)

Descriptor & Tables

Descriptor: Defines segment info

Tables: GDT, LDT, IDT

CR0 Register

Control Register enabling protection modes.

Overlapped vs Non-Overlapped Transfer

Overlapped: Shared source and destination

Non-overlapped: Separate memory

String Instructions & Direction Flag

movsb, stosb, lodsb

STD: set flag (reverse)

CLD: clear flag (forward)

Multiplication Methods

Successive Add: Repeated addition

Add & Shift: Binary multiplication

Stack Size

Depends on OS, usually large, managed via rsp.

Data Types

Byte, Word, Doubleword, Quadword, Float


NASM Programming Concepts - Summary Notes

Coprocessor

x87 FPU or SSE/AVX SIMD

Arithmetic Instructions

add, sub, mul, div, inc, dec, neg, adc, sbb

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