October 16, 1985
Microsoft Macro Assembler Package
Version 4.00
==( MASM.EXE )==================================================
New Feature
The following error message has been added to MASM:
102 Segment near (or at) 64K limit.
This is a warning, not a severe error, so the object module
is not deleted. It occurs when a code segment has grown to
a large size (within 36 bytes of 64K) and is detected when
the segment is closed with the ENDS directive. It does not
occur with data segments. A code segment is a segment which
contains at least one instruction.
Clarification
The statements "DW ?" and "DW 1 DUP(?)" are not identical;
they cause MASM to generate different object files. The
first form is "indeterminate," meaning MASM places the
default value 0 in the object module. The second form is
"undefined," meaning MASM does not generate a value for the
declaration in the object module. The only indication that
an undefined value has been processed is that records placed
in the object module following the declaration have their
offsets adjusted forward. In most cases, the distinction is
trivial, but in segments with the COMMON combine type, the
distinction is very important.
Note that if two modules contain definitions for a variable,
one with "?" and one with an explicit value, the variable in
the executable file will have either 0 or the value,
depending on the order of linking. If the modules had
"n dup (?)" and "n dup (m)" where n and m are numbers, the
value would be "n dup (m)" regardless of the link order.
When COMMON segments are involved, "1 dup (?)" should always
be used instead of "?".
Clarification
The occurrence of square brackets ([]) in the address field
of instructions indicates a memory reference only when at
least one of the registers BX, BP, SI, or DI is contained in
the brackets. For all other purposes, the square brackets
indicate addition. For example, "mov ax,[bx]" moves the
word to which BX points into AX, but "mov ax,[2]" moves the
immediate value 2 into AX. To generate a memory reference
to an absolute offset, use "mov ax,ds:[2]". Since DS is the
default segment register for memory references, the segment
override will not be put in the object file, but it does
tell MASM that "[2]" is a memory reference, not an immediate
value.
Clarification
If neither the /R nor the /E option is used during assembly,
MASM defaults to the Microsoft real number format. See
Chapter 2 of the Reference Manual for information on the
syntax for declaring real numbers.
Clarification
The definition of names on page 15 and 16 of the Reference
Manual is incomplete. A name is a sequence of characters
consisting of letters, digits, and the following special
characters: underscore (_), percent sign (%), question mark
(?), dollar sign ($), at sign (@), or period (.). These
limitations apply:
o A name cannot begin with digit, though a digit can
be imbedded (sym1 but not 1sym).
o A name may begin with a period, but cannot have an
imbedded period (.sym1 but not sym.1).
o A name cannot correspond to a reserved word or
symbol (for example, AX, ?, $, mov, and PAGE are
illegal).
Correction
The description for assembler error 49, "Illegal use of
register," should read:
Use of a register with an instruction where no valid
register is possible.
==( SYMDEB.EXE )================================================
Clarification
The WO and BY operators in expressions assume DS as the
segment; the BP and SP registers in expressions assume SS as
the segment.
Clarification
The MS-DOS terminate function (4Ch) will terminate SYMDEB
and return to MS-DOS if you use the Assemble command (A) to
assemble the function call, and then try to execute it from
inside SYMDEB. This is because SYMDEB executes the function
directly instead of executing the program containing the
function.
For example, if you assemble the sample program BELL.COM
shown on page 102 of the User's Guide, and then execute it
from inside the debugger, SYMDEB will terminate. However,
if you save the program (as shown on page 162 of the User's
Guide), then restart with BELL.COM as the executable file,
SYMDEB will execute the program without terminating.
Clarification
Microsoft reserves certain software interrupts for special
uses. SYMDEB understands some of these special uses, and
interprets surrounding bytes as data for the interrupts.
If you use a reserved interrupt value, you should be aware
that SYMDEB may disassemble nearby code based on its
special understanding of the use of that interrupt.
Clarification
When using the Breakpoint Set command (BP), the optional
quoted command string cannot exceed 29 characters.
==( MAPSYM.EXE )================================================
Clarification
Mapsym has a limitation of 10,000 source lines per source
file. If your source file has more than 10,000 source
lines, MAPSYM will truncate the number of lines that go into
the symbol (.SYM) file to 10,000. If you require the source
line information, break the source file into two or more
parts.
==( MAKE.EXE )==================================================
Correction
In the description of MAKE inference rules on page 210 of
the User's Guide, the order of the target and dependent
extensions is reversed in both the syntax description and
the example.
The syntax description should read:
.dependentextension.targetextension:
command1
[command2]
.
.
.
The sample description file at the bottom of the page should
read:
.asm.obj:
MASM $*.asm,,;
test1.obj: test1.asm
test2.obj: test2.asm
MASM test2.asm;
Note that the syntax for inference rules (dependent
extension given first) is different than the syntax for
target/dependent descriptions (target file given first).
==( General Information )=======================================
When reporting problems with any program in the Macro
Assembler package, please provide the following information
to help us in tracking down the problem:
o The program version number from the logo that is
printed out when you invoke the program
o The version of DOS you are running (use the DOS VER
command)
o Your system configuration (your machine, total memory,
total free memory at execution time, etc.)
o The command line, responses to prompts, or response
file used to invoke the program
o Appropriate source, include, listing, library, or map
files for the program you were working on when the
problem occurred
Please use the Software Problem Report at the back of the
manual to send the information to Microsoft.
