Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
MASM is invoked by a command line of the form:
M <options><file list>
The options, which may be selected, include the generation of additional
statistics, error information, and data which may be used by the Microsoft's
CodeView debugger. The file list must contain the name of the assembly lan-
guage source code file. This filename may be followed by the names of the
object code file, the listing file, and the cross-reference file. Where these last
three named files are not specified, MASM will prompt for them.
The default file extension for the object code filename is OBJ, while those
for the source listing and cross-reference files are LST and CRF, respectively.
Linkers
The linker is used to combine one, or more, object code files into a single
executable program file. The output file produced by the linker is not bound by
specific memory addresses (i.e. it is
relocatable
), and the operating system is
able to load and execute the file at any convenient address.
The linker must resolve address references between modules such that any
module which directs program execution outside itself (by means of a CALL,
an external symbol, or an
include directive
) will be linked to the module which
contains the corresponding code.
The Microsoft linker (LINK) is invoked by a command of the form:
LINK <options><file list>
The options which may be selected include the display of linker process infor-
mation, the packing of executable files, and the listing of
public symbols.
The
file list must contain the name of each of the object code files to be linked.
These may be followed by the names of the executable program file, the map
file, and the names of the library files. Where these last three named files are
not specified, LINK will prompt for them.
The default file extension for the executable program file is EXE whilst those
for the map and library files are MPA and LIB, respectively.
Cross-reference utilities
Cross-reference utilities can be invaluable when debugging since they can
greatly speed up the search for symbols within a source code file during a
debugging session. A cross-reference utility can be used to produce a specially
created listing of all of the symbols used in an assembly language program.
The listing is invariably alphabetical and each symbol in the list is followed by
one, or more, line numbers that indicate the lines in the source code file which
contain a reference to the symbol.
The Microsoft cross-reference utility (CREF) is invoked by a command line
of the form:
CREF <file list>
