Todays Topics

• In-class Examples
• Program Organization
• Assembly and Debugging Techniques
• NASM Directives
• MP Grading

In class examples

• Building Programs
  • Object: Dependencies
    Action
  • NMAKE to build programs
  • NMAKE CLEAN to remove OBJ, MAP, LST, EXE

• Building Programs
  • Assembling with NASM
  • Linking with TLINK
  • The code segment
  • Allocating Variables

• Turbo Debugger
  • Using symbolic reference
  • Setting Breakpoints
  • Saving your source code

Program Organization

1. Write pseudocode on paper first to get a clear concept of program control flow and data structures
2. Break the total program into logical procedures/macros
3. Use jumps, loops, etc. where appropriate
4. Use descriptive names for variables
   • noun_type for types
   • nouns for variables
   • verbs for procedures/functions

Assembly Debugging Techniques

1. General Techniques
   • Good program organization helps
   • Programs don't work the first time
   • Don't give up!

2. Divide and Conquer Strategy to find problems
   • Use DEBUG breakpoints to check program progress
     
   • Use COMMENT and ; to temporarily remove sections of code
     
   • "print" statments announce milestones in program
     

3. Test values/cases
   • Try forcing registers/variables to test output of a procedure
   • Use "print" statements to display critical data

4. Double-check your own logic (Did you miss a special case?)

5. Try a different algorithm, if all else fails...

CS306 MP Grading Procedure

• Functionality: 70% - The program must work.
• Comments: 10% - The TAs must be able to understand your program.
• Style: 10% - No spaghetti code.
• I/O Specific: 5% - Subroutines follow required interface
• Modularity: 5% - Appropriate use of procedures and loops