So... Does anyone here regularly program in assembly?

[Silmarwen]

I'm actually in the midst of re-taking a course that I failed the first time because I just didn't grasp the concepts, full stop.

Re-taking it; I'm muddling through a bit better, but the class (Computer Organization I) consists of the following topics:

Manual calculation of binary (standard, 1's Compliment, 2's Compliment, Excess notation, and IEEE 745) and hexidecimal
Basic overview of circuit and transistor diagrams (which started my downward spiral last time: "Label the inputs so that this circuit represents 'Y EQUALS A AND (B OR C)'")
Logic Gates (AND is the same as XOR run through an inverter...?), Multiplexers, and Adders
LC-3 programming/Assembly
TRAP routines and sub-routines
"The Stack"

And to top it all off, our first programming assignment is to design and implement a 'binary <-> decimal' conversion program. We have the luxury of choosing which high-level programming language to use, but my last programming class was five semesters ago, so I'll essentially have to re-learn it anyway. And it's due on my birthday :/ So I have to finish two days ahead of time if I want to get drunk and behave like a hoodlum on my birthday weekend

Thank goodness it's one of only two classes this semester (Yay graduation?!?!), otherwise I'd be utterly sunk. As it is, I'm only moderately mired in muck.

[GraphicGr8s]

I would so love to help you but my last bit of programming was in high school. In Fortran. Programming games on a mainframe.
What is your second class for the semester? Quantum physics? Wait. That's an easy A.

[Silmarwen]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

I would so love to help you but my last bit of programming was in high school. In Fortran. Programming games on a mainframe.
What is your second class for the semester? Quantum physics? Wait. That's an easy A.

Hahaha~ right? >_> I've got a couple of friends who can help me out, but like I said, I've essentially got two weeks to re-learn enough of a high-level programming language to complete a task. Shouldn't be too difficult if I nail down the algorithm before I start in with the curly braces and semicolons...

(My other class is my Anthropology capstone, which, while "writing intensive", will only aggregate about 15 pages over the whole semester, since my professor is of the "Concise article writing is more important than bloated 40-page final papers" mindset. Thank god.)

[l8nite]

Originally Posted by Silmarwen

Manual calculation of binary (standard, 1's Compliment, 2's Compliment, Excess notation, and IEEE 745) and hexidecimal
Basic overview of circuit and transistor diagrams (which started my downward spiral last time: "Label the inputs so that this circuit represents 'Y EQUALS A AND (B OR C)'")
Logic Gates (AND is the same as XOR run through an inverter...?), Multiplexers, and Adders
LC-3 programming/Assembly
TRAP routines and sub-routines
"The Stack"

That's a pretty heavy class, but should give you a firm foundation in how computers work.

Originally Posted by Silmarwen

And to top it all off, our first programming assignment is to design and implement a 'binary <-> decimal' conversion program. We have the luxury of choosing which high-level programming language to use

That's pretty generous. Do you need to do bin2dec and dec2bin or just one way? In either case, the algorithm is really simple, and you should be able to implement it in only a few lines of code, regardless of the language.

As far as whether I program assembly regularly, not regularly enough. I've done it for some hobbyist work, but nowadays C is usually as "low-level" as I need to go.

[dmagerl]

I dont think an AND gate is the same as an XOR with an inverter.

inverted XOR
in1 in2 xor invertedxor
0 0 0 1
1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0
1 1 0 1

AND
in1 in2 AND
0 0 0
1 0 0
0 1 0
1 1 1

Unless I misunderstood the statement.

edit: Bah! the site took out all my column spacing....

[Silmarwen]

Originally Posted by dmagerl

I dont think an AND gate is the same as an XOR with an inverter.

inverted XOR
in1 in2 xor invertedxor
0 0 0 1
1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0
1 1 0 1

AND
in1 in2 AND
0 0 0
1 0 0
0 1 0
1 1 1

Unless I misunderstood the statement.

edit: Bah! the site took out all my column spacing....

You probably didn't; I'm mistaking myself. AND is equal to NOR with inverters on the inputs. (So say my notes. God, this crap is confusing.) Something about number of transistors used to make NOR is less than to make OR... Aiyaa. She said we wouldn't have to design circuits, just understand them. But I don't understand them >_<

Originally Posted by l8nite

That's a pretty heavy class, but should give you a firm foundation in how computers work.



That's pretty generous. Do you need to do bin2dec and dec2bin or just one way? In either case, the algorithm is really simple, and you should be able to implement it in only a few lines of code, regardless of the language.

As far as whether I program assembly regularly, not regularly enough. I've done it for some hobbyist work, but nowadays C is usually as "low-level" as I need to go.

And I have to do Dec>Bin AND Bin>Dec, but she said we didn't have to do input-based selection; I can have a menu to tell it what algorithm to use. After that, I just have to validate the input and then convert it either to binary, 1's compliment binary, 2's compliment binary, and Excess 1024(?) notation... or from binary into the decimal equivalent assuming that it is each of the above.

I'm lucky I can use a menu... But I have no idea how the conversion will work. My only thought is that I can create the binary using the 'remainder-division' thing and go bit-by-bit and output strings, but converting from one type of binary to the other will be difficult, and I have no idea how the binary -> decimal will work :/

[dmagerl]

Ah! Thats better... DeMorgans Theorem.

Stacks are easy too. If you've ever used an HP reverse polish calculator, thats a stack computer. Not many people use them nowadays though.

[mistergreen]

ewww, assembly... Why would you go there where there are much better & easier to understand languages out there. I haven't touched assembly since I was 12 yo.

[Silmarwen]

Originally Posted by dmagerl

Ah! Thats better... DeMorgans Theorem.

Stacks are easy too. If you've ever used an HP reverse polish calculator, thats a stack computer. Not many people use them nowadays though.

We started stacks when, in the last class, I had already given up following the thread of the class. This professor is a lot better, actually. I was told by one of the more senior students that, "She WANTS you to pass, but she wants you to UNDERSTAND what you're passing. So she helps you out a lot."

Originally Posted by mistergreen

ewww, assembly... Why would you go there where there are much better & easier to understand languages out there. I haven't touched assembly since I was 12 yo.

You were touching assembly when you were 12? *grumbleeffincomputerprodigiesgrumble* Lol; It's a basic, ground-up approach to learning computer systems. But I'll be honest, I wouldn't have taken it if I knew what it entailed; "Computer Organization" I was kind of expecting MOBO connects to the Processor, Screen connects to the GFX card... Not, "This is how you write -53 in four different kinds of binary, now make a calculator by typing in ones and zeros."