This manual describes the assembly language syntax and CodeWarrior IDE settings for the processor-specific assemblers provided by CodeWarrior.

This chapter includes the following topics:

• Read the Release Notes!
• What's in This Book
• Conventions Used in This Manual
• Where to Learn More

Read the Release Notes!

By now, you may have read the CodeWarrior release notes. If not, please do so now. The release notes contain important last-minute information about new features, bug fixes, and incompatibilities. The release notes reside on your CodeWarrior CD, in the following directory:

  {CodeWarrior directory}\Release_Notes

What's in This Book

CodeWarrior provides several assemblers, depending on the processor for which you are developing code. This manual describes the syntax for assembly language statements, including macros and directives, used by the CodeWarrior assemblers.

NOTE

This manual provides information for the processor-specific assemblers provided by CodeWarrior. For information on the inline assembler provided by the CodeWarrior C/C++ compiler, see the Targeting manual for your target processor and C Compilers Reference.

The basic syntax of assembly language statements is identical among the processor-specific assemblers (which this manual describes). However, the instruction mnemonics and register names for each processor differ.

This manual assumes you are familiar with assembly language and the processor for which you are developing code.

Unless otherwise stated, all the information in this manual applies to all the assemblers.

NOTE

When this manual states that information applies to the assembler, the information refers to all the assemblers unless otherwise stated.

Chapter Descriptions

This manual contains several general chapters. The information in the general chapters applies to all the assemblers, unless otherwise stated. Table 1.1 describes each of the general chapters.

Chapter descriptions:

Chapter Title	Description
Introduction	This chapter, which describes this manual.
Assembly Language Syntax	Describes the main syntax of assembly language statements.
Using Directives	Describes the assembler directives.
Using Macros	Describes how to define and invoke macros.
Common Assembler Settings	Describes the assembler settings that are common among the assemblers

In addition to the chapters listed in Table 1.1, this manual may include one or more processor-specific chapters that discuss differing features, settings, and examples for a particular processor. Check the Table of Contents to see if this manual contains a processor-specific chapter for your target processor.

Code Examples

The code examples in the general chapters of this manual (Table 1.1) are for x86 processors. Any processor-specific chapters included in this manual contain corresponding examples wherever the code differs for the processor discussed in that chapter. Each processor-specific example also is cross-referenced to the corresponding example in the general chapters.

Conventions Used in This Manual

This manual includes syntax statements that describe how to use assembly language statements. Table 1.2 describes how to interpret the syntax.

Understanding Syntax Examples:

If the text looks like	Then
literal	Include the item in your statement as shown.
metasymbol	Replace the symbol with an appropriate value. The text after the syntax example describes what the appropriate values are.
a | b | c	Use one of the items in the group: either a, b, or c.     Do not type the | character because it is not part of the statement being defined.
[ a ]	Include the item, which is optional, when needed. The text after the syntax example describes when to include it.     Do not type the square brackets ([]) because they are not part of the statement being defined.
a ::= b | c	Substitute one or more items on the right side of the ::= symbol for the item on the left side as indicated by the syntax on the right side. In the example, a is defined as either b or c.

Where to Learn More

Each assembler uses the standard assembly language mnemonics and register names defined by the manufacturer of the applicable processor. For information on related documentation, see the processor-specific chapters of this manual.