Turbo Assembler(sometimes shortened to the name of the executable,TASM) is anassemblerfor software development published byBorlandin 1989. It runs on and produces code for 16- or 32-bitx86MS-DOSand compatibles orMicrosoft Windows.It can be used with Borland's other language products:Turbo Pascal,Turbo Basic,Turbo C,andTurbo C++.The Turbo Assembler package is bundled with TurboLinkerand is interoperable withTurbo Debugger.
| Developer(s) | Borland |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1989 |
| Stable release | 5.4
|
| Operating system | MS-DOS,Windows |
| Type | Assembler |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Official webpageat theWayback Machine(archived October 23, 2010) |
Borland advertised Turbo Assembler as being 2-3 times faster than its primary competitor,Microsoft Macro Assembler(MASM). TASM can assemble source in a MASM-compatible mode or anideal modewith a few enhancements.Object-Oriented programmingwas added in version 3. The last version of Turbo Assembler is 5.4, with files dated 1996 and patches up to 2010; it is still included withDelphiandC++Builder.
TASM itself is a 16-bit program. It will run on 16- and 32-bit versions of Windows, and produce code for the same versions, but it does not generate 64-bit x86 code. Turbo Assembler 5.0 (at least) also contains a 32-bit PE version of tasm called TASM32.EXE.
Example
editA Turbo Assembler program that prints 'Merry Christmas!':
.modelsmall
.stack100h
.data
msgdb"Merry christmas!",'$'
.code
mainproc
movax,SEGmsg
movds,ax
movdx,offsetmsg
movah,9
int21h
movax,4c00h
int21h
mainendp
endmain
Reception
editIn a review of three assemblers, Michael Blaszczak ofBYTEin February 1989 found that Turbo Assembler was slower than SLR OPTASM but faster than and very compatible with MASM. He liked the tutorial on assembly programming and "excellent" sample code, but criticized the paucity of reference documentation. Noting that it was the only assembler that "cleanly assembled everything I fed to it", Blaszczak concluded that TASM was his favorite as it was "the best of both worlds: MASM compatibility without MASM's glitches", especially for those new to assembly.[1]
See also
edit- Comparison of assemblers
- A86- contemporary of Turbo Assembler
- MASM- contemporary of Turbo Assembler
- FASM- More recent x86 assembler
References
edit- ^Blaszczak, Michael (February 1989)."Three Assemblers for MS-DOS".BYTE.pp. 205–209.Retrieved2024-10-08.
- Notes
- Swan, Tom (1989).Mastering Turbo Assembler.Carmel, Indiana: Howard W. Sams & Company, Hayden Books division of Macmillan Computer Publishing.ISBN0-672-48435-8.2nd Edition, 1995ISBN0-672-30526-7.