Assemblers and Loaders

This book differs from the typical assembler text in that it is not a programming manual, and it is not concerned with any specific assembler language.Instead it concentrates on the design and implementation of assemblers and loaders.It assumes that the reader has some knowledge of computers and programming, and it aims to explain how assemblers and loaders work.Most of the discussion is general, and most of the examples are in a hypothetical, simple, assembler language.Certain examples are in the assembler languages of actual machines, and those are always specified.

This work has its origins at a point, a few years ago, when my students started complaining about a lack of literature in this field. Since I include assemblers and loaders in classes that I teach every semester, I responded by developing class notes. The notes were an immediate success, and have grown each semester, until I had enough material for an expository paper on the subject. Since I was too busy to polish the paper and submit it, I pretty soon found myself in a situation where the work was too large for a paper. So here it is at last, in the form of a book.

This is mostly a professional book, intended for computer professionals in general, and especially for systems programmers. However, it can be used as a supplementary text in a systems programming or computer organization class at any level.