Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Data Structures in Assembler Design -> Relocation Table
The relocation table is a fundamental data structure in assembler and linker design, responsible for recording references to symbols or addresses that cannot be resolved at assembly time. These relocations are deferred...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Data Structures in Assembler Design -> Instruction Table
The instruction table is the core reference structure that an assembler uses to map mnemonic representations of machine instructions to their corresponding binary encodings, operand patterns, and encoding rules. It acts...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Data Structures in Assembler Design -> Symbol Table
The symbol table is one of the core data structures in any assembler. It serves as a central repository for all named identifiers encountered during the assembly process, including labels, variables, macros, constants,...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Lexical analysis and tokenizing
After preprocessing completes macro expansion, includes, and directive handling, the assembler proceeds to lexical analysis, also known as tokenizing. This phase is essential to convert the raw text of the assembly...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Code generation: converting tokens to binary
The code generation phase is the assembler’s core responsibility—translating the parsed instructions and directives into raw machine code. This involves converting high-level symbolic tokens into binary encodings...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Symbol resolution and backpatching
After code generation has constructed the initial binary stream, an assembler must resolve all symbolic references to their actual numeric addresses or offsets. This is the symbol resolution phase, which ensures...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Syntax Analysis: Grammar and Parsing
Following the lexical analysis phase, the assembler enters the syntax analysis or parsing stage. This phase is responsible for interpreting the token stream produced by lexical analysis, checking it against the formal...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
Architecture of an Assembler: Assembler Phases Explained
- Preprocessing: Macro Expansion, Includes, Directives 1. Overview of Preprocessing in an Assembler Preprocessing is the initial phase in the assembly process where the assembler prepares the source code for...
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Assembly
Aug 4, 2026
x86-64 Machine Code Encoding: Little-endian Conversion Walkthroughs
The x86-64 architecture uses little-endian byte order for representing multi-byte values such as immediate constants, displacement fields, and memory contents. Understanding how to correctly convert multi-byte numerical...
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