





						       Introduction



		 1.1  Overview

		 The XENIX Macro Assembler  User's  Guide  explains
		 how to	create and debug assembly language programs
		 using the XENIX Macro Assembler, MASM.

		 The following sections	explain	what  you  need	 to
		 create	 assembly language programs, what steps	you
		 need to take to create	these  programs,  and  what
		 document  conventions	you  will find when reading
		 this guide.


		 1.2  What You Need

		 To make an assembly language program, you  need  a
		 text  editor  and  you	 need  to  know	the correct
		 syntax	and  format  of	 assembly  language  source
		 files.	  In addition, you need	to be familiar with
		 the function and operation of the instruction sets
		 for the 8086/186/286 family of	microprocessors.

		 The  XENIX   Macro	Assembler  supports   these
		 instruction  sets and creates programs	that can be
		 executed within the  8086/186/286  family.   (This
		 family	 includes  the	8086,  8088,  186,  and	286
		 microprocessors   and	  the	 8087	 and	287
		 coprocessors.)	  MASM	provides  a logical program
		 syntax	  ideally   suited   for   the	  segmented
		 architecture  of  the	8086.  This syntax is fully
		 explained in the XENIX	Macro  Assembler  Reference
		 Manual, which describes the syntax and	function of
		 assembly  language   directives,   operands,	and
		 expressions.


		 1.3  How To Begin

		 You begin by creating an assembly language  source
		 file  with  a	text editor.  Then you assemble	the



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	      XENIX Macro Assembler User's Guide



	      source file using	MASM.

	      Once you have tested the program,	you  can  invoke
	      it  from	the  XENIX  command  line  at  any time.
	      Programs that you	create,	 like  all  other  XENIX
	      programs,	can accept command parameters, be copied
	      to  other	 systems,  and	be  invoked  with  shell
	      scripts.


































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						       Introduction



		 1.4  Notational Conventions

		 This  manual	uses   the   following	 notational
		 conventions to	define command syntax:

		       ______________________________________
		       Roman	    Indicates	command	   or
				    parameter names that must
				    be typed  as  shown.   In
				    most   cases,  upper  and
				    lowercase letters can  be
				    freely intermixed.

		       Italics	    Indicates a	 placeholder,
				    that  is, a	name that you
				    must  replace  with	  the
				    value     or     filename
				    required by	the program.

		       ...	    Ellipses.  Indicates that
				    you	   can	 repeat	  the
				    preceding item any number
				    of times.

		       [ ]	    Brackets.  Indicates that
				    the	  enclosed   item  is
				    optional.  If you do  not
				    use	 the  optional	item,
				    the	 program  selects   a
				    default  action  to	carry
				    out.

		       |	    Vertical bar.   Indicates
				    that   only	 one  of  the
				    separated  items  can  be
				    used.   You	 must  make a
				    choice between the items.





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	      Chapter 1


	      Introduction
	      __________________________________________________



	      1.1  Overview  1-1

	      1.2  What	You Need  1-1

	      1.3  How To Begin	 1-2

	      1.4  Notational Conventions  1-3









































