Chapter 6

Question 1

What does the Assembler do for each command written in machine language?

Answer 1

a. Parse the symbolic command into its underlying fields.
b. For each field, generate the corresponding bits in the machine language.
c. Replace all symbolic references (if any) with numeric addresses of memory locations.
d. Assemble the binary codes into a complete machine instruction.

Question 2

What are the steps the assembler takes to turn code into machine language?

Answer 2

Question 3

What are the three classes that together make and assembler, and what main subtask of the assembler does each class implement?

Answer 3

1. Parser class: Reading and parsing commands.
2. Code class: Converting mnemonics into code.
3. Symbol class: Handling symbols.