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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!seismo!mcvax!inria!axis!philip
From: philip@axis.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Packed Assembly Format
Message-ID: <171@axis.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Feb-87 16:03:59 EST
Article-I.D.: axis.171
Posted: Sat Feb  7 16:03:59 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 9-Feb-87 02:02:15 EST
References: <14576@amdcad.UUCP>
Organization: Axis Digital, Paris
Lines: 20
Summary: There is no loader - just an ASSEMBLER-LOADER

In article <14576@amdcad.UUCP> tim@amdcad.UUCP writes:
>Basically (as far as I can tell), all non-executable,
>compiled code (i.e. separately compiled "object" modules and libraries) are
>stored in "Packed Assembly Language."  In the book, Dr. Tannenbaum says that
>this was done to conserve space to allow single-floppy operation.  However,
>I just cannot figure out how this format can conserve space over the actual
>object code stored in a standard object file format.  For example:

>	add	AX,DX		is a minimum of 8 bytes, while the
>				object code for the equivalent instruction
>				is only 2 bytes.

>Am I missing something?

Yes you are. I think that it is actually explained somewhere in the book
that there is NO LOADER, just a combined ASSEMBLER-LOADER.

Thus all input to this beast has to be in assembler source format.

Philip