TASM
TASM, Borland's Turbo Assembler, is an x86 assembler, able to create both 16 and 32 bit programs.
Advantages
There are several, if not many, advantages to using the Turbo Assembler. One of which is the "Ideal" mode syntax which many ASM developers prefer over the "MASM" syntax. TASM can also compile MASM source by using its "MASM mode". Its highly compatible with other Borland Turbo Products, namely Turbo C, Turbo Pascal, and Turbo Basic and has powerful macro support.
Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages to using TASM is that it is not open source. Another disadvantage, especially to today's typical developer, is that TASM only runs on Windows and DOS. Windows user can use GUI Turbo Assembler which is an IDE that comes packed with Turbo Assembler, Linker and Debugger for writing assembly codes.
Demise
It has been left (by the developer community) partially because assembly language has been all but left in favor of High Level Languages, and, as mentioned above, it is not open source or cross-compatible. These disadvantages were taken advantage of somewhere in the open source movement by the authors of NASM. NASM, with its cross-platform compatibility and open source GPL (now BSD) license, in combination with the fact that it supports Intel Syntax, effectively brought about the demise of the once omnipotent Turbo Assembler.
See Also
Articles
- LZASM - A freeware TASM compatible assembler that supports more modern x86 instructions