User input and output doesn't work in my assembly code
The following program compiles without errors, but when run it doesn't prompt for any input and nothing prints. What's the problem, and how can I fix it?
I use these commands to assemble and link:
/usr/local/bin/nasm -f macho32 $1
ld -macosx_version_min 10.9.0 -lSystem -o run $filename.o -e _start -lc
My code is:
section .data
;New line string
NEWLINE: db 0xa, 0xd
LENGTH: equ $-NEWLINE
section .bss
INPT: resd 1
section .text
global _start
_start:
;Read character
mov eax, 0x3
mov ebx, 0x1
mov ecx, INPT
mov edx, 0x1
int 80h
;print character
mov eax, 0x4
mov ebx, 0x1
mov ecx, INPT
mov edx, 0x1
int 80h
;Print new line after the output
mov eax, 0x4
mov ebx, 0x1
mov ecx, NEWLINE
mov edx, LENGTH
int 0x80
;Terminate
mov eax, 0x1
xor ebx, ebx
int 0x80
Solution 1:
There are signs in your code that you may have been using a Linux tutorial when producing code for OS/X(BSD). Linux and OS/X have differing SYSCALL calling conventions. In OS/X 32-bit programs int 0x80
requires parameters (except the syscall in EAX) to be passed on a stack.
The important things to be aware of with 32-bit SYSCALLs via int 0x80
on OS/X are:
- arguments passed on the stack, pushed right-to-left
- you must allocate an additional 4 bytes (a DWORD) on the stack after you push all the arguments
- syscall number in the eax register
- call by interrupt 0x80
After pushing arguments on the stack in reverse order for int 0x80
you must allocate an additional 4 bytes (a DWORD) on the stack. The value in that memory location on the stack doesn't matter. This requirement is an artifact from an old UNIX convention.
A list of the SYSCALL numbers and their parameters can be found in the APPLE header files. You'll need these SYSCALLs:
1 AUE_EXIT ALL { void exit(int rval); } 3 AUE_NULL ALL { user_ssize_t read(int fd, user_addr_t cbuf, user_size_t nbyte); } 4 AUE_NULL ALL { user_ssize_t write(int fd, user_addr_t cbuf, user_size_t nbyte); }
I have commented some example code that would be similar in functionality to what you may have been attempting to achieve:
section .data
;New line string
NEWLINE: db 0xa, 0xd
LENGTH: equ $-NEWLINE
section .bss
INPT: resd 1
global _start
section .text
_start:
and esp, -16 ; Make sure stack is 16 byte aligned at program start
; not necessary in this example since we don't call
; external functions that conform to the OS/X 32-bit ABI
push dword 1 ; Read 1 character
push dword INPT ; Input buffer
push dword 0 ; Standard input = FD 0
mov eax, 3 ; syscall sys_read
sub esp, 4 ; Extra 4 bytes on stack needed by int 0x80
int 0x80
add esp, 16 ; Restore stack
push dword 1 ; Print 1 character
push dword INPT ; Output buffer = buffer we read characters into
push dword 1 ; Standard output = FD 1
mov eax, 4 ; syscall sys_write
sub esp, 4 ; Extra 4 bytes on stack needed by int 0x80
int 0x80
add esp, 16 ; Restore stack
push dword LENGTH ; Number of characters to write
push dword NEWLINE ; Write the data in the NEWLINE string
push dword 1 ; Standard output = FD 1
mov eax, 4 ; syscall sys_write
sub esp, 4 ; Extra 4 bytes on stack needed by int 0x80
int 0x80
add esp, 16 ; Restore stack
push dword 0 ; Return value from program = 0
mov eax, 1 ; syscall sys_exit
sub esp, 4 ; Extra 4 bytes on stack needed by int 0x80
int 0x80
The and esp, -16
is only necessary if you need to align the stack to a 16-byte boundary as a baseline for future stack operations. If you intend to call external functions that conform to the OS/X 32-bit ABI the stack is expected to be 16-byte aligned immediately preceding a function CALL. This alignment is not necessary for system calls via int 0x80
.
You should be able to assemble and link it with:
nasm -f macho32 test.asm -o test.o
ld -macosx_version_min 10.9.0 -o test test.o -e _start -lSystem
And run it with:
./test