Hi guys i need to write a program that reads a line from the user and then searches and counts the number of alphabet letters in it and the number of any one punctuation.
i figured out how to go through the list of all uppercase and lowercase letters and punctuations ':' and ';' but wanna know how to compare with each character in the line.
im using assmbly lang for intel IA-32 and MASM 8
ive used macros to read the line and display it the definition of the macros is given
PLEASE HELP!

;------------------------------------------------------
mReadString MACRO varName:REQ
;
; Reads from standard input into a buffer.
; Receives: the name of the buffer. Avoid passing 
;    ECX and EDX as arguments.
;------------------------------------------------------
	push ecx
	push edx
	mov  edx,OFFSET varName
	mov  ecx,SIZEOF varName
	call ReadString
	pop  edx
	pop  ecx
ENDM
;------------------------------------------------------
mWriteString MACRO buffer:REQ
;
; Writes a string variable to standard output.
; Receives: string variable name.
;------------------------------------------------------
	push edx
	mov  edx,OFFSET buffer
	call WriteString
	pop  edx
ENDM
INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
INCLUDE Macros.inc
.data
mPutchar MACRO char

push eax
mov al,char
call WriteChar
pop eax

ENDM
sen BYTE 500 DUP(?)
.code

main PROC

call ClrScr					;Clear screen

mWrite<" Input a sentence to see the number of alphabet letters and punctuation",0dh,0ah>
mReadString sen
call Crlf
mWrite<"Sentence input by user..",0dh,0ah>
mWriteString sen

call Crlf

mov edx, OFFSET  sen
call WriteChar

call Crlf
	mov al,65
	mov ecx,26
L1:
	mPutchar al			;macro call
	
	inc al
	call Crlf
	loop L1

	mov al,97
	mov ecx,26
L2:
	mPutchar al
	
	inc al 
	Call Crlf
	loop L2

	mov al,58
	mov ecx,2
L3:
	mPutchar al
	
	inc al
	Call Crlf
	loop L3



exit

main ENDP


END main

the simpliest way that I can find right now is saving each occurance of a char in a new array. Basically like this:

string DB 'Hello Demonoid2008!",$
yourloop:
  XOR EAX,EAX
  MOV Al,[string+EBX]  ;reads char
  MOV BL,[array+EAX] ;reads how ofter char occured till now...
  INC BL  ;and increments it 'cause it just occured right now again...
  MOV [array+EAX],BL  ;..and saves it again
LOOP yourloop

array  RESB 256

After this loop you have a map of all occurances. You can now sort it and say "o: 3x, l: 2x" etc.

so i've this but there's some problem in the control of the program..can someone help me figure out??..thanks

TITLE counting
;Program description: Counts number of English alphabet letters and punctuation

INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
INCLUDE Macros.inc
.data
mPutchar MACRO char

push eax
mov al,char
call WriteChar
pop eax

ENDM

sen BYTE 500 DUP(?) 		;mem allocation for sentence
bcount DWORD ?			;counter for bytes in the sentence
dcount DWORD 0
count BYTE 0 			;counter
ca DWORD 0			;counters  
cb DWORD 0			;for 
cc DWORD 0			;letters A(or a) to Z(or z)
cd DWORD 0			;and punctuation :
ce DWORD 0
cntf DWORD 0
cg DWORD 0
cnth DWORD 0
ci DWORD 0
cj DWORD 0
ck DWORD 0
cntl DWORD 0
cm DWORD 0
cn DWORD 0
co DWORD 0
cp DWORD 0
cq DWORD 0
cr DWORD 0
cnts DWORD 0
ct DWORD 0
cu DWORD 0
cv DWORD 0
cw DWORD 0
cntx DWORD 0
cy DWORD 0
cz DWORD 0
cpunc DWORD 0

.code

main PROC

call ClrScr					;Clear screen

mWrite<" Input a sentence to see the number of alphabet letters and punctuation",0dh,0ah>	;input prompt				
mov edx, OFFSET sen	
mov ecx, SIZEOF sen
call ReadString							;reading sentence
mov bcount, eax							;displaying length
call WriteDec							;of screen

call Crlf

mWrite<"Sentence input by user..",0dh,0ah>					;prints
call WriteString							;sentence input by user
mov esi, OFFSET sen							;assigning offset of sentence to esi

call Crlf

START:
	inc dcount
	mov count,0						;initialize count to 0
	mov al,65
	mov ecx,26
L1:
	inc count
	mPutchar al						;macro call to display character
	cmp al,BYTE PTR [esi]					;L1, L2 and L3 are labels for
	je MAT							;traversing A-Z,a-z and ':' punctuation		
	inc al
	call Crlf
	loop L1

	mov count,0
	mov al,97
	mov ecx,26
L2:
	inc count
	mPutchar al
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
	inc al 
	Call Crlf
	loop L2


	mov count,0
L3:	
	mov al,58
	mPutchar al
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
	Call Crlf
	




MAT:
call matcher
mov ebx,dcount
cmp ebx,bcount
jne START

L5:
	call Crlf
	mWrite<"A's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,ca
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"B's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cb
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	
	mWrite<"C's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cc
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"D's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cd
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"E's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,ce
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"F's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cntf
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"G's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cg
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"H's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cnth
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"I's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,ci
	call WriteDec	
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"J's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cj
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"K's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,ck
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"L's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cntl
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"M's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cm
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"N's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cn
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"O's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,co
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"P's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cp
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"Q's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cq
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"R's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cr
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"S's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cnts
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"T's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,ct
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"U's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cu
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"V's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cv
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"W's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cw
	call WriteDec	
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"X's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cntx
	call WriteDec	
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"Y's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cy
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"Z's: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cz
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<":'s: ",0dh,0ah>
	mov eax,cpunc
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
exit

main ENDP

matcher      PROC
	
	

	cmp count,1
	je AF
	
	cmp count,2
	je BF
	
	cmp count,3
	je CF
	
	cmp count,4
	je DDF

	cmp count,5
	je EF

	cmp count,6
	je FF

	cmp count,7
	je GF

	cmp count,8
	je HF

	cmp count,9
	je IIF

	cmp count,10
	je JF

	cmp count,11
	je KF

	cmp count,12
	je LF

	cmp count,13
	je MF

	cmp count,14
	je NF

	cmp count,15
	je OF

	cmp count,16
	je PF

	cmp count,17
	je QF

	cmp count,18
	je RF

	cmp count,19
	je SF

	cmp count,20
	je TF

	cmp count,21
	je UF

	cmp count,22
	je VF

	cmp count,23
	je WF
	cmp count,24
	je XF

	cmp count,25
	je YF

	cmp count,26
	je ZF

	cmp count,0
	je PU

AF:
	inc ca
	add esi,2
	jmp EX
	
BF:	
	inc cb
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

CF:	
	inc cc
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

DDF:	
	inc cd
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

EF:	
	inc ce
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

FF:	
	inc cntf
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

GF:	
	inc cg
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

HF:	
	inc cnth
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

IIF:	
	inc ci
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

JF:	
	inc cj
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

KF:	
	inc ck
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

LF:	
	inc cntl
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

MF:	
	inc cm
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

NF:	
	inc cn
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

OF:	
	inc co
	add esi,2
	jmp EX

PF:	
	inc cp
	add esi,2
	jmp EX

QF:	
	inc cq
	add esi,2
	jmp EX

RF:	
	inc cr
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

SF:	
	inc cnts
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

TF:	
	inc ct
	add esi,2
	jmp EX

UF:	
	inc cu
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

VF:	
	inc cv
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

WF:	
	inc cw
	add esi,2
	jmp EX

XF:	
	inc cntx
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

YF:	
	inc cy
	add esi,2
	jmp EX	

ZF:	
	inc cz
	add esi,2
	jmp EX
PU:
	inc cpunc
	add esi,2
EX:
	ret

matcher     ENDP

END main

so i finally figured it out here's the code: it counts occurence of each letter, doesn't matter if it's upper case or lower and counts punctuatinos(;:,.?!)

TITLE counting
;Program description: Counts number of English alphabet letters and punctuation

INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
INCLUDE Macros.inc
.data

sen BYTE 500 DUP(?) 		;mem allocation for sentence
bcount DWORD ?			;counter for bytes in the sentence
dcount DWORD 0
count BYTE 0 			;counter
ca DWORD 0			;counters  
cb DWORD 0			;for 
cc DWORD 0			;letters A(or a) to Z(or z)
cd DWORD 0			;and punctuation :
ce DWORD 0
cntf DWORD 0
cg DWORD 0
cnth DWORD 0
ci DWORD 0
cj DWORD 0
ck DWORD 0
cntl DWORD 0
cm DWORD 0
cn DWORD 0
co DWORD 0
cp DWORD 0
cq DWORD 0
cr DWORD 0
cnts DWORD 0
ct DWORD 0
cu DWORD 0
cv DWORD 0
cw DWORD 0
cntx DWORD 0
cy DWORD 0
cz DWORD 0
cpunc DWORD 0

.code

main PROC

call ClrScr								;Clear screen

mWrite<" Input a sentence to see the number of alphabet letters and punctuation ':'",0dh,0ah>	;input prompt				
mov edx, OFFSET sen	
mov ecx, SIZEOF sen
call ReadString							;reading sentence
mov bcount, eax							;displaying length
call WriteDec							;on screen

call Crlf

mWrite<"Sentence input by user..",0dh,0ah>					;prints
call WriteString							;sentence input by user
mov esi, OFFSET sen							;assigning offset of sentence to esi

call Crlf

START:
	;inc dcount						
	mov al,65
	mov ecx,26
L1:
	inc count
	cmp al,BYTE PTR [esi]					
	je MAT							;traversing A-Z,a-z and punctuations		
	inc al							;and comparing to their ascii values
	loop L1							;and calling procedure to count the letter/punct.

	mov count,0
	mov al,97
	mov ecx,26
L2:
	inc count
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
	inc al 
	loop L2
L3:	
	mov count,0
	mov al,58
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
	
L4:
	mov count,27
	mov al,46
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
L6:	
	mov count,28
	mov al,44
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
L7:
	mov count,29
	mov al,59
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
	
L8:
	mov count,30
	mov al,63
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT
L9:
	mov count,31
	mov al,33
	cmp al,BYTE PTR[esi]
	je MAT	
	
	inc dcount
	add esi,1
	mov eax,dcount
	cmp eax,bcount
	jne START
	jmp L5


MAT:
	inc dcount					;incrementing counter for number of characters processed
	call matcher				;calling counter function
	mov eax,dcount
	cmp eax,bcount				;comparing if all characters are processed
	jne START

L5:						;Displaying the final number of occurence of each value
	call Crlf
	mWrite<"A's: ">
	mov eax,ca
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"B's: ">
	mov eax,cb
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"C's: ">
	mov eax,cc
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"D's: ">
	mov eax,cd
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"E's: ">
	mov eax,ce
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"F's: ">
	mov eax,cntf
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"G's: ">
	mov eax,cg
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"H's: ">
	mov eax,cnth
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"I's: ">
	mov eax,ci
	call WriteDec	
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"J's: ">
	mov eax,cj
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"K's: ">
	mov eax,ck
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"L's: ">
	mov eax,cntl
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"M's: ">
	mov eax,cm
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"N's: ">
	mov eax,cn
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"O's: ">
	mov eax,co
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"P's: ">
	mov eax,cp
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"Q's: ">
	mov eax,cq
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"R's: ">
	mov eax,cr
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"S's: ">
	mov eax,cnts
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"T's: ">
	mov eax,ct
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"U's: ">
	mov eax,cu
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"V's: ">
	mov eax,cv
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"W's: ">
	mov eax,cw
	call WriteDec	
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"X's: ">
	mov eax,cntx
	call WriteDec	
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"Y's: ">
	mov eax,cy
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf

	mWrite<"Z's: ">
	mov eax,cz
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
	mWrite<"Punctuation ':''s : ">
	mov eax,cpunc
	call WriteDec
	call Crlf
	
exit

main ENDP

matcher      PROC
						;comparing the count value to see what character is found	
	cmp count,1
	je AF
	
	cmp count,2
	je BF
	
	cmp count,3
	je CF
	
	cmp count,4
	je DDF

	cmp count,5
	je EF

	cmp count,6
	je FF

	cmp count,7
	je GF

	cmp count,8
	je HF

	cmp count,9
	je IIF

	cmp count,10
	je JF

	cmp count,11
	je KF

	cmp count,12
	je LF

	cmp count,13
	je MF

	cmp count,14
	je NF

	cmp count,15
	je OF

	cmp count,16
	je PF

	cmp count,17
	je QF

	cmp count,18
	je RF

	cmp count,19
	je SF

	cmp count,20
	je TF

	cmp count,21
	je UF

	cmp count,22
	je VF

	cmp count,23
	je WF
	
	cmp count,24
	je XF

	cmp count,25
	je YF

	cmp count,26
	je ZF

	cmp count,0
	je PU
	
	cmp count,27
	je PU
	cmp count,28
	je PU
	cmp count,29
	je PU
	cmp count,30
	je PU
	cmp count,31
	je PU
AF:				
	inc ca					;Incrementing each character's count as it occurs
	add esi,1					;And moving the pointer to next character
	jmp EX
BF:	
	inc cb
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
CF:	
	inc cc
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
DDF:	
	inc cd
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
EF:	
	inc ce
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
FF:	
	inc cntf
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
GF:	
	inc cg
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
HF:	
	inc cnth
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
IIF:	
	inc ci
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
JF:	
	inc cj
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
KF:	
	inc ck
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
LF:	
	inc cntl
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
MF:	
	inc cm
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
NF:	
	inc cn
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
OF:	
	inc co
	add esi,1
	jmp EX
PF:	
	inc cp
	add esi,1
	jmp EX
QF:	
	inc cq
	add esi,1
	jmp EX
RF:	
	inc cr
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
SF:	
	inc cnts
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
TF:	
	inc ct
	add esi,1
	jmp EX
UF:	
	inc cu
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
VF:	
	inc cv
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	
WF:	
	inc cw
	add esi,1
	jmp EX

XF:	
	inc cntx
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	

YF:	
	inc cy
	add esi,1
	jmp EX	

ZF:	
	inc cz
	add esi,1
	jmp EX
PU:
	inc cpunc
	add esi,1
EX:
	mov count,0			;reinitializing counter
	ret

matcher     ENDP

END main
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