x86 Questions

[Metsfan147]

Hi, I'm just starting to learn about x86 assembly and was surprised at the seemingly small amount of registers.

The 8 general purpose registers you always read about /use eac, ebx etc. . are they the only GP registers on a processor or are there others that depend on the chip.

Also, what's the difference between programmnig for AMD vs Intel and the different chips within these companies.

So, is x86 a generic all x86 processors have at least this much? Maybe I should concentrate more on the basics first, but I'm just curious.

Also, it doesn't look like you can get those intel manuals for free anymore. And if you could, it doesn't look like they wouldn't be useful on AMD, correct?

Thanks for any information.
-Matt

[Purple Avenger]

are they the only GP registers on a processor

They are it.

Also, what's the difference between programmnig for AMD vs Intel and the different chips within these companies.

No difference, other than errata unless you start wanting to exploit things like 3DNow or MMX/SSE stuff. Stay with the common 8086/286/386/486/Pentium subset and they're all pretty much the same.

And if you could, it doesn't look like they wouldn't be useful on AMD, correct?

For the common subset of user space instructions, the Intel Manuals will be OK. There will be some processor specific stuff you'd need to use in the guts of an OS, but you're not to that stage yet.

[mathematician]

Also, it doesn't look like you can get those intel manuals for free anymore. And if you could, it doesn't look like they wouldn't be useful on AMD, correct?

You can download the relevant manuals from either the AMD or Intel website, although they are a bit heavy weight if you are just starting out. Unless you are planning on writing something like an OS you don't really need them. Buy a few Teach Yourself/Programming Windows/MS-DOS type books, and between them they will probably cover everything you need.