# Assembler (ivss)

An **assembler** translates assembly statements into encoded instructions, section contents, symbols, and relocation records. In ivss, the executable is named `asembler`. A small input file illustrates the distinction between instructions and directives:

```asm
.section my_code
    ld $5, %r1
    ld $7, %r2
    add %r2, %r1
    halt
.end
```

`ld`, `add`, and `halt` request executable operations. `.section` chooses where their bytes are emitted, while `.end` stops reading source. Save the example as `main.s` and assemble it with:

```bash
$ ./asembler -hex -o main.o main.s
```

`-hex` selects the serialized object format consumed by the linker. Without it, the assembler writes a human-readable object dump, which is useful for inspecting symbols and bytes but is not the linker's input format.

The assembler parses statements, expands any [[ivss-pseudoinstructions|pseudoinstructions]], and records unresolved symbol uses. The linker later assigns final addresses. Producing an object file therefore does not execute the program or resolve every reference to another file.

Source: [asembler.c](https://github.com/yanevskiv/ivss/blob/main/src/asembler.c).