The IBM Personal Computer MACRO Assembler 
translates source code that you have coded in the 
assembler language into an object module containing 
the machine language understood by the computer. 

You will be using either the Small Assembler, ASM 
(64K), or the MACRO Assembler, MASM (96K). If 
you have 96K, you may use either assembler, but we 
recommend that you use the MACRO Assembler, 
MASM, which supports all the functions described 
within this manual. The Small Assembler does not 
support MACRO and its related function, REPT, IRP, 
IRPC, nor the STRUC and RECORD pseudo-ops. 

The MACRO assembler provides the functions to 
assist you in. 

~ Checking and documenting your source programs 
~ Generating your MACRO instructions 

~ Relocating the object program from the originally 
assigned addresses to other addresses 

~ Detecting errors in your source programs 

~ Producing a listing of your source program state-
ments and the object program statements for each 
source program assembled 

The source program you write is not executed during 
the assembly process, but is merely translated into 
machine language. 

The MACRO Assembler runs under the Disk Operating 
System described in the IBM Personal Computer Disk 
Operating System (DOS).