DISASSEMBLING A PROGRAM
(READING THE .HEX FILE)
Page 4
This
section does not use the Multi-Chip Programmer but it is in this section as
it is a part of the process of programming. If you take a .hex
program from a book or magazine, or read a program from a chip, the block of
digits is almost impossible to read. Sometimes it is important to know if the
numbers refer to a particular program and you may wish to know if it is the
latest version. You may also need to make a modification.
The program in this article (the program is called Disasm) will take a .hex file
from a
PIC16F84
and convert it back
into a layout very similar to the set of instructions in an .asm
file. The only
difference is the absence of annotations and labels.
The program is called Disasm (for Dis-assembly program) and the files you
need to get this program up-and-running, are HERE.
The files are:
Disasm.exe 15k Application File This is the
file you use (see below).
About.frm 3k FRM File
Cmdialog.vbx 19k VBX File
Disasm.frm 10k FRM File
Disasm.mak 1k MAK File
Vbrun300.dll 389k DLL file
These are on your computer, in Disassembler
folder: _CD/_Pic Lab_cd/Disassembler
Disasm requires two files:
Cmdialog.vbx and Vbrun300.dll to be put
into: C:\Windows\System
Installation is now complete.USING DISASM
Disasm will disassemble your .hex files. Firstly you will need a .hex file.
For all the .hex files for the 5x7 Display Project, click
HERE.
To make it easy, you can put them onto a disk and access them in drive A as
84 Disasm only sees the first 8 letters of each name and it is very
difficult to follow if the names have more than 8 letters.
You are now ready to use
Disasm.
To access Disasm, click HERE.
To run Disasm, double-click on the icon: |
|
and a
window will appear. |
Click
on File. Click on Open. Double-click on the open
folder: c:\ The folders on drive C will appear. Move down
the list until 5x7dis~1 appears. Double-click on 5x7dis~1. The .hex
files in this folder will appear in the window. Double-click on the file you
want to disassemble. It will disassemble immediately. You can open two or
more .hex windows (Disasm windows) at the same time to compare
listings.
To save a disassembled file you MUST rename the extension to .asm,
otherwise you will LOSE the original .hex listing.
To save a file, click on File. Click on Save as: Click on the
highlighted file in the address window to de-highlight it. Change the
extension to .asm Click ok.
If you are working on a project, you must keep a back-up copy of your
program on a floppy, just in case something goes wrong. It is very
difficult to re-build something that is lost, especially if it is a written
piece of work.
|