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Morse Assembly Language - Quick Start Guide

What is Morse Assembly Language?

Morse Assembly Language (MAL) is an esoteric programming language where you write Assembly code using only dots (.) and dashes (-) - like Morse code

Quick Example

Here's "Hello" in regular assembly vs Morse Assembly:

Regular Assembly:

MOV AX, 72
OUT AX

Morse Assembly:

-- --- ...- / .- -..- / --..-- / --... ..---
--- ..- - / .- -..-

Getting Started

1. Write Regular Assembly (Optional)

Create a file program.asm:

MOV AX, 5
MOV BX, 3
ADD AX, BX
ADD AX, 48
OUT AX
HLT

2. Convert to Morse (Optional)

py src/morse_assembler.py program.asm program.morse

3. Run Your Program

py src/morse_interpreter.py program.morse

Output: 8

Understanding the Syntax

Morse Encoding Rules

  1. Each character is encoded as dots and dashes (e.g., A = .-)
  2. Characters in a word are separated by spaces
  3. Words are separated by " / " (space-slash-space)

Example Breakdown

Let's decode: -- --- ...- / .- -..-

  1. Split by " / ": [-- --- ...-] [.- -..-]
  2. Split each word by spaces:
    • First word: [--] [---] [...-] = M O V = MOV
    • Second word: [.-] [-..-] = A X = AX
  3. Result: MOV AX

Available Instructions

Basic Operations

  • MOV - Move data
  • ADD - Addition
  • SUB - Subtraction
  • OUT - Output
  • HLT - Stop program

Jumps & Labels

LOOP:
    OUT AX
    INC AX
    CMP AX, 10
    JNE LOOP
HLT

Registers

  • AX, BX, CX, DX - General purpose
  • SP - Stack pointer
  • IP - Instruction pointer

Try It Yourself!

Decode Some Morse

python3 src/morse_interpreter.py --decode ".... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -.."

Encode Some Text

python3 src/morse_interpreter.py --encode "HELLO WORLD"

Tips for Writing MAL

  1. Start with regular assembly
  2. Use the assembler to convert to Morse
  3. Test with the interpreter
  4. For debugging, use the --decode flag to see what your morse code means

Why MAL?

  • Educational: Learn Assembly and Morse code
  • Challenging: Try writing complex programs
  • Fun: It's an esoteric language and it's assembly but harder
  • Historical: Honors the legacy of Morse code

Next Steps

  1. Read through the example programs
  2. Modify them to do different things
  3. Write your own programs
  4. Challenge yourself to write directly in Morse!

... .- -... -.-- / -.-. --- -.. .. -. --. -.-.--