Comparison of assemblers
Single target assemblers -- x86-64 assemblers
Table:
Assembler

Operating system

Open source

License

Development active

FASM

Windows, DOS, Unix-like

Yes

BSD

Yes

GAS

Unix-like, Windows, DOS, OS/2

Yes

GNU GPL

Yes

MASM

Windows, DOS, OS/2

No

Commercial

Yes

NASM

Windows, Linux, macOS, DOS, OS/2

Yes

BSD

Yes

Open Watcom Assembler

Windows, DOS, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2

Yes

Sybase Open Watcom Public

Yes

POASM

Windows, Windows Mobile

No

Freeware

Yes

TCCASM

Unix-like, Windows

Yes

GNU LGPL

Yes

Yasm

Windows, DOS, Unix-like

Yes

BSD

No

Looking at the provided table and the textual context listed below.

Give the answer to the question: The assembler that is included with Microsoft Visual Studio has what type of license ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

In computer programming , assembly language ( or assembler language ) , often abbreviated asm , is any low-level programming language in which there is a very strong correspondence between the instructions in the language and the architecture 's machine code instructions . Because assembly depends on the machine code instructions , every assembler has its own assembly language which is designed for exactly one specific computer architecture . Assembly language may also be called symbolic machine code . Assembly code is converted into executable machine code by a utility program referred to as an assembler . The conversion process is referred to as assembly , as in assembling the source code . Assembly language usually has one statement per machine instruction ( 1:1 ) , but comments and statements that are assembler directives , macros , and symbolic labels of program and memory locations are often also supported . Each assembly language is specific to a particular computer architecture and sometimes to an operating system . However , some assembly languages do not provide specific syntax for operating system calls , and most assembly languages can be used universally with any operating system , as the language provides access to all the real capabilities of the processor , upon which all system call mechanisms ultimately rest . In contrast to assembly languages , most high-level programming languages are generally portable across multiple architectures but require interpreting or compiling , a much more complicated task than assembling .
An operating system ( OS ) is system software that manages computer hardware , software resources , and provides common services for computer programs . Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting software for cost allocation of processor time , mass storage , printing , and other resources . For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation , the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware , although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS function or is interrupted by it . Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computer - from cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers . The dominant desktop operating system is Microsoft Windows with a market share of around 82.74% . macOS by Apple Inc. is in second place ( 13.23% ) , and the varieties of Linux are collectively in third place ( 1.57% ) . In the mobile ( including smartphones and tablets ) sector , Google Android 's share is up to 70% in the year 2017 . According to third quarter 2016 data , Android 's share on smartphones is dominant with 87.5 percent with also a growth rate of 10.3 percent per year , followed by Apple 's iOS with 12.1 percent with per year decrease in market share of 5.2 percent , while other operating systems amount to just 0.3 percent . Linux distributions are dominant in the server and supercomputing sectors . Other specialized classes of operating systems , such as embedded and real-time systems , exist for many applications .
An open-source license is a type of license for computer software and other products that allows the source code , blueprint or design to be used , modified and/or shared under defined terms and conditions . This allows end users and commercial companies to review and modify the source code , blueprint or design for their own customization , curiosity or troubleshooting needs . Open-source licensed software is mostly available free of charge , though this does not necessarily have to be the case . Licenses which only permit non-commercial redistribution or modification of the source code for personal use only are generally not considered as open-source licenses . However , open-source licenses may have some restrictions , particularly regarding the expression of respect to the origin of software , such as a requirement to preserve the name of the authors and a copyright statement within the code , or a requirement to redistribute the licensed software only under the same license ( as in a copyleft license ) . One popular set of open-source software licenses are those approved by the Open Source Initiative ( OSI ) based on their Open Source Definition ( OSD ) .
A software license is a legal instrument ( usually by way of contract law , with or without printed material ) governing the use or redistribution of software . Under United States copyright law , all software is copyright protected , in both source code and object code forms , unless that software was developed by the United States Government , in which case it can not be copyrighted . Authors of copyrighted software can donate their software to the public domain , in which case it is also not covered by copyright and , as a result , can not be licensed . A typical software license grants the licensee , typically an end-user , permission to use one or more copies of software in ways where such a use would otherwise potentially constitute copyright infringement of the software owner 's exclusive rights under copyright .
FASM ( flat assembler ) is an assembler for x86 processors . It supports Intel-style assembly language on the IA-32 and x86-64 computer architectures . It claims high speed , size optimizations , operating system ( OS ) portability , and macro abilities . It is a low-level assembler and intentionally uses very few command-line options . It is free and open-source software . All versions of FASM can directly output any of the following : flat raw binary ( usable also as DOS COM executable or SYS driver ) , objects : Executable and Linkable Format ( ELF ) or Common Object File Format ( COFF ) ( classic or MS-specific ) , or executables in either MZ , ELF , or Portable Executable ( PE ) format ( including WDM drivers , allows custom MZ DOS stub ) . An unofficial port targeting the ARM architecture ( FASMARM ) also exists .
Microsoft Windows , commonly referred to as Windows , is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families , all of which are developed and marketed by Microsoft . Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry . Active Microsoft Windows families include Windows NT and Windows IoT ; these may encompass subfamilies , e.g . Windows Server or Windows Embedded Compact ( Windows CE ) . Defunct Microsoft Windows families include Windows 9x , Windows Mobile and Windows Phone . Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20 , 1985 , as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ( GUIs ) . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world 's personal computer ( PC ) market with over 90% market share , overtaking Mac OS , which had been introduced in 1984 . Apple came to see Windows as an unfair encroachment on their innovation in GUI development as implemented on products such as the Lisa and Macintosh ( eventually settled in court in Microsoft 's favor in 1993 ) . On PCs , Windows is still the most popular operating system . However , in 2014 , Microsoft admitted losing the majority of the overall operating system market to Android , because of the massive growth in sales of Android smartphones . In 2014 , the number of Windows devices sold was less than 25% that of Android devices sold . This comparison , however , may not be fully relevant , as the two operating systems traditionally target different platforms .
DOS ( /dɒs/ , /dɔːs/ ) is a platform-independent acronym for Disk Operating System which later became a common shorthand for disk-based operating systems on IBM PC compatibles . DOS primarily consists of Microsoft 's MS-DOS and a rebranded IBM version under the name PC DOS , both of which were introduced in 1981 . Later compatible systems from other manufacturers include DR DOS ( 1988 ) , ROM-DOS ( 1989 ) , PTS-DOS ( 1993 ) , and FreeDOS ( 1998 ) . MS-DOS dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995 . Dozens of other operating systems also use the acronym DOS , beginning with the mainframe DOS/360 from 1966 . Others include Apple DOS , Apple ProDOS , Atari DOS , Commodore DOS , TRSDOS , and AmigaDOS .
A Unix-like ( sometimes referred to as UN*X or *nix ) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system , while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification . A Unix-like application is one that behaves like the corresponding Unix command or shell . There is no standard for defining the term , and some difference of opinion is possible as to the degree to which a given operating system or application is Unix-like . The term can include free and open-source operating systems inspired by Bell Labs ' Unix or designed to emulate its features , commercial and proprietary work-alikes , and even versions based on the licensed UNIX source code ( which may be sufficiently Unix-like to pass certification and bear the UNIX trademark ) .
BSD licenses are a family of permissive free software licenses , imposing minimal restrictions on the use and distribution of covered software . This is in contrast to copyleft licenses , which have share-alike requirements . The original BSD license was used for its namesake , the Berkeley Software Distribution ( BSD ) , a Unix-like operating system . The original version has since been revised , and its descendants are referred to as modified BSD licenses . BSD is both a license and a class of license ( generally referred to as BSD-like ) . The modified BSD license ( in wide use today ) is very similar to the license originally used for the BSD version of Unix . The BSD license is a simple license that merely requires that all code retain the BSD license notice if redistributed in source code format , or reproduce the notice if redistributed in binary format . The BSD license ( unlike some other licenses ) does not require that source code be distributed at all .
The GNU Assembler , commonly known as gas or simply as , its executable name , is the assembler used by the GNU Project . It is the default back-end of GCC . It is used to assemble the GNU operating system and the Linux kernel , and various other software . It is a part of the GNU Binutils package . The GAS executable is named as , the standard name for a Unix assembler . GAS is cross-platform , and both runs on and assembles for a number of different computer architectures . Released under the GNU General Public License v3 , GAS is free software .
OS/2 is a series of computer operating systems , initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci . As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 relative to Microsoft 's new Windows 3.1 operating environment , the two companies severed the relationship in 1992 and OS/2 development fell to IBM exclusively . The name stands for Operating System/2 , because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM 's Personal System/2 ( PS/2 ) line of second-generation personal computers . The first version of OS/2 was released in December 1987 and newer versions were released until December 2001 . OS/2 was intended as a protected-mode successor of PC DOS . Notably , basic system calls were modeled after MS-DOS calls ; their names even started with Dos and it was possible to create Family Mode applications - text mode applications that could work on both systems . Because of this heritage , OS/2 shares similarities with Unix , Xenix , and Windows NT . IBM discontinued its support for OS/2 on 31 December 2006 . Since then , it has been updated , maintained and marketed under the name eComStation . In 2015 it was announced that a new OEM distribution of OS/2 would be released that was to be called ArcaOS . ArcaOS is available for purchase .
The GNU General Public License ( GNU GPL or GPL ) is a widely used free software license that guarantees end users the freedom to run , study , share , and modify the software . The license was originally written by Richard Stallman , former head of the Free Software Foundation ( FSF ) , for the GNU Project , and grants the recipients of a computer program the rights of the Free Software Definition . The GPL is a copyleft license , which means that derivative work must be distributed under the same or equivalent license terms . This is in distinction to permissive software licenses , of which the BSD licenses and the MIT License are widely-used less-restrictive examples . GPL was the first copyleft license for general use . Historically , the GPL license family has been one of the most popular software licenses in the free and open-source software domain . Prominent free-software programs licensed under the GPL include the Linux kernel and the GNU Compiler Collection ( GCC ) . David A. Wheeler argues that the copyleft provided by the GPL was crucial to the success of Linux-based systems , giving the programmers who contributed to the kernel the assurance that their work would benefit the whole world and remain free , rather than being exploited by software companies that would not have to give anything back to the community . In 2007 , the third version of the license ( GPLv3 ) was released to address some perceived problems with the second version ( GPLv2 ) which were discovered during the latter 's long-time usage . To keep the license up to date , the GPL license includes an optional any later version clause , allowing users to choose between the original terms or the terms in new versions as updated by the FSF . Developers can omit it when licensing their software ; the Linux kernel , for instance , is licensed under GPLv2 without the any later version clause .
The Microsoft Macro Assembler ( MASM ) is an x86 assembler that uses the Intel syntax for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows . Beginning with MASM 8.0 , there are two versions of the assembler : One for 16-bit & 32-bit assembly sources , and another ( ML64 ) for 64-bit sources only . MASM is maintained by Microsoft , but since version 6.12 it has not been sold as a separate product . It is instead supplied with various Microsoft SDKs and C compilers . Recent versions of MASM are included with Microsoft Visual Studio .
Commercial software , or seldom payware , is a computer software that is produced for sale or that serves commercial purposes . Commercial software can be proprietary software or free and open-source software .
The Netwide Assembler ( NASM ) is an assembler and disassembler for the Intel x86 architecture . It can be used to write 16-bit , 32-bit ( IA-32 ) and 64-bit ( x86-64 ) programs . NASM is considered to be one of the most popular assemblers for Linux . NASM was originally written by Simon Tatham with assistance from Julian Hall . As of 2016 [ update ] , it is maintained by a small team led by H. Peter Anvin . It is open-source software released under the terms of a simplified ( 2-clause ) BSD license .
Linux ( /ˈlɪnəks/ ( listen ) LIN-əks ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel , an operating system kernel first released on September 17 , 1991 , by Linus Torvalds . Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution . Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries , many of which are provided by the GNU Project . Many Linux distributions use the word Linux in their name , but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software , causing some controversy . Popular Linux distributions include Debian , Fedora , and Ubuntu . Commercial distributions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server . Desktop Linux distributions include a windowing system such as X11 or Wayland , and a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE Plasma . Distributions intended for servers may omit graphics altogether , or include a solution stack such as LAMP . Because Linux is freely redistributable , anyone may create a distribution for any purpose . Linux was originally developed for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture , but has since been ported to more platforms than any other operating system . Linux is the leading operating system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers , and the only OS used on TOP500 supercomputers ( since November 2017 , having gradually eliminated all competitors ) . It is used by around 2.3 percent of desktop computers .
macOS ( /ˌmækoʊˈɛs/ ; previously Mac OS X and later OS X ) is a series of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001 . It is the primary operating system for Apple 's Mac computers . Within the market of desktop , laptop and home computers , and by web usage , it is the second most widely used desktop OS , after Microsoft Windows . macOS is the second major series of Macintosh operating systems . The first is colloquially called the classic Mac OS , which was introduced in 1984 , and the final release of which was Mac OS 9 in 1999 . The first desktop version , Mac OS X 10.0 , was released in March 2001 , with its first update , 10.1 , arriving later that year . After this , Apple began naming its releases after big cats , which lasted until OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion . Since OS X 10.9 Mavericks , releases have been named after locations in California . Apple shortened the name to OS X in 2012 and then changed it to macOS in 2016 , adopting the nomenclature that they were using for their other operating systems , iOS , watchOS , and tvOS . The latest version is macOS Catalina , which was publicly released in October 2019 . Between 1999 and 2009 , Apple sold a separate series of operating systems called Mac OS X Server . The initial version , Mac OS X Server 1.0 , was released in 1999 with a user interface similar to Mac OS 8.5 .
Open Watcom Assembler or WASM is an x86 assembler produced by Watcom and included as part of the Watcom C/C++ compiler . Further development is being done on the 32- and 64-bit JWASM project , . which more closely matches the syntax of Microsoft 's assembler . There are experimental assemblers for PowerPC , Alpha AXP , and MIPS .
FreeBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like operating system descended from the Berkeley Software Distribution ( BSD ) , which was based on Research Unix . The first version of FreeBSD was released in 1993 . In 2005 , FreeBSD was the most popular open-source BSD operating system , accounting for more than three-quarters of all installed BSD systems . FreeBSD has similarities with Linux , with two major differences in scope and licensing : FreeBSD maintains a complete system , i.e . the project delivers a kernel , device drivers , userland utilities , and documentation , as opposed to Linux only delivering a kernel and drivers , and relying on third-parties for system software ; and FreeBSD source code is generally released under a permissive BSD license , as opposed to the copyleft GPL used by Linux . The FreeBSD project includes a security team overseeing all software shipped in the base distribution . A wide range of additional third-party applications may be installed using the pkg package management system or FreeBSD Ports , or by compiling source code . Due to its licensing , much of FreeBSD 's codebase has become an integral part of other operating systems , such as Apple 's Darwin ( the basis for macOS , iOS , watchOS , and tvOS ) , FreeNAS ( an open-source NAS/SAN operating system ) , and the system software for Sony 's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 .
The Sybase Open Watcom Public Licence is a software license that has been approved by the Open Source Initiative . It is the licence under which the Open Watcom C/C++ compiler is released . The license has not been accepted as free under the Debian Free Software Guidelines , due to the license 's termination clauses . The Free Software Foundation has stated that the license is not free as it requires the source to be published when you deploy the software for private use only . In contrast , FSF 's GPL does not require that modified source code has to be made public when the software modification was only used privately without a public release of the software . This makes the Watcom license also GPL incompatible and a stronger copyleft license than the GPL and even the AGPL . The Fedora project also considers the license as non free , citing the FSF argumentation .
Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and Pocket PCs . Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996 , though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pocket PC 2000 . It was renamed Windows Mobile in 2003 , at which point it came in several versions ( similar to the desktop versions of Windows ) and was aimed at business and enterprise consumers . When initially released in the mid-2000s , it was to be the portable equivalent of what Windows ' desktop OS was ; a major force in the then-emerging mobile/portable areas , but its popularity - always the low end of the market , never equalled nor surpassed other mobile OS ' ( iOS and Android ) , and faded rapidly in the following years . By February 2010 , facing competition primarily from rival mobile OS ' ( the aforementioned Apple 's iOS and Android ) , Microsoft announced Windows Phone to supersede Windows Mobile . As a result , Windows Mobile has been deprecated . Windows Phone is incompatible with Windows Mobile devices and software . The last version of Windows Mobile , released after the announcement of Windows Phone , was 6.5.5 . After this , Microsoft ceased development on Windows Mobile , in order to concentrate on Windows Phone .
Freeware is software , most often proprietary , that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user . There is no agreed-upon set of rights , license , or EULA that defines freeware unambiguously ; every publisher defines its own rules for the freeware it offers . For instance , modification , redistribution by third parties , and reverse engineering without the author 's permission are permitted by some publishers but prohibited by others . Unlike with free and open-source software , which are also often distributed free of charge , the source code for freeware is typically not made available . Freeware may be intended to benefit its producer by , for example , encouraging sales of a more capable version , as in the freemium and shareware business models .
The Tiny C Compiler ( a.k.a . TCC , tCc , or TinyCC ) is an x86 , X86-64 and ARM processor C compiler created by Fabrice Bellard . It is designed to work for slow computers with little disk space ( e.g . on rescue disks ) . Windows operating system support was added in version 0.9.23 ( 17 Jun 2005 ) . TCC is distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License . TCC claims to implement all of ANSI C ( C89/C90 ) , much of the C99 ISO standard , and many GNU C extensions including inline assembly .
The GNU Lesser General Public License ( LGPL ) is a free-software license published by the Free Software Foundation ( FSF ) . The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the LGPL into their own ( even proprietary ) software without being required by the terms of a strong copyleft license to release the source code of their own components . However , any developer who modifies an LGPL-covered component is required to make their modified version available under the same LGPL license . For proprietary software , code under the LGPL is usually used in the form of a shared library , so that there is a clear separation between the proprietary and LGPL components . The LGPL is primarily used for software libraries , although it is also used by some stand-alone applications . The LGPL was developed as a compromise between the strong copyleft of the GNU General Public License ( GPL ) and more permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License . The word Lesser in the title shows that the LGPL does not guarantee the end user 's complete freedom in the use of software ; it only guarantees the freedom of modification for components licensed under the LGPL , but not for any proprietary components .