Future Directions:

Where would I take this project given unlimited time? What would I most like to see in an interactive assembly tool?

Here I present a collection of fairly disorganized and idealistic dreams:

Side-by-side explorer (current project)

What are all the features I would like in the project as it currently exists?

Syntax highlighting (DONE)
- C syntax highlighting, perhaps a parser written in python to add to the markup stage?
- asm syntax highlighting, finish the ad hoc parser i'm currently working on to identify addressing modes, etc.
Instruction addresses on asm side
Modal windows with more in-depth function exploration
- Stack visualizer

What if we could "run" assembly code in the browser and keep track of the state of the system during its execution?

Simulate execution of assembly code line by line
- Panel for assembly with current line highlighted, tooltips for mnemonics, current value in register/memory on mouseover.
- Panel for register values as they exist at the current point in execution. Keep track of types to be able to appropriately convert values on mouseover
- Panel for stack, with variables and types as with registers, function return addresses, etc. Indicate stack frames and the functions to which they belong
- Heap explorer? This would be very difficult to visualize but super cool. Probably more in-depth parsing on the C side.
Allow gdb-style debugging commands
- Step into function, step single, step multiple instructions
- Abstract away system calls and library functions
  - Possibly contain assembly for them in separate (example) files if one wanted to explore?
- If assembly is linked to a source file, allow following along in corresponding lines of C
Difficulties:
- Addressing/jumps would be difficult, definitely have to implement in different way than actual addresses on the machine, which might limit some of the capabilities
  - Probably could fake addresses with a hashtable with address keys and instruction values? Another hashtable could link label names to addresses.
- Security? Should be able to keep everything contained within the virtual machine written, but who really knows

If the server were to run on Courselab, why not allow students to access their files from the system directly? Who knows!

Allow princeton students to access their account on the CourseLab filesystem from the web interface
- login and edit(?) assembly/c files and use the visual debugger
- editing may be too much / would distract from learning emacs
Alternative: maintain a database of user accounts and local files on each account, have an API for sending to their account via an http post request or an email?
- Real goal is to avoid having to download from cluster and then upload from local machine

Explain the logic of the compiler in its optimization decisions, and general assembly language patterns.