1 1 5.4 The Special Dot Symbol 1 ========================== 1 1 The special symbol '.' refers to the current address that 'as' is 1 assembling into. Thus, the expression 'melvin: .long .' defines 1 'melvin' to contain its own address. Assigning a value to '.' is 1 treated the same as a '.org' directive. Thus, the expression '.=.+4' is 1 the same as saying '.space 4'. 1