Jonathan Bartlett - Learn to Program with Assembly: Foundational Learning for New Programmers

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Have you ever wondered how your computer works? I mean, how it really works, underneath the hood? Ive found that many people, including professional computer programmers, actually have no idea how computers operate at their most fundamental level.

You need to read this book whether or not you ever plan on writing assembly language code. If you plan on programming computers, you need to read this book in order to demystify the operation of your most basic toolthe processor itself. Ive worked with a lot of programmers over the years. While you can do good work only knowing high-level languages, I have found that there is a glass ceiling of effectiveness that awaits programmers who havent learned the machines own language.

Learning assembly language is about learning how the processor itself thinks about your code. It is about gaining the mind of the machine. Even if you never use assembly language in practice, the depth of understanding you will receive by learning assembly language will make your time and effort worthwhile. You will understand at a more visceral level the various trade-offs that are made with different programming languages and why certain high-level operations may be faster than others and get an overall sense of what your computer is really doing.

Additionally, while the practical uses of assembly language are getting fewer and further between, there are still many places where assembly language knowledge is needed. Compiler writers, kernel developers, and high-performance library implementers all utilize assembly language to some degree and probably always will. Additionally, embedded developers, because of resource constraints, often program in assembly language as well.

This book is for programmers at any level. This book should work as your first or your fortieth programming book. Some later chapters will assume some familiarity with various programming languages , but the core content is written so that anyone can pick it up and read it.

I generally assume some working knowledge of Linux and the command line. However, if you havent used the command line, Appendix B will give a brief introduction.

If you dont use Linux as your primary operating system, thats okay, too. Ive built a Docker image that is customized to work with this book, and Appendix A will help you get started using it.

You only need to know the basicshow to run programs on the command line, how to edit text files, etc. If you have done any work at all on the command line (or have read and worked through Appendix B), you probably know everything that you need to get started. If you havent, there are numerous tutorials on the Internet about getting started on the command line. You dont need to be an advanced systems administrator. If you know how to change location, edit files, and create directories, thats all the skills you actually need.

In the modern age of modern programming languages where a single line of code can replace hundreds of lines of assembly language, why bother to study assembly language at all? The fact is assembly language is how your computer runs. Any good craftsman knows how their tools work, and computer programming is no different. Knowing your tools helps you get the most out of them .