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assemblyprerequisites

Prerequisites for learning Assembly Language


I decided to learn assembly language because I came to know that learning it has many benefits, we can directly interact with the hardware, we can learn how computers better, and much more. When I started to learn it first, I came to know that it was a little bit weird and not like other programming languages so I thought that maybe I will find it hard to learn. So, I'm just asking what are the basic prerequisites for learning assembly language. For information, I have already learnt programming languages like C, C++, C#, PHP.


Solution

  • You have to tell us what machine's assembly you want to learn. ARM, x86(_64), Sparc, etc are all different ISAs.

    If you just want an introduction to the world of assembly programming in general, Randal Hyde's Art of Assembly is a good one (although what you write isn't exactly assembly, but more of a mix between high and low level languages, it will introduce you to the concept nicely).

    If you have set your sights on x86, I can recommend this book: Professional Assembly Language. Apart from that book, sandpile.org is a great resource.

    For x86, the choice of environment also matters. Here is a great tutorial for windows assembly programming by the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign ACM student chapter - SIGWINDOWS. For Unix, a great tutorial I have met is this one. A great, more general resource is Reverse Engineering for Beginners by Dennis Yurichev. This book, is targeted at both windows and unix environments, and although it concerns reverse engineering, it can help you learn a great deal about the machinations of programs running on your computer.

    For ARM, this article serves as a great introduction. This article is also another great introduction to the matter