Assembly Language Step-By-Step: Programming with DOS and Linux [With CDROM]

This book filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about computers in general as well as introducing me to the world of assembly language. I didn't know how much I didn't know until I read this text. The book is enjoyable and easy to read. If I had it to do over again, this is probably the first computer programming book I would read. The author really explains the concepts in simple terms that are easy for even a novice to understand. I found parts of the book moving along a bit slowly for my taste, but I was certainly able to reatin all the knowlege. The first 150-200 pages is mostly background. I found some useful morsels of information through these sections, although I was able to read through them quite quickly. Then there's about 200 pages on assembling for DOS and another 120 pages on assembling for LINUX. All parts of the book are relevant to each other. If you are new to assembly, or want to fill in some gaps in you knowlege this is a great book to start with. If you have programmed in assembly before, you will probably be disappointed with this book.

Many people aspiring to learn assembly have been discourage by the high learning barrier of understanding the arcane aspects of language and computer architecture. I was one of them. This book helped me broke that barrier. As the author said that he set out to write a book that "taught people how to program in assembly language as ther first experience in programming"; the book lives up to that promise.Unlike many other books that rushes through basic concepts and dives into assembly instruction, the author has great explanations of every concepts in assembly. I especially liked the metaphors approach to describe many difficult concepts. The NASM assembler and NASM-IDE tools included in the book is another bonus to the book. The author also has a web site to for book errata, links to other great web pages about assembly. The author dedicated the last 100 pages of the book to Linux programming, and done a decent job at it. I agree with him that the reason he did not choose Windows was that the results from learning and programming windows applications in Assembly is not worth the time. However, I wondered if it would be better that if the author spend that last 100 pages on building something useful with assembly, like a hex editor, so that we get a better feel for the language. He could write a book on programming in assembly for Linux.But, overall, the book is so well-written, living up to the title: Step by Step - that I didn't even feel any difficulty learning the concepts, as I did in other books.

This book is great for assembly beginners. The author has a great style of writing that is casual, compelling, at times humorous, and most importantly, honest and instructive. What stymies most newcomers is the lack of explanation of details, which is positively essential when learning assembly, due to its fairly arcane nature. This is where the author shines. Before I read this book, I had difficulty with the concept of memory segments, but Step-by-Step provided an easily understood explanation of what they were, what they do, and how to use them. Another essential tool for the aspiring assembly programmer that is explained in this book is DOS's progam DEBUG. The author devotes enough time on this subject so that you, the programmer can actually utilize some of DEBUG's main features. The book also introduces a few of DOS's and the BIOS's system services that are directly available to assembly programs. Each service that the author discusses is thoroughly covered and shouldn't leave anyone dissatisfied.Of course, no book can cover "it all" (except maybe the Good Book). You'll need to buy more after this. Just think of Step-by-Step as a "primer" (you couldn't expect to read and understand War and Peace if you can't understand Run-away Bunny). This book is writen by a 30-year veteren of assembly language (among other languages) and of technology and electronics in general. His knowledge is vast and he understands that imposing that vast knowledge on a beginner all at once would be illogical. So, in the authors own words, this book is intended to help you learn how to learn assembly. I'm sure you've heard it before in other tech-book reviews: "You won't be a/n wiz once you finish reading this book." But you'll at least get out of the starting-gate with a decent grasp of assembly. A cool feature is that the book contains a CD with an excellent FREE assember called NASM, among various other necessities. The newness of the book is also refreshing (published in 2000).I'm rating this book with 5 stars because I really believe that it will get a person of moderate intelligence comfortable with beginning assembly coding and assembling/linking. Of course, if you consider yourself a bit more than moderately intelligent, then perhaps an assembly book other than this one will suit you better.PS- Some prior programming experience would be helpful with your comprehension of the material in this book. What is ABSOLUTELY essential is the FIRM grasp of binary numbers, hexadecimal numbers! Thankfully, the book devotes some time to this topics discussion.

Like everyone else I've ever met who's looked into learning assembly, I had a little trouble comprehending how everything fit together. I'd heard wonderful things about Duntemann's last edition of Assembly Language: Step by Step, so I decided to purchase the updated linux version. Duntemann's 600+ page book slowly guides the beginner into an understanding of Assembly. Don't be confused by the book's size - this book will NOT make an expert - perhaps not even an intermediate programmer. Instead, this book teachers the basics of assembly and provides a decent background into the workings of computer memory, the cpu, and other concepts that EVERY programmer should know. This book can't be given a higher recommendation for anyone looking to start in assembly - Duntemann has a way of explaining (and re-explaining) through metaphors that enhance comprehension. Anyone who already has a background in this material will be amazed by the extreme explanations ("a whole CHAPTER on hex and binary! "), but it's really the perfect way to pound the knowledge in. By the end of the book, the reader will know so much more about assembly - and how/why it works. Just don't expect to be a highly skilled professional.

When all other ASM books fail, this one stands upon the pedastool, boasting its complete and accurate introduction to The Assembly Language. What truly seperates this book from the others is the fact that it dedicates a good portion to discussing how the internals of a computer work, including memory addressing. That in itself will set you on an easy track to understanding ASM and other mid level languages such as C. Out of all the books on Assembly I have read, this one is definately the best for timid beginners.