4 comments about The Assembly Programming Master Book.

1. There is no source code available for this book - at least that I can find anywhere; the email address given on the back of the book is dead and the publisher's site is out of date - not even listing the book itself.
   So, if you're going to use the book, be prepared for an awful lot of typing ... or pay a visit to Iczelion's Win32ASM site - you'll find plenty to interest you there.



2. I'm like A-List Publishing books, but this book is difficult. Excellent code with bad cemments.



3. The book is remarkable. To judge it using such irrelevant criterion such as "It's difficult" or "No source code available" is like to judge Mozart's opera by saying: "Well, I could not really hear much", or "The buffet was not selling my favorite brand of coffee." Too bad.



4. I was very disappointed with this book. It seemed like a text book that required and Instructor to follow along. The first chapter instructed that you should read a book on processor commands and operation or at least be familiar with them before attempting to read it. (would of been nice to know before purchase)It was a waste of money to me! Couldn't even finish it. Too confusing with no help available when you got stuck! Should of read more reviews before purchasing.

2 comments about Essentials of 80x86 Assembly Language.

1. I received this book in August 2006 from amazon with the assumption it would be as up-to-date as possible since it was just published. Inside the book, it says copyright 2007 --- *six months in the future*. Wow, this book should definitely be the most up-to-date information anywhere, right?
   
   NOT. This book contains ZERO information about SIMD, SSE, etc. No SIMD instructions, no MMX or XMM registers, nothing-at-all. Furthermore, it contains ZERO information about 64-bit opcodes or architecture.
   
   In other words, this 2007 book is intended for programmers who have time-machines and want to send the book to themselves about 15 or 20 years in the past. For that purpose, it is reasonable.
   
   I believe this book is intentionally organized to fake people into buying it on false assumptions. Typically, modern books begin with statements of intended audience and conventions. Then, people who browse the early pages of the book online can understand what they are buying.
   
   True, an advocate of this book could argue the term "80x86" should tell us this is a review of ancient history. However, that is merely a sound-bite cover-story, since they know many other assembly language and CPU/programming books refer to the whole series of 8086 through current Intel/AMD CPUs with this exact term "80x86". For example, "80x86" is the term Leiterman describes these architectures in his assembly language book, which includes architecture and opcodes through SSE3.
   
   And of course, the author and publisher "accidentally" (my foot) forgot to make the table-of-contents, index, and early pages reviewable on the amazon web-site. How convenient! For them.
   
   So, if you have a time machine handy, or only want to code for ancient CPU chips, and you prefer to hide from every efficient and modern feature added to CPU chips over the past decade, this is a simplistic presentation appropriate for total beginners.
   
   Consider yourself warned.
   
   I almost forgot!!! The same author has a seemingly identical book with a title that begins "Introduction to 80x86..." instead of "Essentials of 80x86..." on the amazon site, and scheduled for release on November 30, 2006 (it says). The same tricks seem to apply - they want us to click the "pre-order" button for yet another 80x86 book without table-of-contents, index, etc. Until we have some actual information, we must assume this is another ancient-history book. What's the cliche? Twice burned, shame on me? I say, shame on the author and publisher! To them I say, "make the TOC, index, into pages of your books visible". Frankly, amazon should force these guys to do that.



2. I highly recommend this book. I bought this book not to learn but to review Intel 80x86 assembly language programming. But, I believe it would be an excellent test to learn from. The author provides a working copy of MASM and a Windows Debugger to trace the execution of your code. You can see first hand what your instructions do as they execute. Also, there are PLENTY of hands on programming problems for you to code and run. This gives you the confidence to know that you actually learned something.
   
   A SPECIAL SURPRISE for me was that Richard (the author) provided a whole chapter on FPU assembly language. Something that few texts cover. And the very few that do scarcely touch on the subject. So if you want to learn Intel FPU programming this book is for you. (FPU = Floating Point Unit).
   
   WARNING: This book is NOT an advanced assembly language book. So, if you're looking to learn MMX technology commands and OS programming, this book is NOT for you. The title of the book is ESSENTIALS of 80x86 Assembly Language. It covers the basics of Intel 32-bit flat memory model console programming stilled used today. So, the book is not out of date, it just covers the basics.
   
   I RECOMMEND that before you tackle this book, which isn't very thick, that you go through Jeff Deuntemann's Assembly Language Step by Step. Why? Well, even though Jeff's book doesn't give much hands on experience that Essentials of 80x86Assembly Language does. Jeff's book gives valuable information in novice terms that helps beginners bridge the gap from high level programming languages like C++ and Visual Basic to assembly language. So, I'd buy and read Assembly Language Step by Step before tackling ANY assembly language book on the market. I'd consider Jeff's book Pre-Assembly Language sort of like there are Pre-Calculus books. Then get this book (Essentials of 80x86 Assembly Language) or Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers by Kip R. Irvine. Both are excellent treatise on the subject.

2 comments about Programming the 65816: Including the 6502, 65C02, and 65802.

1. If you are looking for a book on the 65x series, it doesn't get any better than this. It explains the 65816 assembly language, and instructions fully. If you are getting this book to write a little something on that Apple II or to perhaps do something related to the S/NES, this is the ultimate book.



2. I wore this book out thoroughly when I programmed for my Apple IIgs and Apple IIc. It has all of the codes for the entire series (including 6502, 65802, 65816) and explains which is covered by which.
   
   It describes each op-code in detail, and in order. It makes an excellent reference, and should be on every 65x programmer's shelf. It will get a lot of use...

No comments about The Waite Group's Turbo Assembler Bible (The Waite Group).

No comments about Assembly Lines: The Book. A Beginner's Guide to 6502 Programming on the Apple II.

2 comments about 6809 Assembly Language Programming.

1. Yeah, I had to say that I want to read that book but it seams that it doesn't exist anymore !!!



2. Although the book has good name on web pages and the introduction of micropressor M6809, however, I still have to read other books.

1 comments about Software Development for Engineers, C/C++, Pascal, Assembly, Visual Basic, HTML, Java Script, Java DOS, Windows NT, UNIX.

1. The book is already outdated. The inclusion of Pascal was questionable, even in 1997. Outside some universities, Pascal has suffered a continual erosion of mindshare.
   
   As for the choice of JavaScript as a scripting language, that still holds true today as a good choice. It is the dominant client-side scripting language for browsers, VBScript and JScript competitors notwithstanding.
   
   The unix discussion could easily be modified to include linux. Minor changes here.
   
   As for Microsoft DOS, it is a toss up whether this might still be discussed. Perhaps it might be replaced by an explanation of .NET?

1 comments about IBM 370 Assembly Language With Assist, Structured Concepts, and Advanced Topics.

1. This book is an excellent text to learn how to program, it not only gives the syntax but more important explains when to use instructions. I have been using it for trainee systems programmers and have problems getting it back from them, Wish the publishers would reprint it. Subject is in a logical order with consise but easy to understand chapters. Programmers using this book will naturaly produce code that is well structured and concise. The 'assist' related content may not apply to all environments, these topics can be skiped if not relavent to the user and the book will be no less useful for omiting them.

No comments about Foundation: Transforming Found Objects into Digital Assemblage.

No comments about Z-80 Assembly Language Programming.