Press releases

The Art of Assembly Language, Second Edition--New from No Starch Press: New Edition of Classic Teaches Assembly Language to the Non-Assembly Programmer

Press release: March 3, 2010

The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd Edition San Francisco, CA, March 3, 2010—Assembly is a low-level programming language that's one step above a computer's native machine language. Although it is indispensable for writing device drivers, emulators, and video games, many programmers find assembly intimidating.

The first edition of Randall Hyde's The Art of Assembly Language helped take the mystery out of assembly language. Now, Hyde returns with a much-anticipated second edition (No Starch Press, March 2010, 760 pp., $59.95, ISBN 9781593272074); an updated, comprehensive, plain-English introduction to writing 32-bit x86 assembly. The new edition has been:

  • Updated throughout to cover HLA version 2
  • Updated for FreeBSD and Mac OS X (in addition to Windows and Linux)
  • Updated to reflect changes in computer technology over the past seven years
  • Streamlined to make it easier for readers to work through the book

Hyde uses HLA (High Level Assembler) as a teaching tool to take much of the mystery and headache out of assembly. HLA incorporates many features found in high-level languages (like C, C++, and Java) and leverages readers' knowledge of these languages to help them quickly grasp assembly. Essentially, it allows beginning assembly programmers to work with friendly syntax while producing true low-level code.

"Randy Hyde first released his The Art of Assembly Language Programming online in 1995. Since then, The Art of Assembly Language has helped geeks of all kinds master assembly," said No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. "This is the book that hackers of all stripes turn to when they need to understand assembly language but programming in assembly isn't their priority."

The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd Edition teaches readers how to:

  • Declare and use constants, scalar variables, pointers, arrays, structures, unions, and namespaces
  • Translate arithmetic expressions (integer and floating point) into assembly
  • Convert high-level control structures into assembly language

For beginning programmers and programmers with high-level language experience, The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd Edition is the essential guide to learning this complex, low-level language.

For more information or to request a review copy of The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd Edition, contact Travis Peterson at No Starch Press (nostarchpr@oreilly.com, +1.415.863.9900, x300), or visit www.nostarch.com.

About the Author
Randall Hyde is the author of Write Great Code, Volumes 1 and 2 (No Starch Press) and the co-author of MASM 6.0 Bible (The Waite Group). He has written for Dr. Dobb's Journal, Byte, and various professional journals. Hyde taught assembly language at the University of California, Riverside for over a decade.

Praise for the First Edition of The Art of Assembly Language:
"My flat-out favorite book of 2003 was Randall Hyde's The Art of Assembly Language."
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER TIMES

"Allows the reader to focus on what's really important, writing programs without hitting the proverbial brick wall that dooms many who attempt to learn assembly language to failure."
MAINE LINUX USERS GROUP-CENTRAL

"Comprehensive and detailed. The author and publishers have done a remarkable job of packing so much in without making the explanatory text too terse. If you want to use assembly language, or add it to your list of programming skills, this is the book to have."
BOOK NEWS (AUSTRALIA)

"The text is well authored and easy to understand. The tutorials are thoroughly explained, and the example code segments are superbly commented."
TechIMO

Additional Resources
Chapter 7: "Low-Level Control Structures" (PDF)
Table of contents overview
Detailed table of contents (PDF)
Index (PDF)
Large cover image

The Book of Xen The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd Edition
by Randall Hyde
March 2010, 760 pp
ISBN 9781593272074, $59.95 USD
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000

Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or directly from No Starch Press (http://www.nostarch.com/, orders@nostarch.com, 1-800-420-7240).

About No Starch Press
Founded in 1994, No Starch Press is one of the few remaining independent computer book publishers. We publish the finest in geek entertainment—unique books on technology, with a focus on open source, security, hacking, programming, alternative operating systems, and LEGO. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about. Visit http://www.nostarch.com for a complete catalog.

About O’Reilly

O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

Email a link to this press release