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Summary: IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE BUY THIS
Review: the title of this book should be changed to "The best beginner level assembly language book in the world".i flailed around for about 12 months trying to learn assembly language off articles on the net, didnt get very far, then decided to purchase this. this was just what i needed. the software included with the book, the irvine32 and irvine16 include files, the way it is written, the layout and the size of the book (perfect size for sitting back in a chair and reading), make this one of my favorite books of all time. kip irvine supplies everything that is needed to help people with an interest learn something that unfortunatly seems to be a dying art. if there is a nobel prize for this sort of thing, then mr irvine should get 2 of them.
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Summary: Good but still need to improve
Review: This book is great for experienced programmer, who have knowledge of data structure. The contain mostly regarding the teori of Assembly and is good to anyone who seek for the assembly fundamentals in Intel-based computer. However, the book is lack of real environment coding and the examples are not fully explained. But this book does a good work on concept and syntax explaination of assembly language. Overall, this is a nice book for assembly beginers who already have operating system concept background.
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Summary: Great first book if you've programmed before
Review: Irvine's book attempts to cover Intel assembly language for computers either running DOS or a DOS emulator. If you have programmed before in languages such as C/C++, Java, or VB, this is an excellent first book. The CD that is included in the book supplies, among other things, libraries coded by the author providing functions for various types of IO, setting text color, clearing the screen, etc. Using these functions, Irvine first introduces you to data representation, basic elements of assembly language, manipulation of registers and runtime stack, and iteration. Then, he moves onto advanced arithmatic and procedures. After he has covered the basic means of manipulating data and writing programs with assembly, he exposes in the last three chapters the real bones of the language: system interrupts, video mode programming, BIOS, and the like so that use of the libraries becomes unnecessary. Thus, the sequence of the book is ideal if you understand the fundamentals of computer programming but are unfamiliar with assembly language. However, if you have not programmed before, Irvine's book might give you an awkward understanding of the language. You would probably be better off with something that focuses more on system interrupts and real-address programming initially, instead of bringing it up at the end. The order of the book makes sense if you have a basic knowledge of programming because it first forms analogues with concepts you are already familiar with, and then introduces the core aspects of interacting with the system which were previously hidden in his libraries. However, if this is all new to you, a book that gives a greater understanding of computer architecture and doesn't use his libraries would be more suitable. While the DOS slant may have bothered some, I prefer that he focused on one OS rather than trying to cover all of them. In addition, the CD that came with the book included a DOS emulator for Linux. I'd also like to add that this is one of the most up-to-date assembly language books I've seen. Overall, I'd recommend it if you've programmed before, but are new to assembly.
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Summary: The mysteries of assembly language and PC architecture
Review: I liked this book. I had to get it for my PC architecture class and was quite of an help!!
It is well written and simple enough for novices to understand the basic of PC arch and assembly language.
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Summary: Pretty Good!
Review: This is the first time that I am learning Assembly language programming and this book proved to be a very helpful tutorial. Concepts are taught in an easy manner, and if you have good experience with high-level languages such as C++,JAVA cracking assembly should be almost a piece of cake(just kidding!). The book has a nice ASCII table on the back and the apendix also features DOS interrupts and Intel instructions. I think it is a pretty good book overall.
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Summary: Good intro material but not in depth
Review: This is good intro to assembly language. It's good that there is an emphasis in 32bit protected. You won't be coding 16bit unless you're writing BIOS code or working on embedded systems. The 32bit protected mode was not in enough depth. There was little talk of GDT/LDT/IDT and call gates and no discussion of ringzero code. If you've never coded any assembly then its a good book. Something else to look at would be Art of Assembly Language. It is now has its own version for 32bit. Search google.
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Summary: Easy to follow, lots of resources.
Review: This book was required for a programming class in collge. It was actually easy to follow and there are very good resources on the web. The book has "support" in the form of a website with code updates and misc errata. Also, Mr. Irvine moderates a message board that he responds to quite promptly. The examples in the book are appropriate and practical. However, because of the supplied code libraries, some people in the class felt that the "hand-holding" defeated part of the purpose. But then, who'd want to code every single line in assembly to do certain simple and tedious tasks? Considering the complexity and the many things that can be affected by each line of assembly code, Mr. Irvine goes into great detail to make learning assembly less daunting. This is an excellent intermediate's (beginner assembly) book.
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Summary: I love this book
Review: I taught myself assembly language programming out of this textbook, and usually I can't teach myself a thing from books alone. This book is clearly worded, well organized, with pertinent code examples and good problems for self-study at the end of the chapters. It is also very well proof-read with few of the inaccuracies that usually plague technical books. All in all, I highly recommend it for both classroom use and self-study.
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Summary: Worth its weight in gold!
Review: This is hands down the best asm book I've found for programming assembly language on Intel based computers. The book even covers interfacing to higher level languages such as Visual C++. All the tables and references for the instruction set are well laid out and clearly presented. If you plan to use assembly language to write 80x86 programs, this is the book to have!
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Summary: No deep emphasis on 32bit protected mode programming
Review: Kip Irvines', third edition was a masterclass. The way he presented the book was excellent. But much to my disappointment, the fourth edition is much the same as the third one. There are only tid bits of info added on 32bit programming (which we already find in most of the assembly language books), rest are much the same as the old edition. I'd have been happy if he had included detailed explanations on GDT's,LDT's,Call gates,writing stand alone protected mode programs,etc with examples, atleast in this fourth edition. Anyway even if the author wishes to bring out a new edition emphasizing on these topics would be a waste of time, as the era of 32bit computing is coming to an end and the itanium architecture will take over soon. I suggest that the author bring out his next edition with a deep emphasis on IA64 system programming topics.
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