★★★★★ 5
Bible on x64 Assembler, but not for coding beginners.
Format: Paperback, Format: Paperback
The best way to review this book is in two parts, 1st a review of the book, 2nd to address the negative reviews about the readability of the code in the Kindle edition which is the one I have.
I have several books on Assembly Language, starting with the long out of print 1986 “Peter Norton’s Assembly Language Book for the IBM PC.” Over the years I have acquired several books on Assembly Language. I find Randall Hyde’s book to be hands down the best reference and most in depth book on x86/x64 Assembly language. What I feel separates Hyde’s book from others is it goes into detail on each register and machine function. Which is then backed up with numerous illustrations to help explain the concepts, code, and quizzes to test your understanding.
This is not a book for coding beginners on x86/x64 Assembly, IMO, as the author jumps right in with examples that I feel are too complex and too verbose for the novice. To help fill in the gaps alongside this book, I recommend using Mike McGrath’s, “Assembly x64 Programming in easy steps”, which guide the novice with colorful illustrations step by step, on the processor, number systems, linking, and building basic Assembly programs, in byte sized chunks, that are easy to understand for the novice.
Also, a basic knowledge of C++ will be needed to use this book, as several example C++ programs make Assembly calls from within the program. Again, I recommend Mike McGrath’s “C++ Programming in easy steps.” For a basic review if you lack C++ knowledge.
You’ll need the free IDE Visual Studio 2022 Community edition (not VS Code) with the C++ libraries, as that is where the MASM is located.
As for the readability of the code in the Kindle version, there is a workaround which is better than reading the code from the book. A link is provided to download all the code listed in the book in a zip file. Most of the code is organized by listing number from the book. Once VS2022 is on your computer, double-click on the download file you’re interested in and the code will open properly formatted in VS2022 as shown in the attached images. You will be able to interact with the code, which is more productive than just reading from the book.
This is an excellent book on x86/x64 Assembly language, looking forward to volume 2. After reading this book, the only way to get further in depth knowledge of the x86 processor IMO is from Intel's massive 4 volume reference.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2022
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