Write Great Code, Volume 1, 2nd Edition

Randall Hyde is the author of The Art of Assembly Language, one of the most highly recommended resources on assembly, and the three volume Write Great Code series (all No Starch Press). He is also the co-author of The Waite Group's MASM 6.0 Bible. He has written for Dr. Dobb's Journal, Byte, as well as professional journals.

"Sooner or later it makes sense to get a grip on what happens underneath the interpreter and compiler, even below the abstraction layer that the operating system provides. . . . This book leads you a part of the way to this knowledge. In a clear and understandable writing that makes it a joy to read."—Thomas Manthey, Amazon ReviewerPraise for the first edition of Write Great Code, Volume 1:"Today's programmers can hardly keep up with the race against inhumane deadlines and new technologies; therefore, they rarely have a chance to learn the basics of computer architectures and the inner-working of their programming languages. This book fills in the gaps. I strongly recommend it."—InformIT.com Write Great Code "isn't your typical 'teach yourself to program' book. . . It's relevant to all languages, and all levels of programming experience. . . Run, don't walk, to buy and read this book."—Bay Area Large Installation System Administrators (BayLISA)5/5 stars: "[Write Great Code] fills in the blanks nicely and really could be part of a Computer Science degree required reading set... Once this book is read, you will have a greater understanding and appreciation for code that is written efficiently - and you may just know enough to do that yourself. At least you will have a great start at the art of crafting efficient software."—MacCompanion "Great fun to read."—VSJ Magazine "Write Great Code: Understanding the Machine should be on the required reading list for anyone who wants to develop terrific code in any language without having to learn assembly language."—WebServerTalk

• Chapter 1: What You Need to Know to Write Great CodeChapter 2: Numeric RepresentationChapter 3: Binary Arithmetic and Bit OperationsChapter 4: Floating-Point RepresentationChapter 5: Character RepresentationChapter 6: Memory Organization and AccessChapter 7: Composite Data Types and Memory ObjectsChapter 8: Boolean Logic and Digital DesignChapter 9: CPU ArchitectureChapter 10: Instruction Set ArchitectureChapter 11: Memory Architecture and OrganizationChapter 12: Input and OutputChapter 13: Computer Peripheral BusesChapter 14: Mass Storage Devices and FilesystemsChapter 15: Miscellaneous Input and Output DevicesAfterword: Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-LevelAppendix A: ASCII Character SetGlossary