Customer Reviews

Assembly Language for the IBM PC Family (3rd Edition)

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

This review is for the 2nd Edition.

I've read quite a few books on assembly language, but the approach to the material in each of them was not from a "teaching" point of view.

This book is the only one I've come across that addresses the material through the students eyes. For example, a concept or topic will not be used or referred to until it has been covered. That sounds like common sense, but I've discovered common sense is not common.

First, an overview of a computer and it's architecture is presented. Then topics are covered (clearly and extensively) that build on the previous topics. This is key in building a foundational, true understanding of the material.

Jones knows people learn best when "doing", so when exercises or examples are presented (using MASM or TASM), he goes though all of the nitty gritty details to get you going. The debuggers are covered and used thoughout the book (Debug Workshops) to give the student the required insight to what is going on within the processor/memory.

The writing style is refreshing, upbeat, and there are plenty of diagrams that help convey the concepts. Jones' mastery of the material is unquestioned, and he goes the extra mile to explain things like how an assembler works, from the inside (I haven't seen this in any of the other books I've read). There are many supporting activities that go on "beind the scenes" when using assembly language and Jones' takes the time to explain them. This is the kind of approach that leads to true understanding. There's even advanced topics that experienced assembly language programmers will find interesting.

I highly recommend Jones' book to high school teachers and college professors for their classes. You will not find a better text for TEACHING the material.

I am a student (not a lazy one; 4.0GPA) and I can assure you that this book was NOT written with students in mind. I am very irritated by how this book is un(organized) and put together carelessly. The examples are HORRIBLE and imcomplete. Somehow I get the feeling that the other reviewers are related to the author because any serious student/programmer/instructor that has thoroughly used this book would certainly avoid it at all costs.

Here are a few irritating things:
Exercises with multiple items are not ordered (like 1.1, 1.2 or a) b) c)... and so on. It takes me more time to check my answers than to really complete the exercises.

In some chapters most of the exercises do NOT have answers.

The author makes you flip back during the explanation several times. I do NOT have time or patience for this.

Also, the information is very superficial and the book focus greatly on using the macros and libraries that come with the included CD, of course, instead of giving you enough to write them yourself.

For any serious programmer, I recommend instead Irvine's book "Assembly language for intel-based computers".

After the semester is over I will burn this and broadcast it over the internet : ) I would not sell it to anyone, not even for a dollar it is not worth it.

This review refers to the 3rd edition. I've used this book for a course on assembly language and found that this book was all I needed to do well in class. I still find myself referring to it every now and then, and it's definitely the best book I have on assembly language. The author also has a very friendly writing style so that definitely helps. Important points are highlighted and placed in boxes so you keep them in mind when programming. Overall it's a great book, I highly recommend it!

This is a very to easy to read book for learning the basics. Well written, but may be missing too many technical details for a higher level college course.

This is quite possibly the worst book on any program language I've ever read; and as a CS student that's had to deal with quite a bit of books that talk down to you and read like a snapshot of a computer snob's psyche, that's saying a lot.

Let me say now that, in my opinion, the definitive way to write about a language was done well over a decade ago by Kernighan & Ritchie, called "The C Programming Language." The back cover spells their mission statement quite well: "C is not a big language, and it is not well served by a big book." Their clear and concise coverage of the language makes it an invaluable reference guide for anyone who actually works with C on a professional level, and in barely over 200 pages they present the subject with an unmatched lucidity.

That being said, I submit to you that assembly is an even smaller language than C. Not as straightforward, yes, but in terms of instructions and procedures, it pales in comparison. Why, then, is this tome over 700 pages?! One might say this is because to know assembly, you must understand at least something about computers at a basic level; how things are represented in hardware, how to interact with the OS, the stack, etc., etc. Fine. K&R explain all that, too. The terminology might be different (though in reality, it isn't much), but the concepts are the same. There is absolutely no reason for a book on this subject to be over, say, 400 pages.

I purchased this as it was required by a class I had to take. There must be a limited selection of books on this subject, because even the professor admitted that the examples were often horrible in their ways of trying to illustrate the concepts. And I must concur. The very notation and styles used within the book change often and tend to confuse rather than to help. The variegated comments in the examples, even the ones following the critical instructions it's trying to teach, are at best unhelpful and often not there at all. The surrounding paragraphs seem as if they were written by David Brent; wrapped up in conjecture and asinine turns of phrase. The numerous and often irrelevant/misplaced asides would serve to confuse even the most prodigious of readers, and exhibit the need of the author for a lesson on pacing.

To add to all of this, the index, which is an _extremely_ valuable part of any reference book, seems as if it was generated by either a computer program or a listless editor. Following the referenced page numbers more often than not leads you to impervious blocks of text that use the function it's purported to explain only in the most cursory manner. The explanations of subject matter are disjointed and strewed about as if fired scattershot across its 700+ pages.

Now, I realize that if you're reading this at all you probably are being forced to buy this book by a professor as I was; at the very least for the (now several versions behind) copy of MASM it contains. Woe is you. Perhaps complaining to your professor might bear fruit. Perhaps it'll get your grade lowered. Either way, if I can dissuade at least one non-compulsory purchase, I'll be more than happy I took the time to write this. Thank you.

This book is a bundle of psychobabble, whatever it is he wants to say here not gonna help you learn assembly. Heres how this "masterpiece" treats addition/subtraction: 10 lines of text (!!!), and then he gives you an exercise to do. What the heck happens in the registers, why - nothing about that. You figure it out. I tried to find "EFFECTIVE ADDRESS" in this book - no such luck - apparently, must be a government secret. Waste of money.