In this article I want to discuss a popular question that I get asked: Is assembly language difficult to learn? The short answer is no, but there’s a little more to it than that.
Assembly language by itself is just a set of mnemonics. A way for programmers to write software that can directly interface with the CPU, memory, IO and hardware. Without it programmers would have to write programs in machine language.
What is machine language?
A processor is the brain of the computer. It performs billions of operations per second without breaking into a sweat. Embedded in the processor are instructions. These instructions tell the processor what to do and are defined by the processor manufacturer. If you’re really interested in this stuff you can read the Intel manuals.
As an example when you perform a mov instruction in assembly this is converted to the binary instruction for the given processor.
Programming this way is very possible, but also painful … and a complete waste of time. This is why assembly language was invented. Assembly language has a direct 1:1 relationship with machine instructions with some macros, and helpers etc. sprinkled on top to make life easier.
But, is it difficult to learn?
While the assembly language itself isn’t difficult to learn, becoming proficient with assembly is. An assembly programmer must understand how a computer works under the hood. If you’ve only ever used high level languages (HLL’s) you may not understand the basics such as how the CPU works, how memory is addressed and managed, or how to read and write to IO.
For many programmers wanting to learn assembly there’s is often a wide knowledge gap that needs bridging before you can start being productive. This takes time. It took me 10 years and a BSc in Computer Science to finally grasp assembly and computer architecture. I’m a slow learner who never really had any interest in assembly until I had a use case that required it. Kids today are much faster than my old brain.
Learning to program in assembly is completely different to programming in other languages. If you already know a language you will have to mentally shift the way you think about programming to learn and understand assembly. If you don’t know a language it would probably help to learn C before attempting assembly to get a higher level view of how to write software before diving down the rabbit hole.
With enough time and practice anybody can learn to become a good assembly programmer.
Is assembly language useless?
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that assembly language is useless. Some will claim it is only useful for things like optimization or game development. Others will claim writing software in assembly takes exponentially longer than in HLL’s. This is not true and can definitely have an impact on whether a person decides to learn assembly or not.
I generally find those that spout such nonsense don’t have enough experience with the language to do anything practical. And that’s fine, but those people should not speak in discussions they have no knowledge in.
I write assembly for ARM microcontrollers on a regular basis. I also write exploits and proof of concepts using assembly. Assembly language is not brainfuck. It is not an esoteric language who’s purpose is purely for programmer gratification and brownie points.
It’s a very useful language that gives you complete freedom and control over a machine within the limitations of the system. For example you can’t run in 16-bit real mode within modern versions of Windows so you still have some restrictions (excluding hackers, or booting into DOS).
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TLDR;
Assembly language is difficult to learn because it requires a deeper understanding of system architecture at the most fundamental level. Once you understand this and bridge the knowledge gap you will find learning and programming in assembly is easy and fun.
If you would like me to expand further on anything in this article, or you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
ASM Dude 