Using Assembly Language

Abstract

“Why should I bother to use assembly language? Isn’t it dreadfully difficult to understand?” In this chapter I hope to answer the first of these questions and to show that, while writing programs in assembler is certainly less easy than in BASIC, it is not an insuperable difficulty. There is, unfortunately, insufficient room in a book of this size to go into much detail on the various assembly language instructions that are used when writing assembler programs. Those who wish to learn more are strongly recommended to refer to the book ‘Assembly Language Programming on the BBC Microcomputer’ by Ian Birnbaum. This excellent book assumes no previous knowledge, except the ability to program in BASIC, and is a very useful introduction to the subject.