Write Great Code, Volume 1

<Understanding the Machine<, the first volume in the landmark <Write Great Code< series by Randall Hyde, explains the underlying mechanics of how a computer works.

This, the first volume in Randall Hyde''s <Write Great Code< series, dives into machine organization without the extra overhead of learning assembly language programming. Written for high-level language programmers, <Understanding the Machine <fills in the low-level details of machine organization that are often left out of computer science and engineering courses.

Learn:
<lHow the machine represents numbers, strings, and high-level data structures, so you''ll know the inherent cost of using them.</l<lHow to organize your data, so the machine can access it efficiently.</l<lHow the CPU operates, so you can write code that works the way the machine does.</l<lHow I/O devices operate, so you can maximize your application''s performance when accessing those devices.</l<lHow to best use the memory hierarchy to produce the fastest possible programs.</l
Great code is efficient code. But before you can write truly efficient code, you must understand how computer systems execute programs and how abstractions in programming languages map to the machine''s low-level hardware. After all, compilers don''t write the best machine code; programmers do. This book gives you the foundation upon which all great software is built.

NEW IN THIS EDITION, COVERAGE OF:
<lProgramming languages like Swift and Java</l<lCode generation on modern 64-bit CPUs</l<lARM processors on mobile phones and tablets</l<lNewer peripheral devices</l<lLarger memory systems and large-scale SSDs</l

Praise 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&#160;

• Write Great Code&#160;"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&#160;

"Great fun to read."
—VSJ Magazine&#160;

"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

Auteur
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.

Texte du rabat

Understanding the Machine, the first volume in the landmark Write Great Code series by Randall Hyde, explains the underlying mechanics of how a computer works.

This, the first volume in Randall Hyde's Write Great Code series, dives into machine organization without the extra overhead of learning assembly language programming. Written for high-level language programmers, Understanding the Machine fills in the low-level details of machine organization that are often left out of computer science and engineering courses.

Learn:
• How the machine represents numbers, strings, and high-level data structures, so you'll know the inherent cost of using them.
• How to organize your data, so the machine can access it efficiently.
• How the CPU operates, so you can write code that works the way the machine does.
• How I/O devices operate, so you can maximize your application's performance when accessing those devices.
• How to best use the memory hierarchy to produce the fastest possible programs.

Great code is efficient code. But before you can write truly efficient code, you must understand how computer systems execute programs and how abstractions in programming languages map to the machine's low-level hardware. After all, compilers don't write the best machine code; programmers do. This book gives you the foundation upon which all great software is built.

NEW IN THIS EDITION, COVERAGE OF:
• Programming languages like Swift and Java
• Code generation on modern 64-bit CPUs
• ARM processors on mobile phones and tablets
• Newer peripheral devices
• Larger memory systems and large-scale SSDs

Résumé
The first volume in a landmark series explaining the underlying mechanics of how a computer works.

Échantillon de lecture
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO WRITE GREAT CODE

The Write Great Code (WGC) series will teach you how to write code you can be proud of; code that will impress other programmers, satisfy customers, and prove popular with users; and code that people (customers, your boss, and so on) won’t mind paying top dollar to obtain.

In general, the books in the WGC series will discuss how to write software that achieves legendary status, eliciting the awe and admiration of other programmers.

1.1 The Write Great Code Series
Write Great Code, Volume 1: Understanding the Machine (WGC1 hereafter) is the first of six books in the WGC series. Writing great code requires a combination of knowledge, experience, and skill that programmers usually obtain only after years of mistakes and discoveries. The purpose of this series is to share with both new and experienced programmers a few decades’ worth of observations and experience. I hope that these books will help reduce the time and frustration it takes to learn things “the hard way.”

This book, WGC1, fills in the low-level details that are often skimmed over in a typical computer science or engineering curriculum. These details are the foundation for the solutions to many problems, and you can’t write efficient code without this information. Though I’m attempting to keep each book independent, WGC1 might be considered a prerequisite for the subsequent volumes in the series.

Write Great Code, Volume 2: Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level (WGC2) immediately applies the knowledge from this book. WGC2 will teach you how to analyze code written in a high-level language to determine the quality of the machine code that a compiler would generate for it. Optimizing compilers don’t always generate the best machine code possible—the statements and data structures you choose in your source files can have a big impact on the efficiency of the compiler’s output. WGC2 will teach you how to write efficient code without resorting to assembly language.

There are many attributes of great code besides efficiency, and the third book in this series, Write Great Code, Volume 3: Engineering Software (WGC3), will cover some of those. WGC3 will discuss software development metaphors, development methologies, types of developers, system documentation, and the Unified Modeling Language (UML). WGC3 provides the basis for personal software engineering.

Great code begins with a great design. Write Great Code, Volume 4: Designing Great Code (WGC4), will describe the process of analysis and design (…