Write Great Code, Volume 2, 2nd Edition Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level

Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level, the second volume in the landmark Write Great Code series by Randall Hyde, covers high-level programming languages (such as Swift and Java) as well as code generation on 64-bit CPUsARM, the Java Virtual Machine, and the Microsoft Common Runtime.

Today's programming languages offer productivity and portability, but also make it easy to write sloppy code that isn't optimized for a compiler. Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level will teach you to craft source code that results in good machine code once it's run through a compiler.

You'll learn:

How to analyze the output of a compiler to verify that your code generates good machine code

The types of machine code statements that compilers generate for common control structures, so you can choose the best statements when writing HLL code

Enough assembly language to read compiler output

How compilers convert various constant and variable objects into machine data

With an understanding of how compilers work, you'll be able to write source code that they can translate into elegant machine code.

NEW TO THIS EDITION, COVERAGE OF:

Programming languages like Swift and Java

Code generation on modern 64-bit CPUs

ARM processors on mobile phones and tablets

Stack-based architectures like the Java Virtual Machine

Modern language systems like the Microsoft Common Language Runtime

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 and Byte, as well as professional and academic journals.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level
Chapter 2: Shouldn’t You Learn Assembly Language?
Chapter 3: 80x86 Assembly for the HLL Programmer
Chapter 4: Compiler Operation and Code Generation
Chapter 5: Tools for Analyzing Compiler Output
Chapter 6: Constants and High-Level Languages
Chapter 7: Variables in a High-Level Language
Chapter 8: Array Data Types
Chapter 9: Pointer Data Types
Chapter 10: String Data Types
Chapter 11: Record, Union, and Class Data Types
Chapter 12: Arithmetic and Logical Expressions
Chapter 13: Control Structures and Programmatic Decisions
Chapter 14: Iterative Control Structures
Chapter 15: Functions and Procedures

Afterword: Engineering Software
Glossary