Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!rutgers!cmcl2!adm!news
From: pgd@compuram.bbt.seP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Need Assembly lang. to learn C?
Message-ID: <27019@adm.brl.mil>
Date: 26 May 91 06:29:02 GMT
Sender: news@adm.brl.mil
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In article <1991May21.175914.3681@rodan.acs.syr.edu>, ldstern@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Larry Stern) writes:

> To all: a local instructor, who teaches C, has told several of us who
> are interested in his course that we should take an Assembly language
> course first.  Even though his course is C in the DOS environment and
> a knowledge of 8088/80286 would no doubt be useful, we are wondering
> if this is really necessary.

I suggest that you ask for advice from someone who has gone through
the course, or some programmer experienced in both C and the DOS
environment for advice. The 80x86 chip has some memory management
issues, that can be very confusing. If the course is going to include
programming with the different memory models, "far" and "near"
keywords, interrupt routines etc., and/or if the instructor assumes that
you know 80x86 machine language, you probably have to take that
course first.

In general, you don't need to know assembly language to understand C.
But it helps, and this specific course might assume it. You will
probably have a tough time understanding about pointers, if you don't
know about machine architecture and some machine language (or pascal).

-- Per Lindqvist