I'm curious about the relevance of x86_64 Assembly programming in 2025 and beyond. For those who have a grasp of high-level programming, what are the best resources to transition into Assembly x86_64? Additionally, can someone explain the difference between x86 and x64 Assembly? Looking ahead, how might a future kid in 2050 perceive Assembly code? Would they find it interesting enough to learn as a hobby?
3 Answers
You'll definitely encounter Assembly in certain systems programming areas: think kernels, game engines, or even things like emulators and cryptography. It's not all Assembly code all the time, but understanding what your compiler produces is super valuable. Check out Compiler Explorer to see the generated code from your programs!
For most programmers, unless you hit some niche area where C/C++ can't optimize properly, learning Assembly may not be essential. If you're already a pro in C/C++, understanding Assembly might be a good next step, but otherwise, it might not come up much in regular work.
While writing in Assembly isn't as common now, being able to read it can be really beneficial, especially in systems programming or specific hardware contexts. If you're working on something like a bootloader or need to optimize performance, knowing Assembly helps. The basics are pretty easy to grasp if you understand how computers operate; it's a useful skill at least to have in your toolkit!
Thanks for the input! I guess knowing how it works is more important than actually coding in it nowadays.