I'm working on a project to develop a new programming language I call NAM (New Assembly Modern). The goal is to create a version of Assembly that's simpler to use but still compiled. I'm curious if anyone has already done something similar or if there's a precedent for this kind of language.
5 Answers
You definitely need a grasp on assembly first! It might take some years, but starting with that knowledge will help you down the line when you might want to develop your own language or improve on the existing ones. Who knows, you might be rethinking how assembly works entirely and find a way to make it more user-friendly!
Before diving into creating a new assembly language, it's really important to have a solid understanding of what assembly does and how it operates. I recommend starting by getting comfortable with assembly programming for at least one architecture. Once you have that foundation, think about how you could actually improve the assembly programming experience. Learning C could be a great step as it's easier to use and still gives you a lot of the power of assembly. Plus, many C compilers let you mix in assembly code if needed. Good luck with your venture!
If you're set on making this new assembly, think about redefining what 'easier' means for you. You might want to experiment with formatting assembly code to make it more digestible, like simplifying instruction semantics or providing a more readable syntax that naturally maps to what the assembler does. It could really reduce the overhead of writing and understanding assembly!
Just a heads up, assembly is closely tied to machine code, and there's a one-to-one relationship there. If you're thinking about creating something 'easier' for users, I'd suggest looking into writing something that serves as an Intermediate Representation like LLVM. This way, you can still keep the power of low-level programming without getting lost in the nitty-gritty details of binary!
Exactly! Tackling binary directly can be pretty complex; IR might offer the best of both worlds.
Creating a new assembly language is a pretty big challenge, and you'd almost need to design a new chip architecture to fully support it. But if you just want a different syntax while maintaining the same functionalities, you could consider creating a new high-level language that compiles down to the existing assembly code. That could merge easier readability with the power of assembly.
That's a smart idea! With IR, you can optimize your code before it's translated into the actual machine instructions, which could really enhance the experience.