How can I get better at understanding ARM assembly?

Start by learning how the ARM CPU is organized: registers, the program counter, stack pointer, memory, and condition flags. ARM is a relatively small RISC instruction set, so focus on understanding what each instruction does to registers and memory rather than trying to memorize everything. Tracing a short program one instruction at a time in a debugger can make the behavior much clearer.

Try an assembly-themed puzzle game or visual simulator first if the syntax feels overwhelming. Those tools help build the basic mental model of moving values between registers, performing arithmetic, branching, and using memory. Also remember that the goal of the class is to understand how higher-level code maps onto hardware, not to write large applications entirely in assembly.

A hands-on ARM board, such as a small single-board computer or development board, can help because you can assemble, run, and debug real code. Pair that with the processor’s reference manual or instruction-set guide. The manual explains the registers, addressing modes, flags, and calling convention that your programs rely on.

Use a simple simulator or debugger and write tiny programs that do only one thing: add two values, compare numbers, loop over an array, call a function, or push and pop values from the stack. For every instruction, write down the register and memory changes. Once that feels comfortable, compile small C programs to ARM assembly and compare the source code with the generated instructions.