Ask HN: How do I start learning about lower level compiled languages? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How do I start learning about lower level compiled languages?

#31

Post by rramadass » Wed, Jul 13, 2022, 3:26 AM UTC

markus_zhang wrote: post #28

rramadass wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>How do I convince someone to give me a job to work on low level systems, even as a junior? >Should I continue working on low level projects and hopefully they are good enough, or there are other approaches? The way i had done this in the past was to really learn the language well (today you will also have a GitHub repo of projects to show), practice algorithms/data structures/interview questions in C/C++ and finally…

Thanks! That looks very good and right on my study path. I'm glad that the preparation phase can be prepared by some CS courses.

For "Embedded C" you absolutely need this : https://www.safetty.net/publications/pttes

PS: You may find other helpful recommendations in my comment history.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start learning about lower level compiled languages?

#32

Post by shadowofneptune » Thu, Jul 14, 2022, 6:40 AM UTC

My own introduction to this, and to understanding programming rather than writing a few scripts for calculations, was the book "C Programming: A Modern Approach." It covers reasonably up-to-date C, assumes no previous expertise and teaches not just the language itself but practices for structuring programs, how to optimize, etc. I picked it up in 2020 so it should still be useful.

I personally am dissapointed by people recommending "The C Programming Language." It's a terse book that doesn't go into the detail I found helpful when starting.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start learning about lower level compiled languages?

#33

Post by vkazanov » Thu, Jul 14, 2022, 10:57 AM UTC

Sure, C is the original low-level language and any low-level discussion should start with it.

There is problem with the classic introductory book though. "The C Programming Language" is a classic and ppl mention it all the time. But it's horribly outdated and doesn't cover the living language at all. It's more like a description of a language authors wanted C to be, not the real thing.

Take "C Programming: A Modern Approach" or something along the same lines. Go through it, get a hang of the language then follow up with something like "Effective C" or "Modern C", which are good recent mid-level books on the language. I also like "The C Puzzle Book".

Then there's a brilliant "Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets" explaining subtle details of the language.

One thing that is missing from the books is POSIX. The language itself is very barebones so in practise people are always coding against some Linux/*nix/POSIX or equivalent APIs. These serve as a std library of sorts as otherwise even moderately involved projects become prohibitively big.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start learning about lower level compiled languages?

#34

Post by markus_zhang » Thu, Jul 14, 2022, 3:30 PM UTC

rramadass wrote: post #31

markus_zhang wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! That looks very good and right on my study path. I'm glad that the preparation phase can be prepared by some CS courses.

For "Embedded C" you absolutely need this : https://www.safetty.net/publications/pttes PS: You may find other helpful recommendations in my comment history.

Thanks! That looks very interesting. I'll also browse your previous comments.