Art of Assembly Language, 1st Edition

2.1. 2.1 Chapter Overview

A major stumbling block many beginners encounter when attempting to learn assembly language is the common use of the binary and hexadecimal numbering systems. Many programmers think that hexadecimal (or hex^[23]) numbers represent absolute proof that God never intended anyone to work in assembly language. While it is true that hexadecimal numbers are a little different from what you may be used to, their advantages outweigh their disadvantages by a large margin. Therefore, understanding these numbering systems is important because their use simplifies other complex topics including bit operations, signed numeric representation, character codes, and packed data.

^[23] Hexadecimal is often abbreviated as hex even though, technically ...