Teaching assembly-language programming: a high-level approach

It is observed that traditional techniques for high-level programming and assembly-language programming are based on two very different methodologies. The paper presents a methodology for developing assembly-language programs which is more in keeping with established high-level approaches than with lower-level flowchart-based methods. Although the underlying approach is not in itself new, the paper gives a detailed breakdown of the method as a number of distinct clearly defined steps. The program is first designed (in a high-level notation) and then manually translated, by systematically following a set of standard translation rules. A short practical example is given to show how the technique is applied. Finally, some of the benefits of using this approach are reviewed