[giddyupgirl]

Hello wise ones,

I am a student studying for a B. of Tech (Info Sys), one of my current core subjects is about 68k assembly language - the motorola chip. Having spent many many many hours souring the internet for some useful resources that I can understand, I think I have come to the conclusion that this language is quite irrelevant, and I now have no idea why I would be expected to learn it. I started the semester off all wide eyed and excited, now that it is getting towards the end I am frustrated and disillusioned.

Is there a global conspirisy to hide all the 'good stuff' on this subject from plebs like me, or doesn't it actually exist. Even finding some sample code that I can pull apart and see how it ticks just isn't there.

What do the all knowing ones think about 68k, is this just a subject I am doing cause they couldn't think of anything else to teach us? Ha, and teach us, I say that with my tongue in my cheek, my tutor is a twit, I don't even think he is from this planet, I have emailed him and asked him valid questions and his responses don't make any sense and are not related to my questions in anyway, maybe he just doesn't know the answer. I gave up expecting any support from him.

I am getting to the point where i would consider going without food for a week so I could pay someone to finish off this last assignment. At least I could offer them 180 lines of code that I have already done

Anyway, enough of the rant, any tips, hints, opinions or tricks would be greatly appreciated. Absolutely clutching at straws, I think I would give up if I failed the subject and had to repeat it.

cheers
giddyupgirl

[RodgerB]

Here is a WikiBook on 68K Asm (click).

I'm not sure if it is what you want, but it seems pretty informative. May I ask what school you are attending that is making you learn 68K assembly? I too live in Australia (around Melbourne). If I were to choose I'd want to be learning something like C++ or a .NET language.

[no2pencil]

Most of the compressed systems of today (iPod, GBA, Nintendo DS) use ARM technology.

[Tom9729]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/68k
http://www.google.co...G=Google+Search
http://www.ticalc.or...fo/39/3901.html
http://www.osdata.co...sm/asmintro.htm

[KYA]

no2pencil, on 17 May, 2008 - 05:12 PM, said:

Most of the compressed systems of today (iPod, GBA, Nintendo DS) use ARM technology.

Awesome information there

[no2pencil]

KYA, on 18 May, 2008 - 12:18 AM, said:

no2pencil, on 17 May, 2008 - 05:12 PM, said:

Most of the compressed systems of today (iPod, GBA, Nintendo DS) use ARM technology.

Awesome information there

Awesome reply

[RodgerB]

no2pencil, on 18 May, 2008 - 02:20 PM, said:

KYA, on 18 May, 2008 - 12:18 AM, said:

no2pencil, on 17 May, 2008 - 05:12 PM, said:

Most of the compressed systems of today (iPod, GBA, Nintendo DS) use ARM technology.

Awesome information there

Awesome reply

Awesome reply

[KYA]

RodgerB, on 18 May, 2008 - 03:50 AM, said:

no2pencil, on 18 May, 2008 - 02:20 PM, said:

KYA, on 18 May, 2008 - 12:18 AM, said:

no2pencil, on 17 May, 2008 - 05:12 PM, said:

Most of the compressed systems of today (iPod, GBA, Nintendo DS) use ARM technology.

Awesome information there

Awesome reply

Awesome reply

This reply is found wanting.

[giddyupgirl]

RodgerB, on 17 May, 2008 - 03:51 PM, said:

Here is a WikiBook on 68K Asm (click).

I'm not sure if it is what you want, but it seems pretty informative. May I ask what school you are attending that is making you learn 68K assembly? I too live in Australia (around Melbourne). If I were to choose I'd want to be learning something like C++ or a .NET language.

Hi,

I am studying at RMIT in Melbourne, I have done java which was great, but this one, oh boy, am I stuggling with it.

cheers

giddyupgirl

[born2c0de]

Quote

Most of the compressed systems of today (iPod, GBA, Nintendo DS) use ARM technology.

Many cell phones use ARM processor chips.

The Symbian Operating System's SIS/SISX format is compiled for the RISC ARM Processor and uses its instruction set.

[RodgerB]

giddyupgirl, on 19 May, 2008 - 08:17 AM, said:

I am studying at RMIT in Melbourne, I have done java which was great, but this one, oh boy, am I stuggling with it.

Ah, my brother studied certificate III in IT with them as an apprenticeship.

[1lacca]

68K asm is a nice subject, because it will show you how a CPU works and thinks. It will give you a hint about the speed difference between an iterative and a recursive approach, and so on. Modern languages and compilers do all sort of optimizations for you, so strictly speaking, you might get away with the lack of such knowledge, but as the above posters pointed out, you can never know when a turn in technology will require a going back to the ground floor, and it is much easier if you already been there once. So calm down, those guys didn't come up with the idea of teaching 68k asm because they were bored, but because it is a good low level language, that you might have to use. (I think we used to learn Z80 and X86)

[giddyupgirl]

RodgerB, on 19 May, 2008 - 01:01 AM, said:

giddyupgirl, on 19 May, 2008 - 08:17 AM, said:

I am studying at RMIT in Melbourne, I have done java which was great, but this one, oh boy, am I stuggling with it.

Ah, my brother studied certificate III in IT with them as an apprenticeship.

I am finding RMIT very frustrating, this is a first year subject and there is so much assumed knowledge by the university, but there are no prerequisites for the subject. The tutors are as good as useless and spend all their time patting each other on the butt and the back and not helping the students. The lecuturer keeps referring us to the tutors. The resources are also frustratingly limited, the text book would make a great anchor because it is useless as a learning aide.

I love learning and I love technology and my desire to learn is being erroded by the incompetence of this university and my frustrations levels are starting to peak. If I fail this subject I really don't know what my future holds because I don't think I have the heart left to do this one again.

[1lacca]

google to the rescue.
Unfortunately some universities share this approach (mine was like this as well), but if you get over it, it can turn out quite well. One of our profs had a good speech once, and he said that we should prepare to study as much in one university year, as we did in the whole high school.

[mikeblas]

I agree with 1lacca, giddyup. Learning assembler language gives a very deep insight into how a computer really works. Too many of the professional developers I meet these days don't have a deep enough understanding of the machines they're using to be truly effective at some of the harder problems they'll face.

I think that, if you know a dialect of assembler, you'll find learning most other languages a snap.

Because of that, it's hard for me to think that assembler in general is irrelevant. The 68K family might be a less popular, obsolete processor ... but what it wil lteach you is just as valid as any other processor. It's just a little harder to find resources.

If you have specific questions, I hope you'll ask them here and see if we can help you out.