x64 Assembly Language Step-by-Step, 4th Edition

Introduction

“Why Would You Want to Do That?”

It was 1985, and I was in a chartered bus in New York City, heading for a press reception with a bunch of other restless media egomaniacs. I was only beginning my tech journalist career (as technical editor for PC Tech Journal), and my first book was still months in the future. I happened to be sitting next to an established programming writer/guru, with whom I was impressed and to whom I was babbling about one thing or another. I would like to eliminate this statement; it adds little to the book, and as annoying as he is, even though we don’t name him, I now understand why he’s so annoying: He lives and works in a completely different culture than I do.

During our chat, I happened to let slip that I was a Turbo Pascal fanatic, and what I really wanted to do was learn how to write Turbo Pascal programs that made use of the brand new Microsoft Windows user interface. He wrinkled his nose and grimaced wryly, before speaking the Infamous Question:

“Why would you want to do that?”

I had never heard the question before (though I would hear it many times thereafter), and it took me aback. Why? Because, well, because…I wanted to know how it worked.

“Heh. That's what C is for.”

Further discussion got me nowhere in a Pascal direction. But some probing led me to understand that you couldn't write Windows apps in Turbo Pascal. It was impossible. Or…the programming writer/guru didn't know how. Maybe both. I never learned the truth as it stood ...