before you code, learn how computers work

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  • Опубліковано 21 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 724

  • @LowLevelTV
    @LowLevelTV  9 місяців тому +38

    Want to learn how computers work? Check out my courses at lowlevel.academy !

    • @VskiDevs
      @VskiDevs 2 місяці тому +1

      free?

    • @soumyajit_ojha
      @soumyajit_ojha 2 місяці тому

      Exactly.

    • @tomascontreras7760
      @tomascontreras7760 Місяць тому

      "Get my free course" button doesn't work

    • @Uvesh-uu5dc
      @Uvesh-uu5dc Місяць тому

      Hey,
      Can you suggest me good compiler and IDE for C.

    • @eren352
      @eren352 21 день тому +1

      @@Uvesh-uu5dc nvim the best, and faster

  • @rajan_0
    @rajan_0 9 місяців тому +178

    Lmao, I opened your website from the description and my antivirus immediately flagged it as a malware.

  • @sleepib
    @sleepib 9 місяців тому +3564

    I think to learn the lowest level, the first thing you learn is how to identify copper ore. More practically, maybe nandgame.

    • @LowLevelTV
      @LowLevelTV  9 місяців тому +1144

      acquire rock. shoot lightning into rock. make rock think. observe

    • @jayshartzer844
      @jayshartzer844 9 місяців тому +443

      If you are not assembling the copper atoms by hand from subatomic particles is it even low level?

    • @pabloalfaro2595
      @pabloalfaro2595 9 місяців тому +37

      @@LowLevelTV i did not expect to see you here

    • @fus3n
      @fus3n 9 місяців тому +23

      he is too deep

    • @yoavmor9002
      @yoavmor9002 9 місяців тому +51

      Copper? Copper is nothing except being constructed above silicone. Master silicone, master computers.

  • @chipswoon4554
    @chipswoon4554 7 місяців тому +34

    Spot on with technological advancement abstracting us away from the metal.

  • @N7492
    @N7492 7 місяців тому +36

    You can learn C in less than a week, but pointers might take a lifetime. FWIW, C is my favorite language. It's fast. It's very well debugged. It also has unintelligible error messages, and its libraries have unstandardized APIs, e.g. malloc takes one argument, calloc two. Both simply allocate memory.

    • @Chris-d2k2r
      @Chris-d2k2r Місяць тому +4

      Like human language, coding is just a bunch of different ways to speak depending on who and where you are the way and language changes. Like going to India as a Canadian and walk up to a women or man and if your south or North it will change .

  • @adityaray203
    @adityaray203 9 місяців тому +1558

    C program teaches you that with great powers comes great responsibilities

    • @melficexd
      @melficexd 9 місяців тому +49

      C is the super programming language, or as i read in my college, C is God's programming language

    • @Henvag
      @Henvag 9 місяців тому +47

      @@melficexd Holy C the goat/TempleOS😂

    • @FLMKane
      @FLMKane 9 місяців тому +36

      ​​@@melficexdclearly your college needs more LISP
      God only had 6 days, he didn't have time to debug seg faults.

    • @sardineghali
      @sardineghali 9 місяців тому

      very nicely said

    • @ohdude6643
      @ohdude6643 9 місяців тому +4

      and big fuck ups -- which is how we learn

  • @thewaterbear
    @thewaterbear 2 місяці тому +260

    Ed, "Before you learn how to code, all you have to do is ALREADY know how to code. It just makes learning how to code so much better "

    • @ojochegbe_
      @ojochegbe_ Місяць тому +8

      😂

    • @alst4817
      @alst4817 Місяць тому +26

      Agreed. After coding for 10 years, I taught myself to code in only 2 weeks ! If I can do it, anyone can!

    • @juani2929
      @juani2929 3 дні тому +1

      Yeah stupid me for trying to learn how to code without knowing how to code. Useless video.

  • @mourneris
    @mourneris 9 місяців тому +571

    "We tricked rocks into thinking." I love this.

    • @EdWestfieldJr
      @EdWestfieldJr 9 місяців тому +9

      🤯

    • @smallSphere69
      @smallSphere69 6 місяців тому

      ​@@EdWestfieldJr 🤯

    • @bensonboys6609
      @bensonboys6609 5 місяців тому +10

      You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge - Thanos

    • @bluewater5588
      @bluewater5588 2 місяці тому

      @@mourneris wait i dont get it? Hahahahaha

    • @monzerfaisal3673
      @monzerfaisal3673 Місяць тому +3

      @@bluewater5588 CPUs are made of sand

  • @FredsRandomFinds
    @FredsRandomFinds 7 місяців тому +8

    Was waiting for you to suggest Machine Code. (I knew someone who was teaching themselves to program with this on a ZX Spectrum 128k back in the 80's...)

    • @11141q
      @11141q Місяць тому +1

      @@FredsRandomFinds curious what happenend to that guy

  • @mt-qc2qh
    @mt-qc2qh 9 місяців тому +149

    Absolutely spot on! I'm retired after 45 years in my career that started first in hardware (Data General Nova and Eclipse), assembly programming on the same. I learned C from the first edition of K&R C Programming language writing network software for bridging the minicomputers to Novell PC based networks. Knowing the internal register architecture was key to understanding every processor I've used since. I can't quantify how many hours I spent in CodeView hybrid view where the C code was shown in assembly for debugging. I spend most days even now in C on the various microcontrollers enjoying embedded programming. The ties between hardware understanding and programming is essential.

    • @Zeni-th.
      @Zeni-th. 7 місяців тому +1

      Hey I wanted to ask if K&R is the best for a completely new programmer, don't know anything.
      Will it take me from 0 or does it expect me to be at 30 to take me to 99?

    • @mt-qc2qh
      @mt-qc2qh 7 місяців тому +5

      @@Zeni-th. The K&R book was a reference for us when the C language was new. Now there are so many resources available, even for free, on the net that I wouldn't start with K&R. Even small platforms like the Arduino are excellent to learn C programming and the number of example programs is astronomical (and with the Arduino/ESP platforms you can extend your learning into Python easily as well.)
      Great place to start,

  • @lisbyte_
    @lisbyte_ 8 місяців тому +844

    If C is not low level, Python is raw English

    • @litjellyfish
      @litjellyfish 6 місяців тому +116

      It all depends on what you compare with haha. Back in early 80s C was for sure considered pretty high level

    • @losing_interest_in_everything
      @losing_interest_in_everything 5 місяців тому +159

      Compared to electrical signals, asm is a high-level language!

    • @litjellyfish
      @litjellyfish 5 місяців тому +48

      @@losing_interest_in_everything yes let’s go back to the basics. Love those old punch cards as well. Back when women did a lot of the coding

    • @losing_interest_in_everything
      @losing_interest_in_everything 5 місяців тому +13

      ​@@litjellyfish That's how I learned what legacy code is ^^'

    • @lorenzopiombini3406
      @lorenzopiombini3406 5 місяців тому +14

      If you see the amount of assembly generated for a simple printf(“hello world”); you’d see why it’s an high level language, maybe the first of this type, but there is still lots of abstraction in C, I think generally you refer to C as a low level because it gives you memory control like no others probably, which is also a bad thing 😅

  • @long-live-linux
    @long-live-linux 8 місяців тому +11

    Writing OS from scratch was the best learning experience for me. It didn't have userspace or scheduler, but it gave me the basic idea of how computers work.

    • @leonstone3443
      @leonstone3443 12 днів тому

      sounds interesting, did you learn that from a video on here? can you recommend me where you learned it

  • @rentristandelacruz
    @rentristandelacruz 9 місяців тому +1242

    Highest Level Programmer/Hacker: "I only do my programming and hacking on the highest level, social engineering. I don't even touch the keyboard anymore. I just manipulate people and have them do that task for me."

    • @JayDee-b5u
      @JayDee-b5u 9 місяців тому +111

      You work in the 'news'?

    • @golfchanl
      @golfchanl 9 місяців тому +5

      Haha😂 So true, love this comment

    • @thezouave7636
      @thezouave7636 9 місяців тому +68

      This is what is known as a "Software manager", or possibly, "Senior Developer" who spend 70% of their time reviewing other people's code and 30% of their time in meetings.

    • @FLMKane
      @FLMKane 9 місяців тому +7

      Ah yes. Thats what Linus Torvalds taught me back in 2007

    • @ayaderg
      @ayaderg 9 місяців тому +20

      no need to use a fancy tool if you just call them up, pretend you're their district manager, and ask for their password

  • @gamermaniac8506
    @gamermaniac8506 9 місяців тому +33

    I tried to write a blinker led example in assembly before for an Arduino nano before and it was challenging and teaches a lot of stuff, so seeing you releasing a video about that topic exactly made feel more confident that i'm in right way

  • @schism15
    @schism15 9 місяців тому +74

    This video came at the right time for me. I'm a backend engineer working primarily in Python, but I've been feeling an urge to start tinkering with something lower level. I want to start datamining games but I have no idea how to do it given the files are encrypted. I found your channel because I was looking for stuff on reverse engineering.

    • @-_Admin
      @-_Admin 9 місяців тому +7

      Learning Cryptography may help
      INP: "a"
      Base 8: 141 | Octal
      Base 10: 97
      Base 16: 61 | Hexadecimal
      B Stack | 001000 => 512

  • @thomaswesleyscott4555
    @thomaswesleyscott4555 9 місяців тому +95

    I learned ASM6502 (assembly) for NES game programming - one of the best things I've ever done. Any time someone talks about registers, the stack, bit shifting, etc... I feel like I (at a minimum) broadly understand what they're talking about, regardless of the programming language.

    • @proxy1035
      @proxy1035 5 місяців тому +4

      i also started with assembly on the good old 8 bit CPUs like the 6502 and Z80. mainly because i found them simple enough to learn all the features and quirks for, but still powerful/usable enough to do work with (ie gamedev for the NES, Gameboy, writing programs for custom SBCs, etc)
      from there learned C and more Assembly variants like M68K, AVR, some x86_32, RISC-V (though pronouncing it "risk vi" instead of "risk 5" is cursed)

    • @thomaswesleyscott4555
      @thomaswesleyscott4555 5 місяців тому +1

      @@proxy1035 very cool! I'm looking forward to learning Z80 when time permits - I took a brief look at it about a year ago (Gameboy) and it didn't go well - but the same was true with 6502 at first!

    • @pushkarmahajan9294
      @pushkarmahajan9294 Місяць тому +1

      That is very cool!

  • @regiondeltas
    @regiondeltas 9 місяців тому +145

    Wheeew - simply couldn't agree more. I've been coding casually, but also to a degree professionally (Think DevOps as opposed to developer) for nigh on 20 years. A few years ago I started to pick up, essentially, what this video says - I dipped my toe into Reverse Engineering, I started playing with C, and I started writing embedded software for STM32 devices (and now Raspberry Pico) in C & now Rust. Without a doubt, I've learnt more in 2 years of those projects than in the preceeding 18 despite having a vast list of succesful projects under my belt. Modern software just abstracts SO much - honestly, I would say I didn't even really, truly, understand arrays and lists until I learnt C. And then you start writing embedded and realise there is no memory allocater, and THEN it gets interesting all over again. I just wish I'd picked this stuff up 20 years ago.

    • @GL0697
      @GL0697 9 місяців тому +2

      As someone in the automotive industry for 30 years I am looking into embedded c & misra c variants. Every night I'm learning the c language and the concepts arrays, pointers, recursion, etc etc. What path, data structure, and/or syntax would you say is the best to concentrate more on?

    • @YandiBanyu
      @YandiBanyu 9 місяців тому +2

      @@GL0697 If you are following MISRA, then you really should just read the document. It instructs you on the do and don't with the reason why.

    • @GL0697
      @GL0697 9 місяців тому +2

      @@YandiBanyu I guess I'm looking for practice problems/projects that I can do to learn. So far it's just scouring the internet.

  • @tony-does-stuff
    @tony-does-stuff Місяць тому +84

    Step 0: learn what all of these words mean

    • @RickMyBalls
      @RickMyBalls 26 днів тому +1

      just look at the blob of C and object dump it bro

    • @wtfyoshipwns
      @wtfyoshipwns 2 дні тому

      @@tony-does-stuff underrated comment

  • @scootergirl3662
    @scootergirl3662 9 місяців тому +36

    Lowest level programming is one of my favorite UA-cam channels ever. When I first got into tech I was pushed more towards front and engineering which is all fine and dandy but I found that I wanted to learn how the hardware interacts with the software. A lot of people seem to think that that is not needed anymore but I came to find out that a lot of people who have those skills are retiring or literally dying off.
    So I predict that there is going to be a high need for people that understand very low level code - even if there are not as many job openings as say JavaScript Developers, companies will have a hard time finding people for low level jobs.

  • @Diablokiller999
    @Diablokiller999 9 місяців тому +11

    Get a uC like any Atmel ATMega.
    Code with C, later use ASM and toggle some outputs, control a motor, led, pumps etc. and create a small project like an automatic water pump that pours water on a plant when it's getting too dry (measure impedance between two nails).

    • @Intense_Cloud
      @Intense_Cloud Місяць тому +1

      *sits down on the opposite side of the table*
      "Ok, my friend, let's talk about awesomeness!!"

  • @MartinLindsay
    @MartinLindsay 9 місяців тому +12

    There's a lot of focus on how your cpu does things, and honestly there's a lot I personally could learn there but I think the one topic you might be overlooking is how memory access and caching works. I spent a few months reading and learning about efficient use of cpu caching (and as a result efficient multicore programming) and it blew my mind what a difference it made. I recommend the paper What Every Programmer Should Know About Memory by Ulrich Drepper.

  • @ukaszgrabowski3647
    @ukaszgrabowski3647 9 місяців тому +87

    I like your mindset, teaching people low level as we move into more abstract and advanced tech. You're doing gods work.

  • @dameanvil
    @dameanvil 9 місяців тому +15

    0:00 🎓 Focus on learning low-level concepts such as C programming language.
    2:49 🧠 Understanding an assembly variant provides insights into CPU behavior and aids in code optimization.
    3:56 🔍 Learning reverse engineering basics enhances understanding of code functionality and aids in debugging.
    5:18 💡 Exploring embedded systems with boards like STM32 and writing C code for them enriches low-level understanding and practical skills.

  • @disgruntledtoons
    @disgruntledtoons 7 місяців тому +4

    C is a layer directly on top of assembler, and is best approached on this basis.

  • @antoniodeodilonbrito7643
    @antoniodeodilonbrito7643 9 місяців тому +302

    “Or… God forbid… Javascript…” Yup, very accurate! 😂😂😂

    • @TheVirtualArena24
      @TheVirtualArena24 9 місяців тому +4

      Is js bad?

    • @multivitamin7
      @multivitamin7 9 місяців тому +56

      @@TheVirtualArena24 not necessarily. It just shouldn't be used for everything. It's just a bit of a meme due to its weird behavior and funky ecosystem.

    • @TheVirtualArena24
      @TheVirtualArena24 9 місяців тому +1

      @@multivitamin7 ohh ok

    • @moistnar
      @moistnar 9 місяців тому +19

      I remember trying to learn JS after first learning C and Python, some of the behavior in that language blows my mind that it's as widespread as it is

    • @multivitamin7
      @multivitamin7 9 місяців тому +6

      @@moistnar true but the same can kinda be said for python as well. Python is also super quirky.

  • @ashfaqadib8085
    @ashfaqadib8085 8 днів тому

    This knowledge is becoming a hobby more than a necessity everyday.

  • @tigana
    @tigana Місяць тому +2

    Thank you for this video. As a self taught developer whose main languages are JS and Python, I've been wanting to have a stronger foundation and actually understand why/how my code does what it does. So I started learning C about a month and a half ago. It's uncomfortable, but in a satisfying way. I feel like I'm actually going to understand my craft stuff deeply. I'm excited to see what I know this time next year or maybe 2 years from now, going down this path.

  • @uujuu316
    @uujuu316 25 днів тому

    Telling a website that you just like, but not sponsored makes us viewers want to visit it immediately

  • @Αλέξανδρος56
    @Αλέξανδρος56 7 місяців тому +12

    Turing complete on steam teaches you how a computer work from the very beginning in a very pedagogical way, it's very nice.

    • @bensonboys6609
      @bensonboys6609 5 місяців тому +2

      Now I want to look into it! Thank you! I did not know this existed!

    • @Αλέξανδρος56
      @Αλέξανδρος56 5 місяців тому

      @@bensonboys6609 Glad to be of help. It won't replace a real class on the subject and I highly recommend you to check on Boolean algebra (and a few basic theorems such as DeMorgan's) to avoid being stuck at some puzzles as I deed ✌️

  • @black56night
    @black56night 9 місяців тому +6

    Having coded for Motorola 6809E and some 68k back in the 90s, the one thing that I've noticed over the last few decades is that people in our technical field have lost the ability to troubleshoot. Learning by making mistakes also seems to be stigmatised somewhat. It's by going through this process and stumbling and failing, then being able to find your bugs that you learn. The ability to leverage internet searches at your fingertips and the collective knowledge of peers is incredible today compared to 30 years ago. And of course "Digital Intelligence"(AI) has also spoiled us. Learning the low level is great but not everyone necessarily appreciates it significance. Do modern curriculums at university even teach it anymore? Or is it merely that the amount of compute at our fingertips spoils us? Loving your videos and thank goodness for people like you. 👍

    • @dipanzan
      @dipanzan 9 місяців тому

      I follow this channel a lot, and I really like C/kernels and low-level programming in general. Would you say for someone who's not a beginner but not an expert either to learn concepts from a book first, lets say operating system internals/kernels and then apply those concepts/implementation? I've been trying to learn and understand all things low-level and hopefully someday land a job in this niche field but I only have experience in high-level web/mobile development.

    • @thegreenshade7
      @thegreenshade7 22 дні тому

      In my university we do arm assembly language and c

  • @azemazaotaru9788
    @azemazaotaru9788 8 місяців тому +6

    I personally felt attacked when he said God forbid JavaScript 😂😂😂😂

  • @TheResearchEngineer
    @TheResearchEngineer 2 місяці тому +3

    Probably the best advice to learn a language is writing an HTTP server. Solid advice.

  • @deforesttthompson9299
    @deforesttthompson9299 9 місяців тому +33

    In my opinion, the best way to learn low-level stuff is to write a compiler back end from scratch.

    • @PushyPixels
      @PushyPixels 9 місяців тому +6

      Interpreters and emulators are quite good for this too, and are good stepping stones before compiler.

    • @trots4940
      @trots4940 9 місяців тому

      @@PushyPixels Is it easier to make an emulator than to make a compiler? I thought it was the opposite

    • @МихаилТихомиров-м8ч
      @МихаилТихомиров-м8ч 9 місяців тому +1

      @@trots4940 it's not that hard to make emulator that just works but way more harder to make it run fast and not consume too much memory

    • @trots4940
      @trots4940 9 місяців тому

      @@МихаилТихомиров-м8ч It makes sense. I really want to make some simple games in assembly too, I think it's a good way to learn it

    • @PushyPixels
      @PushyPixels 9 місяців тому

      @@trots4940 I mean, it depends on what you are emulating. If it's an old virtual machine like Chip-8, it's pretty damn easy, if you are already a programmer it can be done over a weekend, and I'd expect a student to be able to do it in a couple weeks. Real hardware stuff is definitely trickier, and sometimes you have to deal with things you might not realize on otherwise simple systems. Like when I started making an Atari 2600 emulator, the CPU and memory emulation portions were quite simple, but so much of that system is dependent on NTSC emulation as all the timings come from the TV for that system, and so I didn't get graphics up and running nearly as easily as I thought I would. NES is actually not tooooo bad if you are focused on just the simplest mapper (emulating Donkey Kong) though I haven't actually done that one myself yet (it's next on my list). I haven't explored Intellivision but it might actually be a really good candidate for emulation practice as well, as it's a bit more advanced than Atari but still not super complicated hardware-wise.

  • @Brawlstriker89
    @Brawlstriker89 2 місяці тому +1

    I was lucky to have started my programming journey with c++. Then learned html, css, JavaScript. Then c and assembly.

  • @DSWoodworkUSA
    @DSWoodworkUSA Місяць тому

    Zero to low level; just what I needed... even that mentality is genius. Slowly but surely is reminiscent to the three pigs story. Let us pace ourselves and work hard, so this foundation will be strong and last. Thank You

  • @ULTIMARAGNAR0K
    @ULTIMARAGNAR0K 9 місяців тому +3

    I wished you’d provide excellent links. There’s a lot of trash online and helping people find good sources will make them work out what’s a good source and what’s trash.

  • @codemasterz6074
    @codemasterz6074 28 днів тому

    First rule of safe memory usage in C: never alocate memory dynamically.
    As an Autosar developer we are Misra compliant so dynamic memory allocation is alway forbidden (together with a much of other software metrics and qualification standards which makes SW development in the automotive industry a bore).

  • @danielsutherland2599
    @danielsutherland2599 9 місяців тому +3

    I'd love LOVE love to see a video about the best practices for rewriting a high level lang to low, I can interpret x86 asm perfectly and vice versa but when I'm RE'ing I tend to create something that's only good enough to run.
    Great video fren

  • @komplettichselbst
    @komplettichselbst 9 місяців тому +3

    3:08 I think the problem with that is that modern compilers perform so many optimizations that it's mostly not possible to guess what a given piece of code will compile to unless it's a trivial case. Absolutely agree that you should know how a CPU works, but imo actually going to the assembly level only becomes relevant when you're writing high performance code or want to know some specific detail about your code

  • @mbeware
    @mbeware 9 місяців тому +7

    this great advice. this was a really interesting video, so packed with information that I watch it twice (because i usually watch doing the dishes, and I missed some of the information. )

  • @giuliosalvi6790
    @giuliosalvi6790 Годину тому

    i would tell that c is a mediumum level language because you have control on computer’s low level components just using feature of high level languages (such as functions and pseudo-objects that are structs) and to be honest that is why i LOVE C

  • @LukSilva12
    @LukSilva12 2 місяці тому

    I have a lot of interest in low level coding and low level knowledge of computers. But my main interest is graphics programming and game development, it is what I am learning now. And, to learn how to write shaders and graphics code (openGL, directX, etc), it is almost mandatory to understand the low level of things, how a GPU works, how data transfer and access works, etc. Liked a lot your video! Will try to make a OpenGL 3D renderer in pure C (Right now I code in C++ at work and use it to study too, together with GDScript for godot when not messing with low level)

  • @paulcosta8297
    @paulcosta8297 9 місяців тому +3

    The best advice in my opinion is to learn Delphi. With the Pascal language and inline assembly, you have maximal low level abilities, but get to produce a useful, tractable Win32 native app with a GUI form editor and very useful RTL which is way cleaner than Cpp STL.

  • @AnWe79
    @AnWe79 21 день тому

    As an extra point, I'd say learn the basics of digital electronics, and then an extra bonus point, learn the basics of an HDL (hardware description lanugage, like Verilog or VHDL).
    The roughly half semester digital electronics course I took was hands down the best course I've ever taken.
    It started with logic gates, building latches, counters and whatnot, and on from there.
    At the end we knew how all the building blocks of a simple CPU works, because we had effectively built one step by step from the gate level. We could program the thing in machine code/assembly, because we knew it inside out. It's just layers of abstractions all the way down...
    Then go get a cheap FPGA dev board, and the sky's the limit, you can do basically anything then.

  • @Lucas2RC
    @Lucas2RC 9 місяців тому +2

    I believe that C is considerably enough low level since it allows memory manipulation. I know it's not Assembly, nor binary, but it is reasonably deep enough so a learner can understand the intricacies of low level coding. Great suggestion.

  • @YandiBanyu
    @YandiBanyu 9 місяців тому +6

    To further discuss about C being low level, defining low level language will depend on what are you doing. If you are doing C programming and use a framework, can it still be called low level? Or is it like dialect where the language is the same (C) but how you use it can vary with framework to framework? Arduino framework literally abstract away a lot of things but still give you access to hw if you need to. But yeah, all things considered, C language has a compiler for most architecture so it's still quite universal while being able to do low level stuff.

    • @YandiBanyu
      @YandiBanyu 9 місяців тому

      @@LiveType yep. But it's sad to see that simpler architecture is being abandoned. Atmega is not being used on the newer Arduino model IIRC. I forgot the replacement but it was really more complex so I don't think it will be suitable for beginner learning.

  • @del669
    @del669 2 місяці тому

    I'm a hobbyist with higher languages and this video got me interested in lower languages! Thank you very much, subbed!

  • @Danny-hj2qg
    @Danny-hj2qg 9 місяців тому +19

    0:47 "God forbid Javascript." LOL!

    • @hma201
      @hma201 2 місяці тому

      @@Danny-hj2qg why all the hate for js ?

    • @Ahsan5497
      @Ahsan5497 17 днів тому

      why

  • @shafransky93
    @shafransky93 9 місяців тому +3

    Best description I've heard for a computer "We literally tricked rocks into thinking"

  • @hypergraphic
    @hypergraphic 9 місяців тому +2

    Love that last part about tricking rocks to think. My own personal definition of magic is "the ability to manipulate reality with consciousness". When it comes to computers I think we do just that, which is part of what makes it so cool.

    • @maxmuster7003
      @maxmuster7003 9 місяців тому

      I tried it with chatgpt, but it creates to much error.

  • @aryanjoshi2796
    @aryanjoshi2796 9 місяців тому +1

    Thank you for guiding me. I always enjoy learning about how computer stuff works. Thanks for your amazing content!

  • @ryanstory1642
    @ryanstory1642 Місяць тому

    So glad I found this channel. Exactly what I was looking for

  • @faizanmohammed7687
    @faizanmohammed7687 2 місяці тому

    Understanding what is programming, how electrical pulses from wires comes to CPS and converted into 0s and 1s. and how the OS works while program executes. It's just too good to know all these and helps me alot in my compiler design and automata languages. Also in many subjects of CS

  • @daze8410
    @daze8410 8 місяців тому

    Years ago I stumbled upon Ben Eater and followed along with his 8-bit breadboard computer.
    I understand how logic operates on the physical level but I didn't know any code.
    So I went the complete polar opposite and learned Python.
    Now I'm learning C++ and working my way back down.
    It's cool because in my head when I'm thinking about a problem I weigh the time/effort of soldering components vs coding it up.

  • @Cyberwolf-kp4yy
    @Cyberwolf-kp4yy Місяць тому

    This, I think is just what I needed to hear to point me into the right direction on my cyber journey!

  • @pmlbeirao
    @pmlbeirao 22 дні тому

    Learn assembly for a 8-bit CPU like 6502 or Z80 and use it to develop applications for such platform. It's simple enough that any programmer can do it. Then learn assembly for more complex architectures such as x86, and then C.

  • @Phredwerd
    @Phredwerd 9 місяців тому +1

    LoL it's funny as I learned assembly before I even learned C! Turbo Pascal was a great low level language back in the early 90's as you could write whatever you needed in it but could easily embed assembler inside your Pascal code without needing external files.
    In fact, when the x86 made the jump from 16-bit registers to 32-bit. The current assembler in Turbo Pascal didn't know how to use them so we'd have to embed machine code nemonics inside our inline assembly code to use 32-bit instructions. If I recall correctly it was something like:
    db 0x66;
    Machine Language < Assembly Language < C/C++

  • @Bluesourboy
    @Bluesourboy 9 місяців тому +1

    It's pretty easy to copy past JavaScript into C, mostly you end up changing 'const', 'let' and 'var' into the C types. If you use typescript convert the type definitions into structs and for the last trick convert the function defs into C style functions.
    For all the JS haters, the syntax is designed to be close to C.

    • @cl-7832
      @cl-7832 9 місяців тому

      Is your last name really Faag-uilar?

    • @Bluesourboy
      @Bluesourboy 9 місяців тому +1

      The beauty of this approach is it's as degenerate as JavaScript itself and also at the same time is as degenerate as writing C in 2024. Happy coding!

  • @AnandKilli
    @AnandKilli 2 місяці тому

    Funny. I know everything mentioned this video. Graduates in 2005 and my first language to learn and master is C. Programmed 8085 micro controller and learned ASM. Wrote a boot loader using ASM as my Masters final year project. I code micro controllers for fun in C and Micro Python. I see why I only work 2 days in 2 weeks and still get more done than 95% of people :).

  • @bertblankenstein3738
    @bertblankenstein3738 2 місяці тому

    I coded basic, m6809 assembler (really got to know the computer well) and then C on Sun computers, linux, Raspberry Pi and then microcontrollers. I agree that it is good to understand the hardware as (hopefully) the code will be streamlined for easy conversion in to machine language.

  • @Colaholiker
    @Colaholiker 9 місяців тому +2

    As an embedded developer, I couldn't agree more.
    The only thing that is quite alien to me and will likely always be is X86 assembly. I dabbled into it way back when Real Mode was the only mode you'd use, but when I look at 64-bits code, I don't understand a thing. But then again, I hardly program anything for the PC - mostly just tools for my actual work, and those tools often are written in Python. But I do understand ARM assembly to some degree, and I worked a lot in assembly on different 8-bit MCUs. There was a time when I even knew most of the 8051 opcodes and could basically read a hex dump as if it were an assembler listing.... 😅
    And when it comes to STM32 - while their idea of generating a lot of code for you is nice, the code is usually pretty terrible. As is their Eclipse-based IDE (ugh), but fortunately you don't have to use it.

  • @dtikvxcdgjbv7975
    @dtikvxcdgjbv7975 9 місяців тому +2

    I love Your work. Your knowledge spreading and enthusiasm is contagious!
    Keep on being like that.

  • @lashlarue7924
    @lashlarue7924 5 місяців тому +10

    The issue in my domain is that the juice will never be worth the squeeze. I will NEVER have a business case that would justify using a lower level language. There is FAR too much value to be unlocked with just Python and nothing else.

    • @colbyboucher6391
      @colbyboucher6391 Місяць тому

      The fundamental disconnect between "talented" programmers and the buusnesses they serve.

    • @lashlarue7924
      @lashlarue7924 Місяць тому

      @@colbyboucher6391 All the ML tools algorithms live in Python world. Big businesses or businesses with a large customer-facing web presence could certainly use efficient lower-level code, but for the vast majority of business use cases you simply don't need the scale or the speed. Even Wal-Mart made the deliberate decision to run each building on its own separate architecture and tooling (they did this for resiliency and security). For basic business stuff frankly you just don't need the efficiency; the additional value you unlock from just boring Python or Java is perfectly sufficient unless you're Netflix etc.

    • @lakshyajain113
      @lakshyajain113 10 днів тому

      Which domain ? Ai and ml

    • @lashlarue7924
      @lashlarue7924 9 днів тому

      @ operations / supply chain / timeseries

  • @mikeearls126
    @mikeearls126 2 місяці тому

    nand to tetris - amazing. Learning about logic gates was mind blowing

  • @trots4940
    @trots4940 9 місяців тому +6

    Do you recommend new "low level students" to create a compiler from scratch as one of their first exercises? Like, just by studying how a compiler works and start making one just by searching how to implement each small part of it?
    I really want to make one to improve my knowledge and reasoning, but I don't know how difficult it is

  • @Dean-gi8ie
    @Dean-gi8ie 27 днів тому

    In my personal opinion is high level: bash, python. Middle: C/C++/C#. Low level is machine code/ Asm. GROUND LEVEL: BINARY

  • @seeker4430
    @seeker4430 9 місяців тому +2

    This channel is a gold mine

  • @AvgBlue
    @AvgBlue 6 місяців тому

    I feel like I learn alot of what you talked about in my university degree, I'm not a master but I have a great foundation to learn from.

  • @MFC_works
    @MFC_works 2 місяці тому

    Thank you for creating such insightful and helpful content keep posting! first understand the system next learning the system

  • @EthanLR
    @EthanLR 2 місяці тому

    I'd like to learn low level. and this is no critique, but in my current use case I see it more pragmatic using my time to create or find established high level solutions to solve my current problems.

  • @johnnygarcia7297
    @johnnygarcia7297 2 місяці тому

    I love the basics of how things work. Love this channel❤

  • @omaimakamran4795
    @omaimakamran4795 3 місяці тому

    Thanks for creating this channel. I am also amazed about how we tricked rocks into thinking, and I want to learn as much as I can about it!

  • @prathameshpatil0810
    @prathameshpatil0810 2 місяці тому

    That was a really good video! thanks for explaining the basics. made me think actually why coding in depth is important. waiting for future videos!

  • @nezu_cc
    @nezu_cc 9 місяців тому +2

    I've done the exact steps but backwards. started on an Atmel chip (before Arduino was cool), then reverse engineering, learned assembly along the way and recently I wrote a lot of C. And I still somehow don't hate javascript.

  • @MikeBramm
    @MikeBramm 9 місяців тому

    I learned basic then assembly on an Atari 1200xl back in the early 80s'. Once we started using Apple II computers in junior high school, I learned Pascal and C on it. Since then I've read countless books on various architectures and I can't tell you how learning assembly and C has made my life so much easier. I didn't have the Internet back then, so computer magazines like Antic, Analog, PC Magazine and others, and later bulletin board systems, were my main source of learning how other people wrote code. I reverse engineered numerous programs to learn how professional programmers wrote programs, and I learned a lot of tricks from that back then. The last 30 years as a Software Engineer have been so much easier and fun because of learning the basics of how various processors and architectures work, and how to get them to do what you want using assembly and C. Sure, C++ and C# are my daily drivers for Windows applications; but for fast routines, I still rely on C and assembly.

  • @Maagiicc
    @Maagiicc 9 місяців тому +6

    Please bring back low level review. I have a great project for your channel

  • @ErikBongers
    @ErikBongers 9 місяців тому +1

    It may be a good idea to learn assembly for a 6502 or 6510. It's very basic (no pun intended) and it helps you learn the basics with minimal registers, and a very limited instruction set. I think you may be able to find a C64 emulator with an assembler.

  • @matsfrommusic
    @matsfrommusic 2 місяці тому +1

    Couldn't agree more, actually I'm going to take that first advice and write a http server in C.

  • @echobravo5488
    @echobravo5488 4 місяці тому

    “We literally tricked rocks into thinking”….🤯. Silicon. That is such a POWERFUL observation! You got a sub for life mang!!!

  • @DavidLindes
    @DavidLindes 8 місяців тому +1

    6:00 - definitely agree here. And... for that reason, I heartily recommend Ben Eater's channel. Build your own 8-bit CPU on a breadboard, and you'll learn so much! Then take it up a notch with the 6502-based computer, too, if you want something _a little_ closer to modern. :)

  • @randomaccount6146
    @randomaccount6146 9 місяців тому

    Wow your closing statement is something I have thought about before. Especially since today almost any developer job is mostly using dependencies and working in the higher level which ofcoure is fine because it's more time and quality efficient but I have questioned whether with time developers will forget how the lower level works.

  • @kennythegamer1
    @kennythegamer1 9 місяців тому

    The distinction might be lost on people now since we take it for granted, but the essence of a high level language is that it removes the need for necessary pointers. It is nice not to have to write them everywhere since they're redundant, and it also allowed languages to be accurate without the need to specify a processor width or add other similar low level schemes.

  • @TalicZealot
    @TalicZealot 9 місяців тому

    Getting a better understanding of low level is underrated for developers who are used to work with high level languages. I myself sort of stumbled into getting familiar with reverse engineering and assembly through retro game modding and it dramatically enriched the way I think about software. Luckily some c++ experience had me used to the idea of looking at memory directly, that's another one I think is very underrated. It's that extra bit of context that completes the picture.

  • @jse-shack825
    @jse-shack825 9 місяців тому

    Bottom up? Top down? None of both: Start in the middle. Learn C, its syntax, procedural flow, understand memory and pointers, call by reference and so on. This will naturally lead you into more binary representations of data. While you learn this, apply it and build more complex datastructures of your own. Explore abstractions, function pointers, callbacks. And best case: do it all on an embedded system. That will also involve some electronics and before you know it, you've become a maker. Starting with assembly (low) or stuff like modern C++ (high) is counter productive IMO.

  • @SidewaysCytlan
    @SidewaysCytlan 3 місяці тому

    No no no. I learned how to program in Actionscript (yes, you can laugh), but what *really* kickstarted my programming career was when I learned 6502 assembly. To this date, I think learning 6502 assembly (or a similar 70-80s microprocessor) is *the* best way to learn how computers *really* work. It puts you into this small little sandbox, but gives you the tools you need from grown-up architectures. 6502 assembly has pointers. And it can dereference pointers. And it gives you that in a memory space that's only 64K. Even if you mess up, you can still debug and follow along where your pointer went and how it got there. C isn't "low level", 6502 assembly is low level and an amazing tool for when you get around to actually learning C and modern computing.
    Mind you, I'm not a greybeard. The 6502 was outdated and obsolete before I even was born. It's still an amazing low-level architecture that you can expand on when you dive into x86(/-64) or ARM, or any other architecture that's still at the forefront of computing technology today.

  • @shmackydoo
    @shmackydoo Місяць тому

    A great message and i agree with the mission of forming the new well rounded cohort of computer engineers

  • @anon_y_mousse
    @anon_y_mousse 9 місяців тому +1

    Personally, I don't have much hope for future generations to understand the lower level concepts. I hope they prove me wrong and keep the knowledge of how to do all of this alive.

  • @roz1
    @roz1 9 місяців тому

    It is absolutely important to understand the lower level sw .... There are very few kernel , firmware , system software engineers.

  • @johnforde7735
    @johnforde7735 9 місяців тому +1

    Programming at a low level is pretty easy. In my youth, after I learned BASIC I start programming 6502 assembly on my school's Apple IIe. Programming in a modern language and knowing how the memory models work is where the challenge is.

    • @efdbjon2114
      @efdbjon2114 9 місяців тому

      there is more to it than that

    • @johnforde7735
      @johnforde7735 9 місяців тому

      @@efdbjon2114Actually there really isn't. Sure if you are reverse engineering compiled code, you have to know how registers and the stack are used for calling functions, but there is nothing mysterious about assembly.

  • @russellzauner
    @russellzauner 9 місяців тому +1

    Get a bunch of datasheets online and learn to understand flight times in devices like logic, programmable logic, common microcontrollers, and overview of the interfaces/buses your code is working with. Go through the pain of doing a bit a math for a little while and not only will you become a sniper for particularly difficult groups of bugs to reproduce/fix you'll also be much less likely to code something like that in production. Coding snippets that "break" silicon and then heal it *magically* are sort of fun to do and frequently you even end up finding an actual silicon or microcode bug of your own; exercising code should be something you do often while learning to instrument your debug versions, and in doing so you'll find quirks (every system has some somewhere in it) and "fix them in software".

  • @CallousCoder
    @CallousCoder 9 місяців тому +2

    First Rust will never supersede C if that case it might be Zig. But I think C will never be superseded just because of the sheer quantity of C code that will never be rewritten because it would be a waste of capital. There’s far less COBOL and we still have cobol running and still seeking developers to maintain it.
    Master quantum physics than you’ll approximate understanding as to how electrons behave in silicon.
    But I agree with your list. Sane must I push on people.

  • @onaecO
    @onaecO 9 місяців тому +6

    I wanted to make my channel a Python one, but C is the king no matter what, you are super right on everything!

    • @queelag
      @queelag 9 місяців тому

      Hey man, love your videos btw! I just recently completed my piscine and you helped me a lot.

    • @AEONIC_MUSIC
      @AEONIC_MUSIC 9 місяців тому

      @imprlanass are you talking about the 42 piscine ? I also just completed it in November and will be starting the core in May

    • @queelag
      @queelag 9 місяців тому

      @@AEONIC_MUSIC eyy congrats bro! Yes I’m talking about the 42 piscine, hope I’ll get accepted as well

    • @AEONIC_MUSIC
      @AEONIC_MUSIC 9 місяців тому

      @imprlanass I hope you do aswell it took a month or 2 before I was told anything

  • @loopinnerthe
    @loopinnerthe 9 місяців тому +1

    I feel assembly poor now. But really agree about the micro-controllers, they taught me so much

  • @hyperoson
    @hyperoson 2 місяці тому

    the only C programming I had to do was for a custom split keyboard (corne or the crkbd/r2g), and it was an interesting experience having to prioritize features and optimize the code to fit on a very small memory space
    (im coming from C#, Python and similar stuff)

  • @spacenoodle8207
    @spacenoodle8207 Місяць тому

    Currently learning c and assembly at uni, and I gotta say, this is hell. Maybe it's because the teaching tactics at my uni are equivalent to throwing someone into a river in hopes they would learn how to swim, and calling them a lazy idiot if they ask questions.
    Idk, it seems like a lot of things are so complicated, I would never learn them well enough for this knowledge to actually be useful. Isn't it better to rely on a safety net of a language like python, if that means I can do things I like, and not waste years of my life and destroy my health trying to become assembly expert?

  • @potatotoes4261
    @potatotoes4261 9 місяців тому

    I believe C is a high level language because it abstracts things from assembly quite a bit, but still gives you the freedom to control the memory you use at will, safely or in an unsafe manner. Because of the abstraction, I think it should be considered high level, but I also don't think it's high level compared to other high level languages, just a high level language that gives access to some lower level functions to work with and take less time than writing assembly

  • @callummcclure2186
    @callummcclure2186 21 день тому

    I usually code in c++ so this is kinda sorta mostly known, but this was helpful

  • @antinatalope
    @antinatalope 9 місяців тому +7

    I've been looking at your videos, and I really think that they're of great value for any programmer, especially those who learned through high level languages. I'm really impressed. Great job.! I'd recommend your channel to anyone.
    Btw, would you recommend any particular assembler for the arm64 architecture? I'd like to build up a forth system from scratch.

  • @robotron1236
    @robotron1236 9 місяців тому

    Loved the Skyrim reference with the greybeards comment! I still play it to this day. That was Todd Howard's true "magnum opus."

  • @hiradfatahi
    @hiradfatahi 2 місяці тому

    ¡Tus videos sobre la gestión emocional en el trading son muy valiosos! Gracias por compartir tus conocimientos.