Zen of Code Optimization

by Michael Abrash

Explores the inner workings of all Intel-based PCs including Pentium. This book provides practical approaches to writing fast PC software using C/C++ and assembly language. It provides hundreds of optimized coding examples and includes Zen timer software.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883577039
• ISBN13: 9781883577032
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: Coriolis Group Books
• Length: 449 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Well written, insightful, clear, entertaining

It's rare that an author can take an esoteric topic like instruction cycle optimization and accomplish three key goals: explain the concepts with great clarity, make the book fun to read, and change the way the reader thinks about programming and optimization in general. Abrash has that rare combination of excellent communication skills, breadth and depth of technical knowledge, and a passion for helping you understand the hows, whys, and whens of code optimization. While some of the material seems a little dated now (covering Pentium I and prior CPUs), the concepts, methodologies, and ways of thinking about optimization still apply today.

Good book but a bit outdated...

You can still learn a lot on optimization but there is almost nothing on the Pentium generation. Covers mostly 16 bit assembly.Would be nice to have a book like that for 32 bit optimization.

very good book. Very friendly easy to read writing style

Excellent book. He's starts off each chapter with a weird story. Very easy to understand and covers all aspects of optimization on all x86 processors up to pentium. He shows you programs in C then optimizes the hell out of them in later chapters.