Write Great Code, Volume 2, 2nd Edition: Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level

Explains how compilers translate high-level language source code (like code written in Python) into low-level machine code (code that the computer can understand) to help readers understand how to produce the best low-level, computer readable machine code.

In the beginning, most software was written in assembly, the CPU's low-level language, in order to achieve acceptable performance on relatively slow hardware. Early programmers were sparing in their use of high-level language code, knowing...