

So a good question to ask might be "Is there some way to write high-level language code to help the compiler produce high-quality machine code?" The answer to this question is "yes" and Write Great Code, Volume II, will teach you how to write such high-level code. Unfortunately, coding applications in assembly language is rarely an option for a variety of practical reasons (including the fact that few programmers know assembly language).

In practice, the way most programmers write their high-level language code often results in low-quality machine code output from a compiler. Claims that modern compilers produce code that is just as good as hand-written assembly language rarely stand up. If you want to write the fastest, most efficient, code, then you have to write your applications in assembly language. The Write Great Code series is intended to help rectify this problem by teaching the forgotten art of crafting well-designed, efficient, software. Therefore, today's programmers can no longer get away with writing slow code and expecting advances in computer architecture to rescue them a few years hence. Unfortunately, advances in computer architecture are no longer doubling CPU performance every couple of years as they have in the past.

The production of high-performance personal computers over the past two decades has enabled the creation of some amazing software products. A Solid Foundation in Software Engineering for Programmers
