Actually with an ordinary PC in hand, you can leanr and play without the headache of hardware building first. Just remember each machine may have its own flavor, but the underlying principles are the same. Programming Tutorial - Assembly Language: introduction
I would say to play after you follow the steps exactly. Once you get the hang of it, you can make your own. Where would you use? Anywhere the call for performance at the expense of ease of code. Examples are device drivers, critical points where processor speed is needed.
Where would you use? Anywhere the call for performance at the expense of ease of code. Examples are device drivers, critical points where processor speed is needed.
Modern C compilers generally do as good a job as assembly language. So I would say that these days you only need assembly language if you're using instructions your C compiler doesn't know about (such as DSP-oriented or enabling/disabling interrupts) or you need direct access to run-time resources like the stack (e.g., if you're writing your own debugger).
To get started with ASM, I recommend using a simulator on a PC so that you have better fault handling and debugging. Once you know what you're doing, try a real assembly language on a real machine. As I said in another thread:
People sometimes refer to C as "programming without seatbelts". Well, ASM is "programming without seats, lights, brakes, tires, or a even a body".
