Michael Abrash is a highly regarded technical writer, and one of the top optimization and 80x86 assembly language programmers, a reputation cemented by his 1990 book Zen of Assembly Language Volume 1: Knowledge. Unfortunately, the original 8086 processor, the focus of the book, was several generations behind the state of the art by the time the book was published. The much anticipated second volume was never published, but the planned topics were eventually covered in Zen of Graphics Programming. Technical Writers are professional writers who design, create and maintain/update many types of technical documentation, online help, user guides, design specifications, and other documents for their given field, which can be most anything that requires specialized knowledge and information. ... In computing, optimization is the process of modifying a system to improve its efficiency. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... See the terminology section, below, regarding inconsistent use of the terms assembly and assembler. ... A programmer or software developer is someone who programs computers, that is, one who writes computer software. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel in 1978, which gave rise to the x86 architecture. ...

In his 1994 book, "Zen of Code Optimization: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Software That Pushes PCs to the Limit", Abrash presents principles and theory applicable to today's programmers. The key point of the book was that performance must always be measured, and the book included a measurement tool called the Zen Timer to check if theoretical code optimizations actually worked. Abrash's systematic presentation of step-wise program refinement empirically demonstrated how algorithm re-design could improve performance up to a factor of 100. Assembly language re-coding, on the other hand, may only improve performance by a factor of 10. Abrash also showed how elusive performance improvement can be. Simply improving performance in one sub-routine would only expose bottlenecks in other routines and so on. Finally, he demonstrated processor-dependent assembly-based performance improvements by comparing assembly language optimizations across X86 family members. Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ...

He frequently begins a technical discussion with an anecdote that draws parallels between a real-life experience he has had, and the article's subject matter. Aside from adding personality and wit to what would otherwise be a dry, technical whitepaper, his prose encourages readers to think out-of-the-box and to approach solving technical problems in an innovative way. A white paper is a government report outlining policy or authoritative report on a major issue. ...

His prolific writings have made their way to numerous publications such as a Dr. Dobb's Journal column on graphics programming and code optimization, The Zen and Art of Code Optimization, and his Graphics Programming Black Book, all of which were influential during their time. His most famous series of articles for Dr. Dobb's Journal, circa 1991, described an undocumented graphics mode for the IBM PC which he called Mode X. Dr. Dobbs Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia with the subtitle Running Light without Overbyte was the full title of the pioneer microcomputer hobbyist newsletter published from early 1976 by Bob Albrecht and Dennis Allisons Peoples Computer Company. ... Dr. Dobbs Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia with the subtitle Running Light without Overbyte was the full title of the pioneer microcomputer hobbyist newsletter published from early 1976 by Bob Albrecht and Dennis Allisons Peoples Computer Company. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... Mode X is an undocumented video graphics display mode of the IBM VGA graphics hardware that was popularized by Michael Abrash, first published in July 1991 in Dr. Dobbs Journal, republished in chapters 47-49 of Abrashs Graphics Programming Black Book, which is now freely available online in...

Before getting into technical writing, Abrash was a game programmer, having written his first commercial game in 1982, Space Strike (unrelated to the massively multiplayer game of the same name) for the IBM PC (under DOS). Other games he wrote were Cosmic Crusader (1982) and Big Top (1983) for the same system. After working at Microsoft on graphics and assembly code for Windows NT 3.1, he returned to the game industry in the mid-1990s to work on Quake for id Software. Some of the technology behind Quake is documented in Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book. After Quake was released, Abrash returned to Microsoft to work on natural language research, then moved to the Xbox team, until 2001. In 2002, Abrash went to work for RAD Game Tools, where he co-wrote the advanced Pixomatic software renderer, which emulates the functionality of a DirectX 7-level graphics card and is used as the software renderer in such games as Unreal Tournament 2004. A game programmer is a software engineer who primarily develops computer or video games or related software (such as game development tools). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Space Strike is a free, massively multiplayer, browser based, space strategy game. ... International Business Machines Corporation (IBM, or colloquially, Big Blue) (NYSE: IBM) (incorporated June 15, 1911, in operation since 1888) is headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... Instructions on how to use the directory command. ... Cosmic Crusader is a 1982 computer game for the IBM PC family of computers, created by Michael Abrash and published by Funtastic. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Big Top is a 1983 computer game for the IBM PC family of computers, created by Michael Abrash and published by Funtastic. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Windows NT 3. ... Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video games ever created. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... For an overview of the Quake game franchise go to Quake series. ... id Software (IPA: officially, though originally ) is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... RAD Game Tools is privately-held company based in Kirkland, Washington that develops video and computer game software technologies which are licensed primarily by video game companies. ... In the context of rendering (computer graphics), software rendering refers to a rendering process that is unaided by any specialized hardware, such as a graphics card. ... DirectX is a collection of APIs for easily handling tasks related to game programming on the Microsoft Windows operating system. ... Unreal Tournament 2004, also known as UT2004 or UT2K4, is a futuristic first-person shooter computer game designed primarily for online multiplayer gaming. ...

External links

• Abrash's profile at MobyGames
• Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book
• Another source of his Graphics Programming Black Book
• Ramblings in Realtime by Michael Abrash, detailed description of Quake's graphics engine programming