This series is designed for programmers who want to stop guessing and start understanding. Whether you are a self-taught beginner or an experienced developer who has always treated the CPU as a “black box,” this course is designed to peel back the abstractions and show you the ground truth of how hardware actually executes your code.

We don’t focus on syntax or “tips and tricks.” Instead, we build a mental model of the machine from the silicon up—covering memory architecture, CPU registers, instruction sets, and the physical reality of voltage and transistors. In the process of learning our machine, we will also get to know the basics of programming in C. So let’s have some fun doing it because if we’re not having fun then what’s the point.

How the Series is Structured

• 000X: These are the core curriculum in article form. I will also have a YouTube video where I go over the same topic live. Each case file “disassembles” a specific concept, moving from high-level C code down to the metal.

• Labs: Most articles will come with a hands-on project hosted on GitHub. These are exercises for you to stretch that brain muscle and use the knowledge gained from the reading or video.

Section 1: The Silicon Floor

0001: Bits, Bytes, and Mazes

0010: Coming soon…

Resources

• GitHub: CS: Disassembled – Access all Lab starter code and solutions.

• YouTube: iJustinCabral - Find videos that accompany these articles. Comments are turned off on YouTube to encourage comments on the articles themselves.

• Community: If you have questions, find me on X @thinkr or drop them in the comments of that article.

This is the MOS 6502 microprocessor. It packed roughly 3,500ish transistors, and a unique 16-bit address bus along with an 8-bit data bus. This low cost piece of computer history helped changed not only the personal computer industry, but the entire world. It was the beating heart in everything from the Apple II, to the Commodore 64, Atari, and NES. I’m not just showing this for nostalgia. A modern CPU has become so advanced that it feels like magic and this chip is a helpful reminder that at their core, computers are nothing more than electricity trapped in a maze of silicon and copper.

In the upcoming CS: Disassembled series of articles which will start with 0000:, I’m going to teach magical spells called Computer Science and Programming to help understand how the bicycle for the mind actually works. During each one I’ll start at a high level, and dig down layer by layer until the ground truth.

This newsletter will also serve as a way for me to examine the most current trends in technology such as the rapid advancement of AI and Robotics. I will also post things that just interest me and if that’s something you’re cool with, I’m happy to have you.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming journey. Let’s start disassembling.

-justin