Is Assembler Still Relevant?

quarnap asks: "I'm a system administrator running mostly NT boxes. I got into a discussion with a unix admin over whether a knowledge of assembler was of any use in either of our jobs. He insists it is since it provides a fundamental level of understanding of how computers work. I disagree; I say it isn't needed for ANY system administration work since that level of understanding is way below the level at which system administration operates. What do you think?" We've discussed this issue in a general sense in a previous Ask Slashdot, yet when it comes to System Administration it's a toss up. I can see situations where Assembler experience might be a boon to a sysadmin, but not a requirement for the job. What about you?

Comments

Paradigm Shift

[Catiline]

I'm a system administrator running mostly NT boxes. I got into a discussion with a unix admin [added emphasis mine]
Look, don't try to talk this over the OS advacacy gulf. In Windows, not knowing how to program at all, even to the extent of never writing .BAT files, is alright. The system will let you cope. (Yes, yes, you will be crippled, but that's aside the point.) This is not true in *NIX land- as any native, immigrant, itenerant or visitor will be able to tell you (if only by their total lack of understanding). *NIX demands that you know why the system works- just to configure it properly- and that requires a knowledge of programming (though I've never encountered needing to know real assembler, knowing the concepts sure helps every once in a while).

So if you want the answer in simple terms- sure, you're both right, but only in Windows can you get away with no knowledge of programming and still administer a box (yes, yes, poorly, but a MCSE will help. That doesn't teach programming, IIRC).