8051 assembly language has always been easier for me to understand - having had no formal training in any of them. Fortran 4 is where I started, on a PDP8 with punch cards.

When I needed to learn microprocessor programming and select a microprocessor to work with I pre-viewed the assembly programming instructions for Motorola products, TI products, MicroChip, as well as Intel. Of course many of those selections were in their infancy at the time.

I liked the Intel approach best, and the 8039 was my first MCU to work with.

Next the 8031/51 and now a couple of ATMEL products.

My education is strictly need to know - if I need to know it to finish a project then I learn it, otherwise it doesn't interest me.

I have yet to work on a project where programming in "C" would give me a reason to learn it - it could always be done in assembly.

I am looking at the AVR coding as a possible step up to using those MCU's
but I am biased because I look at everything through 8051 assembly.

The AVR insists that I use "C" type tools to learn about it and I am still not willing to make that jump.

Is there an AVR assembly set of instructions available to view and a way to program a AVR device without higher level languages?

Or is the AVR "easier to use" because the development tools come bundled with a bunch of "C" subroutines which make it easier to program and not because it's assembly instruction set is easier to use then the 8051 assembly instructions?