Glenn Roberts via vcf-midatlantic writes:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but assembly language is probably the most tedious of programming environments.

That's not necessarily true. It depends upon the machine (CPU) and its language (instructions, address modes, registers, conventions, etc.).

Good assembly language programmers have libraries of frequently needed routines (e.g. to print text or do = 16 bit manipulations).

Perhaps.

I have not programmed the Apple but on Heathkit machines there are many such useful routines embedded in the machine's ROMs (I'm sure that's true for Apple too).

I/O routines, unless one is writing the I/O subsystem and device drivers, should be part of the OS or, in lesser systems, ROM, Bios, etc. Inventing the wheel everytime you want to roll is not very productive.