Re: Assembly Manual ... and Assembly Language Programming

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Howard Clark writes ...
> 
> Ok i want a assembly manual for the apple IIGS
> where can i find one?
 ....

     There is a very simple (very limited) "mini-assembler" built into
the IIgs monitor. It is described in about 4 pages of the Apple IIgs
Firmware Reference. The 'standard' for-real IIgs assembly language
packages are Merlin and OrcaM/. Merlin 16+ is from Roger Wagner; OrcaM/
is from Byte Works. There is also an assembler from NinjaForce.

     I'm pretty sure Merlin is no longer in distribution. Byte Works (
http://hypermall.com/byteworks/ ) currently lists OrcaM/, complete with
manual, for $75.00. You can download the NinjaForce assembler v2.13
package at http://www.igd.fhg.de/~girschik/nfc/anthology.html .


     Assembly language package documentation is concerned with telling
you how to use the particular assembler. For instance, a manual will
tell how to enter programs and compile them and how to use special
features designed to simplify programming. It will not try to list and
explain what each 65C816 instruction opcode-- like A9, 20, etc.-- does
or to describe the text entries (mnemonics) associated with opcodes.

     For example, an assembler's manual is not the place to find out
that "A9 FF" says "load the accumulator register with the value $FF" or
that the stuff you type into the assembler's editor to do A9 FF in your
program is "LDA #FF". The assembler manual assumes that you know or can
look up the opcodes and standard mnemonics.

     The best place to find out about 65C816 instruction opcodes,
standard assembler mnemonics, and what each 65C816 instruction does Plus
get some examples is a book on 65C816 assembly language programming. Two
very good books are

65816/65802 Assembly Language Programming (McGraw-Hill) by Michael
Fischer

Programming the 65816 Including the 6502, 65C02, and 65802 (Prentice
Hall) by David Eyes and Ron Lichty.     


     You can find brief explanations of what each opcode does together
with mnemonics in the 65C816 data sheet from Western Design Center.



Rubywand