Task: Read the Book “6502 Assembly-Language Programming for Apple Commodore, and Atari Computers” by Chrisopher Lampton
Needed: Web browser for purchase
Time: 3-6 hours or more
Introduction
I love programming in assembly language because you are right on the metal telling the computer hardware what to do. Modern languages such as Python or Javascript have so many layers of abstraction that you really have no idea what is going on below the hood. I tinkered with assembly in the 1980s and then dabbled in learning it more deeply on an off since the early 2000s. I took a deep dive in 2017 when I programmed my retro-edutainment game Gene Medic for the Atari 2600 that required assembly. At that time, I purchased several 6502 assembly programming books as guides and references. I really liked this book by Christopher Lampton and found it provided a gentle introduction to assembly for the 6502. It is a great place to start if you are learning for the first time.
At the end of the post, I have included photos of the cover of the version I have along with the table of contents.
Instructions
You can download a PDF of this book from this web page that has lots of other books on 6502 assembly language programming.
Comments
Unlike so many other assembly books I have read, this one doesn’t assume you have much working knowledge of the computer or programming languages beyond BASIC. As such, it really is a gentle introduction.
One you get the basics of assembly down you can try to compile and run a program on your Atari 8-bit computer.
Someday I hope to do some posts on assembly programming for the Atari 2600. Here is a post on how to compile and run a program on the 2600.
