The Anatomy of the Commodore 64: Difference between revisions

P4 documentation drive: rewrite doc-holder as a real documentation page - the five Commodore books that do carry hardware or repair content, with what each actually contains and an explicit note that they are secondary to Commodore's own manuals
Correct chapter list (chapters 0-8, ch. 3 and 8 carry the 6510, expansion/user port and CIA pin data); extent is 134 pp. plus A-1 to A-149 ROM listing, not 309 (PDF length); remove page-title commentary and bold; cite title, contents and chapter pages
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'''''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64''''' — the title as printed on the book's own title page; the page title here says "a Commodore 64" — is a 309-page book by '''Michael Angerhausen, Dr Achim Becker, Lothar Englisch and Klaus Gerits''', translated by Detlev Keston and edited by Jeff Hanson, Kirby Hanson and Arnie Lee.
'''''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64''''' is a Data Becker book by Michael Angerhausen, Achim Becker, Lothar Englisch and Klaus Gerits, translated by Detlev Keston and edited by Jeff Hanson, Kirby Hanson and Arnie Lee. The hosted scan is the British edition published by First Publishing of Pangbourne, Berkshire, in 1984; the copyright page also carries 1983-1984 copyrights for Data Becker of Düsseldorf and Abacus Software of Grand Rapids, Michigan. ISBN 0-948015-00-4.<ref name="tp">Michael Angerhausen, Achim Becker, Lothar Englisch and Klaus Gerits, ''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64'' (First Publishing, 1984), title page and copyright page (PDF pp. 5-6).</ref> The main text runs to p. 134, followed by a ROM listing paginated A-1 to A-149 and three short appendices.<ref name="toc">Angerhausen et al., ''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64'', Table of Contents (PDF pp. 9-10).</ref>


It is '''a Data Becker book''' (Data Becker GmbH, Merowingerstra&szlig;e 30, D&uuml;sseldorf), copyright 1983 and 1984, '''published in the United Kingdom by First Publishing Ltd, Pangbourne, Berkshire'''. ISBN '''0-948015-004'''.
The authors wrote it because they found the [[Commodore 64]] user's guide too thin. It is aimed at programmers who already know BASIC: machine language and the Kernal input/output routines (cassette, disk, RS-232 and serial bus), assembler programming, the SID and VIC-II registers, sprites, the BASIC interpreter's internals, converting programs from the VIC-20 and PET, and the 6526 CIAs.<ref name="pref">Angerhausen et al., ''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64'', Preface and Introduction, pp. 1-3 (PDF pp. 7, 11-13).</ref><ref name="toc" />


== What it contains ==
The book has some hardware reference material at chip level. Chapter 3 gives the 6510 pin assignments, the memory configurations selected by LORAM, HIRAM, EXROM and GAME, and the signal on each pin of the expansion port and the user port.<ref name="ch3">Angerhausen et al., ''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64'', chapter 3, pp. 43-49 (PDF pp. 53-59).</ref> Chapter 8 gives the 6526 CIA pin assignments, a block diagram of the CIA (diagram 8-1), its registers, timers and real-time clock, and how the two CIAs are wired in the 64.<ref name="ch8">Angerhausen et al., ''The Anatomy of the Commodore 64'', chapter 8, pp. 124-134 (PDF pp. 134-144).</ref>


Eight chapters:
== Contents ==
Page numbers are from the book's table of contents.<ref name="toc" />
* Chapter 0: Introduction, p. 1
* Chapter 1: Machine Language Programming on the Commodore 64, p. 4
* Chapter 2: The Next Step: Assembler Programming, p. 35
* Chapter 3: A Close-up Look at the Commodore 64, p. 43 (hardware overview, 6510, memory configurations, expansion port, user port)
* Chapter 4: The Synthesizer and its Programming, p. 50 (SID 6581, paddles, SYNTHY-64)
* Chapter 5: Graphics Programming, p. 62 (VIC 6567, colour and graphics, sprites)
* Chapter 6: BASIC from a Different Viewpoint, p. 98
* Chapter 7: VIC-20, Commodore 64, CBM/PET, p. 120
* Chapter 8: Input/Output Control: CIA 6526, p. 124
* Appendix A: ROM Listing, p. A-1
* Appendix B: A Short Lesson in Hexadecimal Arithmetic, p. B-1
* Appendix C: Summary of Capabilities, p. C-1
* Appendix D: Bibliography, p. D-1


# Machine language programming on the [[Commodore 64]] &mdash; the monitor, useful ROM addresses, data input and output, cassette and disk saving, the RS-232 interface and the serial bus
== What this book does not contain ==
# Assembler programming &mdash; the 6510 instruction table and worked programs
It has no schematic of the Commodore 64, no parts list and no component values. For the circuit diagram use the [[Commodore 64 / 64C Service Manual]]; [[The Commodore 64 Kernal and Hardware Revealed]] reproduces Commodore's schematic.
# ''(chapters 3&ndash;5)'' the operating system, the SID synthesiser and graphics, including the full sprite treatment &mdash; enlarging sprites, backgrounds, sprite-to-sprite and sprite-to-background collisions, multicolour sprites
# BASIC from a different viewpoint &mdash; how the interpreter works, extending BASIC, HARDCOPY, RENEW and PRINT USING, and the interpreter's own routines
# VIC-20 / Commodore 64 / CBM-PET &mdash; a comparison table of ROM addresses and how to convert programs between the three
# '''Input/output control &mdash; the CIA 6526''': general notes, register usage, I/O ports, timers, the real-time clock, the two CIAs as fitted in the 64, and using the joysticks
 
Appendices: '''A''' ROM listing, '''B''' a short lesson in hexadecimal arithmetic, '''C''' summary of capabilities, '''D''' bibliography.
 
== What it is, and what it is not ==
 
'''It is a chip-level reference, not a board-level one.''' It documents the 6510 pinout and the 6526 CIA in detail, and carries a block diagram of the CIA &mdash; genuinely useful when a CIA is suspected. But its four appendices are a ROM listing, a hexadecimal primer, a capability summary and a bibliography: '''there is no schematic appendix, no parts list and no component values in this edition'''. If you are looking for the machine's circuit diagram, it is in the [[Commodore 64 / 64C Service Manual]] and in [[The Commodore 64 Kernal and Hardware Revealed]], not here.
 
The ROM listing in appendix A is the book's single most substantial piece of reference material.


== Related pages ==
== Related pages ==
* [[Commodore 64]]
* [[Tricks and Tips for your Commodore 64]], by three of the same authors, also Data Becker and First Publishing


* [[Commodore 64]] &middot; [[Commodore 64 Troubleshooting Guide]]
<pdf> File:The_Anatomy_of_a_Commodore_64.pdf </pdf>
* [[Tricks and Tips for your Commodore 64]] &mdash; by three of the same four authors, also Data Becker / First Publishing
* [[:Category:Commodore Books]] &mdash; the annotated index of all 60 books hosted here


<pdf> File:The_Anatomy_of_a_Commodore_64.pdf </pdf>
Download: [[:File:The Anatomy of a Commodore 64.pdf|The Anatomy of a Commodore 64.pdf]]


Download '''The Anatomy of a Commodore 64''' here: [[:File:The Anatomy of a Commodore 64.pdf|The Anatomy of a Commodore 64.pdf]]
== References ==
<references />


[[Category:Commodore Documentation]]
[[Category:Commodore Documentation]]
[[Category:Commodore Books]]
[[Category:Commodore Books]]