Fastest way for a 15 year old to learn 6502?

[esplonky]

can someone help me out? i am only 15 at the moment, stubborn, and need a fast, easy way to learn 6502. not necessarily become fluent just yet, but to learn the basics.

 

i already read some of "Atari Roots" but i dont have an atari 800 or 400 and i dont plan on buying one.

 

i know these basic things so far

 

off/on, yes/no, white/black, the whole concept of the numbers 1 and 0

 

i know that 1111 1111 = 255 and that's all that 8-bit can handle.

 

that's all i know about 6502, and i really need help, any help is appreciated!

[Wickeycolumbus]

This book is probably the best. It's how I learned

 

http://www.atariarchives.org/mlb/

[esplonky]

thanks! ill jump into that!

[esplonky]

how long did it take you to learn from this book

[Wickeycolumbus]

how long did it take you to learn from this book

 

The learning doesn't stop with the book, you learn more and more with each project. Just read the book slowly, take in as much as possible, and you'll be fine.

[Yart]

This is awesome.

 

I've been wanting to learn ASM for a while too but I had a hard time with every other resource. I like how this guy compares the routines to BASIC. Makes it so much easier for me to learn.

 

Though from what I understand this is for the Atari 8-Bit line of computers and not the 2600 eh? Still a good learning point (and I hear the 2600 is much harder anyways).

 

What's a good assembly compiler for Windows to use for Atari computer applications? Will DASM work?

Edited September 9, 2011 by Yart

[danwinslow]

I like CC65 myself.

www.cc65.org

[+Random Terrain]

Remember to check this out when you get a chance:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories.html#assembly_language

 

 

And be sure to check out the useful links:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-tutorial-andrew-davie-01.html#useful_links

[Mr SQL]

The Batari compiler produces an .asm output file which does a really good job of showing you how your code is translated into assembly; that is a great way to learn along with a good book on the basics of Assembly to help explain what is going on.

[esplonky]

Can someone show me how to install dasm on my Linux computer?

[Joe Musashi]

Can someone show me how to install dasm on my Linux computer?

As far as I can see, the recent stable DASM version 2.20.11 does not come with binaries for Linux, just source. You would have to compile it yourself. Unfortunately, this is not straightforward, so another thing you can do is to download an older version. E.g., you can get

 

DASM 2.20.10

 

If you unzip it, there's a folder bin/Linux, which contains three executables. One of them might work for you on Fedora.

 

You do not have to install dasm. Just copy the executables to wherever you want. E.g. if you copy dasm to /usr/local/bin you should be able to start it in the shell with just "dasm".

[esplonky]

Sweet thx

[esplonky]

i go to /home/esplonky/dasm/bin/Linux and they i type "dasm" and it says "command not found"

[RevEng]

You probably don't have that directory or "." in your PATH variable.

 

Try typing "./dasm" instead.

[Joe Musashi]

Also, if you have not done already, make sure it can be executed by setting the executable (X) flag:

 

"chmod 777 dasm"

 

(to check the flags, type "ls -l dasm", you can get more info about chmod with "man chmod" or see here http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/unix5.html)

[esplonky]

joe got me up and running, butttttttt i have one problem. every time i assemble my source code (see below) i get an error message (see below also!)

 

 		*=1000

LDA 	#4
STA 	400
STA 	1000
LDX 	#5
LDY 	#6
STX 	500
STY 	600
LDA 	1000
LDX 	500
LDY 	600
BRK

 

[root@Esplonky Linux]# ./dasm test.asm
DASM V2.20.10, Macro Assembler (C)1988-2004
test.asm (1): error: Unknown Mnemonic '*=1000'.
test.asm (3): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'LDA'.
test.asm (4): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'STA'.
test.asm (5): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'STA'.
test.asm (6): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'LDX'.
test.asm (7): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'LDY'.
test.asm (: error: Unknown Mnemonic 'STX'.
test.asm (9): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'STY'.
test.asm (10): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'LDA'.
test.asm (11): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'LDX'.
test.asm (12): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'LDY'.
test.asm (13): error: Unknown Mnemonic 'BRK'.
Complete.

 

and my code above was changed by me because i was tweaking to see if it would compile, so ive tried with all kinds of indentions and stuff.

Edited September 11, 2011 by esplonky

[+SpiceWare]

DASM supports multiple processors, so you have to tell it which one you're writing code for.

 

        PROCESSOR 6502
       ORG 1000

LDA    #4
STA    400
STA    1000
LDX    #5
LDY    #6
STX    500
STY    600
LDA    1000
LDX    500
LDY    600
BRK

Edited September 12, 2011 by SpiceWare

[esplonky]

now how would i make it a .bin file? cus everytime i assemble, and i say "./dasm test.asm -f#.bin" of "./dasm test.asm -f bin" i get "illegal output format"

[+SpiceWare]

The -f should be followed by an actual number, not #. 3 means don't include the start address as the 2600 doesn't use it. This is how I compile Frantic:

./dasm frantic.asm -f3 -v0 -sfrantic.sym -lfrantic.lst -ofrantic.bin

 

 

-v0 is how verbose (wordy) the output is during the compile

 

-s is the symbol file, it lists all the variables and labels and what their values are. There's no space between the option and the file name (as with the next 2 options).

 

-l is the full compiler listing

 

-o is the binary file you want to create

 

The extra files are helpful for figuring things out, but you don't need to use them.

./dasm test.asm -f3 -otest.bin

 

you can even leave off the -o part, if you do the .bin would be called a.out

[esplonky]

sweet thanks!!!

[GonzoGamer]

check out this link

http://www.atariarchives.org/mlb/index.php

[esplonky]

Thanks everyone, I am going to learn 6502 asm on my new Atari 800xl, and will use Machine Language for Beginners, and The Second Book of Machine Language. thanks for your help everyone!