Title: Programming the 6502

Author: Rodnay Zaks

ISBN: 0-89588-145-7

I am most motivated to learn assembler programming on the 68000, but since I recently bought a Commodore 64 after thinking about having one for a long time, I started to think a little about whether I shouldn’t take the plunge and make some of those cool effects that I saw on the screen in my boyhood room as a young man.

One of the floppy disks that came with the 1541-II disk drive that I bought shortly after contained TASM (Turbo Assembler) and then it felt like a sign that I should get started and learn.

I bought a used paperback copy of the book but I can find it on e.g. retro.hansotten.nl.

The Commodore 64 has an 8-bit CPU, the MOS 6510, which is closely related to the MOS 6502 but with built-in support for switching the computer’s ROM in and out of the addressable address space. Therefore, I thought the book was a bargain for 35 SEK.

I find the book to be structured and very well-written. It is natural that the book has a strong technical content, but it is easy to follow and I feel that it also gave me a good foundation to stand on when it comes to assembly language programming.

This is the quintessential guide to 6502 assembly. It’s been around a long time and it’s a classic. Rodnay Zaks is the authority on early assembler development.