#Custom Chips
9 messages in this thread
Can someone tell me if Commodore is OPEN about the innards of the Amigas or
are they closed unless you are a developer. In other words – could I goto
Waldenbooks and find a book on how to custom program the custom chips. Are
the registers and ports public knowledge or a closely guarded secret. Jim
Veneskey
You can go to Waldenbooks and purchase the three-volume ROM Kernel Manual,
which is _Includes_and_Autodocs_ (a description of every routine built into
the ROM Kernel), _Libraries_and_Devices_ (a narrative about the the
internal workings of the Amiga's software heart), and
_Hardware_Reference_Manual_ (which is for "Assembly language programmers
who need a more direct way of interfacing with the system than the routines
described in [the other two manuals], designers who want to interface with
new peripherals to the Amiga [sic], and anyone who wants to know how the
Amiga hardware works."
It sounds like you might be interested exclusively in the last volume.
Note that the manuals list at about $25 each; for an additional $75 you can
register as an Amiga developer and gets lots and lots of additional
documentation straight from Commodore.
Hmmm, I am very impressed! The latter volume would be the one I'd get – as
soon as I decide to get an Amiga and get one. Jim
The Amiga 2000 manual (which comes with the machine) has 14 pages of
schematics (Appendix F). Though I have never required them for electronic
purposes, they provide valuable insight into what music Dave Haynie (one of
the principal engineers) was listening to in the late 1980s.
THol() { cout << "Sir, I exist." ;}
And that trend has continued into the A3000 documents too! Harry
Are there little snippets of lyrics on the A3000 schematics?
THol() { cout << "Sir, I exist." ;}
Yes there are and other interesting phrases to . The zorro III docs also
have phrases at the beginning of each chapter!
Harry
Jim,
Public knowledge. There's a 3 volumn set of manuals called:
"Amiga Hardware Reference Manual"
"Amiga ROM Kernel Reference Manual, Libraries and Devices"
"Amiga ROM Kernel Reference Manual, Includes and Autodocs"
They are published by Addison-Wesley
List prices are $24.95, $34.95 and $32.95 respectively.
Any Amiga dealer should have them, as well as any of the better
computer type book stores.
In addition, there is the AmigaDOS Manual from Bantam Books for the
filesystem innards.
All are the official Commodore manual.
Don
Jim,
The ROM KErnal Manuals can be purchased from Commodore, but they are also
available in many book stores. I found them at the BookStop here in the
Dallas area, and our local Amiga dealers all have them, too. They have
just about all the information any one could possibly need.
.Betty