Archive-name: apple2/programmerfaq/part1 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 2001/3/1 URL: http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/index.html Apple II Programming comp.sys.apple2.programmer Frequently Asked Questions v019 1 March 2001 ref: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/apple2/programmerfaq/part1 001- What programming languages are available for the Apple II? 002- Where can I find out about Apple II programming? 003- Where can I get Apple II languages and programming software? 004- Where can I find PEEKs & POKEs and monitor routine info? 005- How can I see and edit what's in a Text file? 006- How do I save a BASIC program in ASCII text form? 007- Where and how do I get System 6.0.1 from an ftp site? 008- Where can I get Applesoft shape table info and programs? 009- What Operating System environments does the GS support? 010- How do I write programs for the Apple Graphics Tablet? 011- How do I read the joystick on a GS in native mode? 012- How do I write programs which use the mouse? 013- Where can I find manuals and other resources for the CP/M OS? 014- How can I view and enter code using the "monitor"? 015- What memory areas should a user be careful about modifying? 016- Can I do multi-tasking on a IIgs? or What is GNO/ME? Csa2 Programmer FAQs Feel free to email comments, suggestions, and materials. Jeff Hurlburt rubywand@swbell.net __________________________ 001- What programming languages are available for the Apple II? Quite a few. Apple Integer BASIC (in-ROM on the first Apple II's), can be loaded into II+ and later models. Applesoft, a floating point BASIC, is in-ROM on all models starting with the II+. Older Apple II's can load-in Applesoft or, via a plug-in board, access it from ROM. Then, there is MD BASIC, the BASIC-like MacroSoft from MicroSparc, a beta version of Apple's GS BASIC, and the new (1998) Byte Works GS BASIC! Users who want to speed up their AppleSoft programs can use a BASIC compiler such as TASC or Einstein. Other Apple II languages are Apple Fortran, UCSD Pascal, Orca (ByteWorks) Pascal, Terrapin Logo, Apple Logo, two Logos from ByteWorks, Isys Forth, Master Forth, (and many other Forths), Modula2, Aztec C, Orca/C, ... . Hyperstudio and HyperCard let you create stacks. To the above you can add several assemblers including Merlin, Orca/M, an assembler from Ninja Force, and the MicroSparc Assembler. You can find a comprehensive listing in Larry Virden's "Apple II Programmer's Catalog of Languages and Toolkits" at http://www.tclfaq.wservice.com/Misc/apple2-languages.txt. For Orca manuals and to order the Orca languages contact Byte Works: 505-898-8183; http://www.byteworks.org . --Rubywand, Jeffrey Iverson __________________________ 002- Where can I find out about Apple II programming? All Apple II's come with some version of BASIC installed in-ROM on the motherboard. The original Apple II's have Integer BASIC. Starting with the II+ model, all Apple II's have floating-point Applesoft in-ROM. Owners of early Apple II's can load in Applesoft or plug in a card with Applesoft ROMs. All Apple II's include a "monitor" program in ROM. Entering CALL-151 from the BASIC prompt puts you 'in' the monitor. Here you can view and change values in key memory locations and enter machine language routines. Besides these built-in languages, many others can be loaded in and used (see previous Q&A). There are several good places on the net to find out about programming: Apple Assembly Line Archive http://salfter.dyndns.org/aal/ Apple II comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup news:comp.sys.apple2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at ... http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs1START.html ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Faqs/ Apple II comp.sys.apple2.programmer newsgroup news:comp.sys.apple2.programmer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at ... http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/csa2pfaq.html ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/apple2/programmerfaq/part1 Apple II DOS and ProDOS mini manual http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/Csa2DOSMM.html Apple II game authoring links http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs7GAMESITES.html#004 Apple II Lessons & Software (Applesoft) http://www.iglou.com/qwerty/kb/dlfiles.html Apple II Textfiles http://www.textfiles.com/apple/ Apple //c .dsk Archive- Apple II BASIC Programming Reference Manual on-line (in French, PDF format) http://www.multimania.com/apple2c/Docs/Docs.htm Ground ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/MiscInfo/Applesoft/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/MiscInfo/Programming/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple8/Beagle.Oldies/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/MiscInfo/ Home of the Apple II http://www.educate.net.au/~apple2/ http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/apple2faq/app2asoftfaq.html Magazine back issues-- see Publishers at ... http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs3VENDORS.html#021 Major Apple II Sites- many Apple II links http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs4MAJORSITES.html Niel Parker's Home Page- Apple IIgs progamming information http://axis.llx.com/~nparker/a2/ Be sure to keep a look out for Apple II books, charts, software packages, etc. when you visit used book stores, swap meets, school sales, ..., or peruse comp.sys.apple2 marketplace. Applesoft BASIC The #1 Applesoft information source is the Basic Programming Reference Manual from Apple. Here are some other good Applesoft materials to look for ... Apple II User's Guide by Poole, Martin, and Cook Note: Third Edition (Apple II User's Guide for APPLE II Plus and APPLE IIe) is completely revised to include ProDOS coverage Apple II Reference Manual from Apple Peeks, Pokes, and monitor routines info (see below) DOS & ProDOS books (see below) GSoft BASIC (New IIgs BASIC from Byte Works) Learning to Program in GSoft BASIC by Mike Westerfield (Byte Works) Assembly Language and Machine Language Coding Machine coding is when you enter 6502 (65816, ...) instructions directly-- as in going to the Apple II monitor (CALL-151) and typing in hexadecimal codes at specific addresses, like 300:A9 7F (instruction to load Accumulator with the value $7F entered at address $300). Assembly coding substitutes easy-to-remember text for the numeric codes-- as in LDA#7F to load the Accumulator with the value $7F. Assembly coding is done using assembler software (like Merlin or Orca/M). A major advantage of assembly coding is that routines and other places in your program can be tagged with text labels and referenced this way in your program. The assembler software figures out things like Jump addresses. Assembly Lines: The Book by Wagner Beagle Bros "Peeks, Pokes, and Pointers" (poster) Programming the 65816 Including the 6502, 65C02, and 65802 by David Eyes and Ron Lichty 65816/65802 Assembly Language Programming by Fischer What's Where in the Apple II? by William F. Luebbert Other Languages Apple Pascal: a hands-on approach by Luehrmann & Peckham Learning to Program in C by Mike Westerfield (Byte Works) Learning to Program in Pascal by Mike Westerfield (Byte Works) Logo Plus manual from Terrapin DOS, ProDOS, and GS/OS Apple IIgs GS/OS Technical Reference (Apple/ Addison-Wesley) Apple IIgs Toolbox Reference v. 1-3 (Apple/ Addison-Wesley) Beneath Apple DOS by Worth & Lechner Beneath Apple ProDOS by Worth & Lechner Exploring Apple GS/OS and ProDOS 8 by Little ProDOS Inside and Out by Doms and Weishaar ProDOS Technical Reference Manual (Apple/ Addison-Wesley) The DOS Manual from Apple Toolbox Programming in C by Mike Westerfield (Byte Works) Toolbox Programming in Pascal by Mike Westerfield (Byte Works) One of the best ways to learn programming is to find some old game you like and experiment with customizing it. This works especially well for learning Applesoft BASIC and machine language coding. If your Apple II is an enhanced //e or later machine, be sure to get Program Writer. It's a vintage Applesoft program editing utility from Beagle which makes writing and debugging BASIC programs much easier. --Rubywand, Terence J. Boldt, Tony Cianfaglione, Steve Sanders, Wayne Stewart, Charles T. Turley __________________________ 003- Where can I get Apple II languages and programming software? Byte Works (505-898-8183; http://www.byteworks.org ) develops and publishes the Orca series of Apple II and IIgs languages including Pascal, C, Assembler, and the new IIgs BASIC. Byte Works also sells manuals, learning packages, and other language materials. You can find very good collections of Apple II languages and related software on the net at ... Asimov ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/programming/ Ground ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/apple8/Languages/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/apple8/Beagle.Oldies/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/apple16/Languages/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Collections/SoWhat/ ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Collections/Phoenyx/ GS WorldView- Apple II languages and utilities http://www.grin.net/~cturley/a2zine/gswv/Sel/index.html Ninja Force Downloads- Apple IIgs utilities http://www.igd.fhg.de/~girschik/nfc/anthology.html So What Software- Apple IIgs programming software http://www.sowhatsoftware.com/home.html TikTok- Apple II languages and utilities http://abandonwarering.com/tiktok/ (click on "Utilities") Apple II game authoring software links http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs7GAMESITES.html#004 More software links http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/A2FAQs4MAJORSITES.html --Rubywand __________________________ 004- I'd like to do some 'serious' Apple II programming. Where can I find a information about soft switches (i.e. "PEEKs & POKEs"), monitor routines, and standard names used for these? Names shown are assembler "equate" names/labels. In a few cases, more than one label and function is associated with an address. A few soft switches have no established label. Not all switches are present on all Apple II models. In general, the later the model, the more features and soft switches are available. Many soft switches can be toggled via a Read or a Write. If only a Read or a Write is indicated, access the switch or indicator using the indicated method. Soft Switches and Status Indicators KEYBOARD = $C000 ;keyboard data (latched) (Read) ;Bit 7 is set to indicate a keypress ;is waiting, with the ASCII ;code in bits 6-0. CLR80STORE=$C000 ;80STORE Off- disable 80-column memory mapping (Write) SET80STORE=$C001 ;80STORE On- enable 80-column memory mapping (WR-only) CLRAUXRD = $C002 ;read from main 48K (WR-only) SETAUXRD = $C003 ;read from aux/alt 48K (WR-only) CLRAUXWR = $C004 ;write to main 48K (WR-only) SETAUXWR = $C005 ;write to aux/alt 48K (WR-only) CLRCXROM = $C006 ;use ROM on cards (WR-only) SETCXROM = $C007 ;use internal ROM (WR-only) CLRAUXZP = $C008 ;use main zero page, stack, & LC (WR-only) SETAUXZP = $C009 ;use alt zero page, stack, & LC (WR-only) CLRC3ROM = $C00A ;use internal Slot 3 ROM (WR-only) SETC3ROM = $C00B ;use external Slot 3 ROM (WR-only) CLR80VID = $C00C ;disable 80-column display mode (WR-only) SET80VID = $C00D ;enable 80-column display mode (WR-only) CLRALTCH = $C00E ;use main char set- norm LC, Flash UC (WR-only) SETALTCH = $C00F ;use alt char set- norm inverse, LC; no Flash (WR-only) STROBE = $C010 ;clear bit 7 of keyboard data ($C000) If read, it also provides an "any key down" flag in bit 7, with the keycode in the remaining bits. (These features only apply to the IIe and later machines.) Bit seven of these Read Status locations is 1 if the condition is true RDLCBNK2 = $C011 ;reading from LC bank $Dx 2 RDLCRAM = $C012 ;reading from LC RAM RDRAMRD = $C013 ;reading from aux/alt 48K RDRAMWR = $C014 ;writing to aux/alt 48K RDCXROM = $C015 ;using internal Slot ROM RDAUXZP = $C016 ;using Slot zero page, stack, & LC RDC3ROM = $C017 ;using external (Slot) C3 ROM RD80COL = $C018 ;80STORE is On- using 80-column memory mapping RDVBLBAR = $C019 ;not VBL (VBL signal low) RDTEXT = $C01A ;using text mode RDMIXED = $C01B ;using mixed mode RDPAGE2 = $C01C ;using text/graphics page2 RDHIRES = $C01D ;using Hi-res graphics mode RDALTCH = $C01E ;using alternate character set RD80VID = $C01F ;using 80-column display mode TAPEOUT = $C020 ;toggle the cassette output. SPEAKER = $C030 ;toggle speaker diaphragm STROBE = $C040 ;generate .5 uS low pulse @ Game pin 5 If read, you get one half-microsecond low pulse on the Game I/O STROBE pin; if write, you get two pulses. (IIe and ][+ only, not available on the IIgs). CLRTEXT = $C050 ;display graphics SETTEXT = $C051 ;display text CLRMIXED = $C052 ;clear mixed mode- enable full graphics SETMIXED = $C053 ;enable graphics/text mixed mode PAGE1 = $C054 ;select text/graphics page1 PAGE2 = $C055 ;select text/graphics page2 See IIe, IIc, IIgs manual for details on how these switches affect 80-col bank selection. CLRHIRES = $C056 ;select Lo-res SETHIRES = $C057 ;select Hi-res SETAN0 = $C058 ;Set annunciator-0 output to 0 CLRAN0 = $C059 ;Set annunciator-0 output to 1 SETAN1 = $C05A ;Set annunciator-1 output to 0 CLRAN1 = $C05B ;Set annunciator-1 output to 1 SETAN2 = $C05C ;Set annunciator-2 output to 0 CLRAN2 = $C05D ;Set annunciator-2 output to 1 SETAN3 = $C05E ;Set annunciator-3 output to 0 SETDHIRES= $C05E ;if IOUDIS Set, turn on double-hires CLRAN3 = $C05F ;Set annunciator-3 output to 1 CLRDHIRES= $C05F ;if IOUDIS Set, turn off double-hires Note: "0" is near 0V, "1" is near 5V. TAPEIN = $C060 ;bit 7 = data from cassette on Apple II, or PB3 ;II+, IIe. On IIgs bit 7 reflects the ;status of Game Port Pushbutton 3-- ;closed= 1. (read) OPNAPPLE = $C061 ;open apple (command) key data (read) CLSAPPLE = $C062 ;closed apple (option) key data (read) These are actually the first two game Pushbutton inputs (PB0 and PB1) which are borrowed by the Open Apple and Closed Apple keys. Bit 7 is set (=1) in these locations if the game switch or corresponding key is pressed. PB2 = $C063 ;game Pushbutton 2 (read) This input has an option to be connected to the shift key on the keyboard. (See info on the 'shift key mod'.) PADDLE0 = $C064 ;bit 7 = status of pdl-0 timer (read) PADDLE1 = $C065 ;bit 7 = status of pdl-1 timer (read) PADDLE2 = $C066 ;bit 7 = status of pdl-2 timer (read) PADDLE3 = $C067 ;bit 7 = status of pdl-3 timer (read) PDLTRIG = $C070 ;trigger paddles Read this to start paddle countdown, then time the period until $C064-$C067 bit 7 becomes set to determine the paddle position. This takes up to three milliseconds if the paddle is at its maximum extreme (reading of 255 via the standard firmware routine). SETIOUDIS= $C07E ;enable DHIRES & disable $C058-5F (W) CLRIOUDIS= $C07E ;disable DHIRES & enable $C058-5F (W) "Language Card" area Switches Bank 1 and Bank 2 here are the 4K banks at $D000-$DFFF. The remaining area from $E000-$FFFF is the same for both sets of switches. $C080 ;LC RAM bank2, Read and WR-protect RAM ROMIN = $C081 ;LC RAM bank2, Read ROM instead of RAM, ;two or more successive reads WR-enables RAM $C082 ;LC RAM bank2, Read ROM instead of RAM, ;WR-protect RAM LCBANK2 = $C083 ;LC RAM bank2, Read RAM ;two or more successive reads WR-enables RAM $C088 ;LC RAM bank1, Read and WR-protect RAM $C089 ;LC RAM bank1, Read ROM instead of RAM, ;two or more successive reads WR-enables RAM $C08A ;LC RAM bank1, Read ROM instead of RAM, ;WR-protect RAM LCBANK1 = $C08B ;LC RAM bank1, Read RAM ;two or more successive reads WR-enables RAM $C084-$C087 are echoes of $C080-$C083 $C08C-$C08F are echoes of $C088-$C08B CLRC8ROM = $CFFF ;disable Slot card C8 ROM Reading any location from $Cn00-$CnFF (where n is the Slot) will enable the $C800-$CFFF area for that card, if the card supports this feature. Reading $CFFF disables this area for all cards. Example: To enable double Hi-res graphics, the following code will accomplish this: STA SETHIRES STA SETAN3 STA CLRMIXED STA CLRTEXT JSR $C300 --kburtch@pts.mot.com, David Empson, Rubywand ---------------------------- The following is a list of PEEKs, POKEs and Pointers in the zero page area. Most of the information comes from the Beagle Bros chart (1982). FP= "floating point"= Applesoft BASIC INT= Integer BASIC Note: Text window and related settings refer to 40-column mode Decimal | Hexadecimal | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 | $20 | Text window left-edge (0-39) 33 | $21 | Text window width (1-40) 34 | $22 | Text window top-edge (0-23) 35 | $23 | Text window bottom (1-24) 36 | $24 | Horizontal cursor-position (0-39) 37 | $25 | Vertical cursor-position (0-23) 43 | $2B | Boot slot * 16 (after boot only) 44 | $2C | Lo-res line end-point 48 | $30 | Lo-res COLOR * 17 50 | $32 | Text output format [63=INVERSE 255=NORMAL 127=FLASH] 51 | $33 | Prompt-character (NOTE: POKE 51,0:GOTO LINE # will | | sometimes prevent a false NOT DIRECT COMMAND | | obtained with GOTO # alone.) 74-75 | $4A-$4B | LOMEM address (INT) 76-77 | $4C-$4D | HIMEM address (INT) 78-79 | $4E-$4F | Random-Number Field 103-104 | $67-$68 | Start of Applesoft program- normally set to $801 | | (2049 decimal) and location $800 is set to $00. | | NOTE: To load a program above hires page 1 (at | | $4001), POKE 103,1: POKE 104,64: POKE 16384,0 | | and LOAD the program. 105-106 | $69-$6A | LOMEM Start of varible space & end of Applesoft prgm 107-108 | $6B-$6C | Start of array space (FP) 109-110 | $6D-$6E | End of array space (FP) 111-112 | $6F-$70 | Start of string-storage (FP) 115-116 | $73-$74 | HIMEM- the highest available Applesoft address +1 117-118 | $75-$76 | Line# being executed. (FP) 119-120 | $77-$78 | Line# where program stopped. (FP) 121-122 | $79-$7A | Address of line executing. (FP) 123-124 | $7B-$7C | Current DATA line# 125-126 | $7D-$7E | Next DATA address 127-128 | $7F-$80 | INPUT or DATA address 129-130 | $81-$82 | Var.last used. VAR$=CHR$(PEEK(129))+CHR$(PEEK(130)) 131-132 | $83-$84 | Last-Used-Varible Address (FP) 175-176 | $AF-$B0 | End of Applesoft Program (Normally=LOMEM) 202-203 | $CA-$CB | Start of Program Address (INT) 204-205 | $CC-CD | End of Varible Storage (INT) 214 | $D6 | RUN Flag (POKE 214,255 sets Applesoft run-only.) 216 | $D8 | ONERR Flag (POKE 216,0 cancels ONERR; en norm errs) 218-219 | $DA-$DB | Line# of ONERR Error --Apple II Textfiles ( http://www.textfiles.com/apple/ ). ---------------------------- Useful CALLs Example: from the BASIC prompt, CALL -151 enters the monitor. Hex Dec $BEF8 48888 ProDOS- recovers from "NO BUFFERS AVAILABLE" error $D683 54915 Inits Applesoft stack- scraps false "OUT OF MEMORY" error. $F328 -3288 Repairs Applesoft stack after an ONERR GOTO handles an error. $F3D4 -3116 HGR2 $F3DE -3106 HGR $F3F2 -3086 Clear HI-RES screen to Black $F3F6 -3082 Clear HI-RES screen to recent HCOLOR $F5CB -2613 Move HI-RES cursor coords to 224-226 $F800 -2048 PLOT a LO-RES POINT (AC:Y-COORD Y:X-COORD) $F819 -2023 DRAW a HORIZONTAL LO-RES LINE. $F828 -2008 DRAW a VERTICAL LO-RES LINE. $F832 -1998 CLEAR LO-RES SCREEN 1 and set GRAPHICS mode. $F836 -1994 CLEAR top 20 lines of LO-RES Graphics $F847 -1977 CALCULATE LO-RES Graphics base ADDRESS. $F85F -1953 Change LO-RES COLOR to COLOR + 3 $F940 -1728 PRINT contents of X & Y (REG 9 as 4 HEX digits) $F94C -1716 PRINT X BLANKS (X REG contains # to PRINT) $FA86 -1402 IRQ HANDLER $FA92 -1390 BREAK HANDLER $FAA6 -1370 RE-BOOTS DISK SYSTEM $FAD7 -1321 to display USER REGISTERS $FB2F -1233 TEXT- screen init $FB39 -1223 set SCREEN to TEXT mode $FB40 -1216 GR- set GRAPHICS mode $FB4B -1205 set NORMAL WINDOW $FB60 -1184 Prints the 'Apple ][' at the top of your screen. $FBC1 -1087 CALCULATE TEXT BASE ADDRESS $FBE4 -1052 SOUND BELL $FBF4 -1036 to MOVE CURSOR RIGHT $FBFD -1027 OUTPUT A-REG as ASCII on TEXT SCREEN 1 $FC10 -1008 to MOVE CURSOR LEFT $FC1A -998 to MOVE CURSOR UP $FC22 -990 PERFORM a VERTICAL TAB to ROW in ACCUMULATOR $FC2C -980 PREFORM ESCAPE FUNCTION $FC42 -958 CLEAR from CURSOR to END of PAGE (ESC -F) $FC58 -936 HOME & CLEAR SCREEN (Destroys ACCUMULATOR & Y-REG) $FC62 -926 PERFORM a CARRIAGE RETURN $FC66 -922 PERFORM a LINE FEED $FC70 -912 SCOLL UP 1 LINE (Destroys ACCUMULATOR & Y-REG) $FC95 -875 Clear entire Text line. $FC9C -868 CLEAR from CURSOR to END of LINE (ESC-E) $FDOC -756 GET KEY from KEYBOARD (Destroys A & Y-REG) WAIT for KEY PRESS. $FD5A -678 Wait for RETURN $FD5C -676 Sound Bell and wait for RETURN $FD67 -665 PREFORM CARRIAGE RETURN & GET LINE of TEXT. $FD6A -662 GET LINE of TEXT from KEYBOARD (X RETND with # of CHARACTERS) $FD6F -657 INPUT which accepts commas & colons. Here is an example: PRINT "NAME (LAST, FIRST): ";: CALL-657: N$="": FOR X= 512 TO 719 : IF PEEK (X) < > 141 THEN N$= N$ + CHR$ (PEEK (X) -128): NEXT X $FD8E -626 PRINT CARRIAGE RETURN (Destroys ACCUMULATOR & Y-REG) $FDDA -550 PRINT CONTENTS of ACCUMULATOR as 2 HEX DIGETS. $FDE3 -541 PRINT a HEX digit $FDED -531 OUTPUT CHARACTER IN ACCUMULATOR. (Destroys A & Y-REG COUNT) $FDF0 -528 GET MONITOR CHARACTER OUTPUT $FE2C -468 PERFORM MEMORY MOVE A1-A2 TO A4. Here is an example: 10 POKE 60,Source Start address Lo 20 POKE 61,Source Start address Hi 30 POKE 62,Source End address Lo 40 POKE 63,Source End address Hi 50 POKE 66,Destination address Lo 60 POKE 67,Destination address Hi 70 CALL -468 $FE80 -384 set INVERSE mode $FE84 -380 set NORMAL mode $FEBF -321 DISPLAY A,S,Y,P,S REG. (CURRENT VALUES) $FF2D -211 PRINT "ERR" & SOUNDS BELL (Destroys ACCUMULATOR & Y-REG) $FF3A -198 PRINT BELL (Destroys ACCUMULATOR & Y-REG) $FF59 -167 ENTER MONITOR RESET, TEXT mode, "COLD START" $FF65 -155 ENTER MONITOR, ring BELL, "WARM START" $FF69 -151 Go to MONITOR $FF70 -144 SCAN INPUT BUFFER (ADDRESS $200...) --The Enforcer (on Apple Textfiles at http://www.textfiles.com/apple/ ) and Rubywand ---------------------------- You can find listings of Apple II soft switches and popular monitor routines in a manual for your computer-- e.g. the Apple II Reference Manual (for II and II+), the IIe Technical Reference Manual, the Apple IIgs Firmware Reference Manual, etc.. An excellent guide to many PEEKs & POKEs and monitor routines is the famous "Peeks, Pokes, and Pointers" poster from Beagle Bros (early 1980's). A fairly exhaustive guide to important memory locations in the Apple II is What's Where in the Apple II: An Atlas to the Apple Computer by William Luebbert (1981). On-line lists of PEEKs & POKEs + Monitor Routines are available at Apple II Textfiles http://www.textfiles.com/apple/ With very few exceptions, soft switches, monitor routines, and important vectors have remained stable since early Apple II models. So, although an old chart or listing may be missing some which are available on a newer Apple II, the ones shown will almost always work. --Rubywand and Mookie __________________________ 005- How can I see and edit what's in a Text file? A handy utility for quickly viewing Text files under DOS 3.3 or ProDOS is Copy II Plus. On the IIgs under the system Finder (the usual "desktop" display showing drives, folders, etc.) you can, probably, double-click on a text file to start up an application (program) which will display the Text and let you make changes. Note: If you get an error message about not being able to find an application, you will want to think about setting up a link between Text type files and some Text editor program such as Teach. Some Text editor New Desk Accessories (like Shadowrite) will automatically establish a linkage. Another way to view and edit Text files is to run a Text editor or word processor program and load in the file. On 8-bit Apple II's, some choices include Screenwriter II, AppleWriter, and, depending upon machine, some versions of Appleworks. On the IIgs you have many choices including Teach, Shadowrite NDA, CoolWriter, and Appleworks. --Rubywand __________________________ 006- How do I save a BASIC program in ASCII text form? The following line added to the front of your Applesoft BASIC program will save it in a Text file named "LISTFILE". It works in DOS 3.3 or ProDOS. 1 HOME:PRINT CHR$(4)"OPEN LISTFILE": PRINT CHR$(4)"WRITE LISTFILE": POKE 33,33: LIST 2,: PRINT CHR$(4)"CLOSE": END If you have a line 1 which you'd like to leave alone, you can enter the above at Line 0 and change LIST 2, to LIST 1,. POKE 33,33 causes the text display routine to not insert any unneccessary spacing into your BASIC program listing, which cleans up the text file output nicely. --David Cross __________________________ 007- Where and how do I get GS System 6.0.1? You can download the GS System 6.0.1 disks in convenient Apple II ShrinkIt form from the TikTok archive at ... http://abandonwarering.com/tiktok/ (Click on "Applics, Etc".) There is a text file with directions plus the six System disks in plain .sdk shrinked disk form inside compact .zip files. This version comes with standard patches to fix HS.FST and Text Edit bugs already applied. You can also download the GS System 6.0.1 disks as Mac self-extracting archives from AppleComputer at ... ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/ . Look in the English-North_American/Apple_II/ folder Each disk in the Sys 6.0.1 folder is a Macintosh self-extracting archive (.sea) of a Disk Copy 800K ProDOS disk image. According to Apple's directions: "To use, download, double-click the downloaded file (this decompresses it), and use Disk Copy to create a disk Disk Copy can be found in the Utilities folder posted here." A possible hitch is that Mac .sea files must be executed on a Mac to self-extract. (GS-ShrinkIt can create .sea files which self-extract on a IIgs; but, these are not the same as Mac .sea files.) The set of GS System 6.0.1 disks is available from the Apple II Beginner's Guide site in a single 2.7MB .sit archive file named "GSOS.sit" at ... http://www.concentric.net/~Togega/Apple2/Files/ . Uncompressing the file-- on a PC you can use Aladdin Expander-- yields a folder containing the disks in diskcopy form. On a IIgs, you can use Clone to convert the files to 800k diskettes (once their filetype is set to $E0, auxtype: $0005). IIgs emulator users can obtain the System 6.0.1 disks in ready-to-go .2MG form inside two .zip files from Moro's Emulator Page at ... http://www.dgweb.com/~moro/home.html . For use on a real IIgs, the .2MG disk images can be converted to diskette form via Asimov2 or DSK2FILE v5.5 or later. If you would prefer to order the disks, the set of GS System 6.0.1 diskettes can be purchased from Byte Works. For more info go to http://www.byteworks.org/ and click on "System Software". Another way to get System 6.0.1 is to order a Focus hard drive from Alltech at http://allelec.com and request that System 6.0.1 be installed. __________________________ 008- Where can I get Applesoft shape table info and programs? Go to the Ground archive's Beagle Bros folder at ... ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple8/Beagle.Oldies/ and download SHAPE.MECH1.SHK and SHAPE.MECH2.SHK. --Rubywand __________________________ 009- What Operating System environments does the GS support? The GS can support several. Some of the more popular OS environments include ... DOS 3.3- usually Beagle's Prontodos or some other speeded version of the original DOS 3.3. This is the 5.25" diskette-based disk operating system used for years on earlier Apple II's. It's commands are designed for use from BASIC programs or from the keyboard. Many old Apple II games and other wares are on 5.25" diskettes which boot DOS 3.3. ProDOS 8- e.g. ProDOS v2.0.3. This is a disk operating system which supports a variety of devices (e.g. 3.5" drives, hard drives, etc.) and allows sub-directories. Commands are very similar to DOS 3.3 and are designed for use in BASIC programs or from the keyboard. BASIC and 'system' programs can also utilize direct CALLs to well-defined ProDOS Machine Language Interface routines. Apple Pascal- This is an early 1980's implementation of UCSD Pascal which can run on 40-column and 80-column Apple II's. System- Originally called "ProDOS 16" and later "GS/OS", the collection of 'system stuff' (which includes GS/OS) is today called "System". The System Finder utilizes Toolbox routines to supply a super-res desktop, Windows-like environment. Both ProDOS 8 programs and 'GS Applications' (i.e. wares that need GS/OS to run) can be started from the desktop. Depending upon factors such as installed RAM and presence of a hard disk, System will usually be System 5.0.4 or System 6.0.1. System 5.0.4 is appropriate fo r 1.25MB or smaller non-hard disk GS's. System 6.0.1 is recommended for larger memory GS's with a hard disk. --Rubywand and David Empson GNO- GNO is a UNIX-like multitasking environment for the Apple IIgs which runs on top of the native operating system, GS/OS. --Rubywand, David Empson, Devin Reade, Jeffrey Iverson __________________________ 010- How do I write programs for the Apple Graphics Tablet? The Apple Graphics Tablet I know of is rather large and heavy; its pen is attached to it with a (too short) cable; it makes funny sounds that change when the pen is moved in/out the reach of of the tablet. A long time ago I patched a few programs to make use of this tablet. To make it clear in the first place - I don't have these patched versions available anymore :-(. But I found a listing from which I can tell you this: To detect the interface card, I looped over all slots to check in its firmware for $B0 at location $Cx01 and $20 at location $Cx09 x being the slot number. I never found this 'signature' in any other firmware. To check for the pen position one has to poll the tablet (again x being the slot number): LDA $CFFF ; switch off all extension ROMS LDA $Cx00 ; switch on the extension ROM of the tablet LDA #$Cx STA $07F8 ; initialize some hidden text screen data area for the tablet firmware JSR $CBB9 ; call well known location ;-) in tablet firmware When the pen is in reach of the tablet (up or down) this routine will return immediatly. Else it will block - fortunatly the routine checks the keyboard strobe ($C010) too and will also return if a key is pressed, even if the pen remains out of the tablet's reach. After the routine has returned one can get the information: $0280 contains the state of the pen (up or down), I don't know excatly any more wich bit it is nor if one can distiguish between 'pen up' and 'pen out of reach but key pressed' $0281, $0282 contains the absolute X position of the pen $0283, $0284 contains the absolute Y position of the pen As far as I can remember the values have about 12 bit resolution (!). Usually I needed screen coordinates (280 x 192), so I dropped the 4 least significant bits and did some additional adjustment. Unfortunatly I can't remember either what coordinates will be there in the 'out of reach but key pressed' case. --Oliver Schmidt __________________________ 011- A while ago someone posted about how to read the joystick on a GS in native mode. They said that it was possible to read both paddles at once and therefore get much more accurate readings? Only the high bit of these locations is valid. When the high bit of either location becomes 0 then the corresponding analog input has timed out. You will actually get more accurate results by reading them one after the other with the accumulator set to 8 bits wide and the index registers used to hold the counts (16 bits wide). This allows for a much faster loop, giving better resolution. Assuming that this routine is called from full native mode, the following code will do the trick: strobe equ $C070 ; analog input timing reset pdl0 equ $C064 ; analog input 0 pdl1 equ $C065 ; analog input 1 start php ; save processor status register phb ; and data bank register sep #%100000 ; make accumulator 8 bits wide lda #0 ; make data bank = 0 pha plb ldx #0 ; initialize the counters txy lda strobe ; strobe the timing reset loop1 inx ; increment pdl0 count lda pdl0 ; is high bit = 0? bmi loop1 ; no, keep checking lda strobe ; yes, strobe the timing reset again loop2 iny ; increment pdl1 counter lda pdl1 ; is high bit = 0? bmi loop2 ; no, keep checking plb ; yes, restore data bank plp ; and processor status register rts ; return to caller (could be RTL) Notice that the actual counting loops are only 9 cycles long. This gives the best possible resolution. You will need your counters to be 16 bits wide as the results will easily overflow the capacity of an 8 bit counter. Using memory locations as counters will only serve to slow the counting loop down. If X and Y contain valid data before entry, you will need to save them off to the stack and pull them back in after interpreting the joystick results. I have used this exact method to read the analog inputs on my Science Toolkit box which connects to the joystick port. The results have been extremely accurate (much more than would be needed for a game which reads the joystick). --tgeer@pro-gumbo.cts.com (System Administrator) __________________________ 012- How do I write programs which use the mouse? The assembly language interface to the mouse firmware is documented in three places: - the reference material that was supplied with the AppleMouse card for the IIe. - the IIc Technical Reference Manual. - the IIgs Firmware Reference Manual. Interfacing to the mouse is somewhat complicated, especially if you want to implement some kind of mouse cursor (usually requires writing an interrupt handler). The first problem is locating the mouse firmware. It could be in any slot for a IIe or IIgs, or either of two slots for the IIc. The safest method is just to do a slot search, looking for the mouse ID bytes: $Cn05 = $38 $Cn07 = $18 $Cn0B = $01 $Cn0C = $20 $CnFB = $D6 On a ROM 3 IIgs, it is possible that the mouse firmware will not be available, because this doesn't prevent the use of the mouse from GS/OS (the Miscellaneous Toolset or Event Manager can still be used). An AppleMouse card, if installed, is not used by the toolbox. On a ROM 1 IIgs, the slot mouse firmware is used by the toolbox, so slot 4 must be set to "Mouse Port", or an AppleMouse card may be installed in any slot. Using the mouse firmware consists of calling the various parameters provided by the firmware. An entry point table is provided in the mouse slot. The routines common to all implementations are: $Cn12 SETMOUSE Sets mouse mode $Cn13 SERVEMOUSE Services mouse interrupt $Cn14 READMOUSE Reads mouse position $Cn15 CLEARMOUSE Clears mouse position to 0 (for delta mode) $Cn16 POSMOUSE Sets mouse position to a user-defined pos $Cn17 CLAMPMOUSE Sets mouse bounds in a window $Cn18 HOMEMOUSE Sets mouse to upper-left corner of clamp win $Cn19 INITMOUSE Resets mouse clamps to default values; sets mouse position to 0,0 Each of the above locations contains the low byte of the entry point for the routine. The high byte is $Cn. The usual method for calling these routines is to set up a single subroutine which is patched with the location of the appropriate routine as required. You could also set up a series of subroutines for calling each routine. The general logic would be as follows: Locate the mouse slot by searching for the ID bytes described earlier. Patch the slot into the following routine: TOMOUSE LDX #$C1 ; Patch operand byte with slot in $Cn form LDY #$10 ; Patch operand byte with slot in $n0 form JMP $C100 ; Patch high byte of operand with slot in ; $Cn form. Low byte of operand must be ; patched with entry point from table above You should also set up a pair of locations on zero page containing $Cn00, which will be used to look up the table. You can then have code as follows to call each of the routines: MOUSEPTR EQU $00 ; (or some other pair of zero page locations) SETMOUSE LDY #$12 ; Offset to entry point BNE GOMOUSE ; Go to the mouse routine - always taken SERVEMOUSE LDY #$13 ; Offset to entry point BNE GOMOUSE ; Go to the mouse routine - always taken [etc. - one routine for each mouse call you will be using] GOMOUSE TAX ; Preserve the value in A LDA (MOUSEPTR),Y ; Get the routine entry point STA TOMOUSE+5 ; Patch the JMP instruction TXA ; Restore the value in A ; The following operand bytes must be patched by the ; initialization code which detects the mouse. TOMOUSE LDX #$C1 ; Set up slot in $Cn form in X LDY #$10 ; Set up slot in $n0 form in Y JMP $C100 ; Go to the mouse routine With code like the above, your program can just use JSR INITMOUSE, etc. to call the appropriate routine. The mouse routines make use of screen holes for the slot containing the mouse interface firmware/card. The screen holes are as follows: $0478 + slot Low byte of absolute X position $04F8 + slot Low byte of absolute Y position $0578 + slot High byte of absolute X position $05F8 + slot High byte of absolute Y position $0678 + slot Reserved and used by the firmware $06F8 + slot Reserved and used by the firmware $0778 + slot Button 0/1 interrupt status byte $07F8 + slot Mode byte You can access the screen holes by getting the mouse slot number in the $Cn form (LDX TOMOUSE+1), then indexing off the above locations minus $C0 with X (or just AND the value with $0F and use the base addresses directly). The screen holes should be used only as specified by the mouse routines below. You should never write to them, except as specified by POSMOUSE. The interrupt status byte is defined as follows: Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \--- Previously, button 1 was up (0) or down (1) | | | | | | \----- Movement interrupt | | | | | \------- Button 0/1 interrupt | | | | \--------- VBL interrupt | | | \----------- Currently, button 1 is up (0) or down (1) | | \------------- X/Y moved since last READMOUSE | \--------------- Previously, button 0 was up (0) or down (1) \----------------- Currently, button 0 is up (0) or down (1) (Button 1 is not physically present on the mouse, and is probably only supported for an ADB mouse on the IIgs.) The mode byte is defined as follows. Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \--- Mouse off (0) or on (1) | | | | | | \----- Interrupt if mouse is moved | | | | | \------- Interrupt if button is pressed | | | | \--------- Interrupt on VBL | | | \----------- Reserved | | \------------- Reserved | \--------------- Reserved \----------------- Reserved The button and movement status are only valid after calling READMOUSE. Interrupt status bits are only valid after SERVEMOUSE and are cleared by READMOUSE. The appropriate screen hole information must be copied elsewhere before enabling interrupts with CLI or PLP. The routines are used as follows. X and Y must be set up with $Cn and $n0 in all cases. Interrupts must be disabled before calling any of these routines. Assume all registers are scrambled on exit unless otherwise noted. SETMOUSE Sets mouse operation mode. Entry: A = mouse operation mode ($00 to $0F) - see mode byte. Exit: C = 1 if illegal mode entered. Screen hole mode byte is updated. SERVEMOUSE Tests for interrupt from mouse and resets mouse's interrupt line. Exit: C = 0 if mouse interrupt occurred. Screen hole interrupt status bits are updated to show current status. READMOUSE Reads delta (X/Y) positions, updates absolute X/Y pos, and reads button statuses from the mouse. Exit: C = 0 (always). Screen hole positions and button/movement status bits are updated, interrupt status bits are cleared. CLEARMOUSE Resets buttons, movement and interrupt status 0. (This routine is intended to be used for delta mouse positioning instead of absolute positioning.) Exit: C = 0 (always). Screen hole positions and button/movement status bits are updated, interrupt status bits are cleared. POSMOUSE Allows caller to change current mouse position. Entry: Caller places new absolute X/Y positions directly in appropriate screen holes. Exit: C = 0 (always). Screen hole positions may be updated if necessary (e.g. clamping). CLAMPMOUSE Sets up clamping window for mouse user. Power up default values are 0 to 1023 ($0000 to $03FF). Entry: A = 0 if entering X clamps, 1 if entering Y clamps. Clamps are entered in slot 0 screen holes as follows. NOTE: these are NOT indexed by the mouse slot number. $0478 = low byte of low clamp. $04F8 = low byte of high clamp. $0578 = high byte of low clamp. $05F8 = high byte of high clamp. Exit: C = 0 (always). Screen hole position is set to top left corner of clamping window for the IIgs. Note: The IIgs automatically homes the mouse when this call is made, but this doesn't happen for the IIc and AppleMouse card. HOMEMOUSE Sets the absolute position to upper-left corner of clamping window. Exit: C = 0 (always). Screen hole positions are updated. INITMOUSE Sets screen holes to default values and sets clamping win to default value of 0 to 1023 in both X and Y directions, resets hardware. Exit: C = 0 (always). Screen holes are updated. The general method of using the mouse firmware is as follows: - Call SETMOUSE specifying a mode of 1 (enabled, no interrupts). - Call INITMOUSE. - Call CLAMPMOUSE to set up the required clamps (once per ea axis). - If necessary, call SETMOUSE again with the actual mode you want. You must set up a ProDOS interrupt handler if you want to use the interrupt modes. If you are using polled mode, call READMOUSE as required to update the mouse position and button status information. If you are using interrupt mode, your interrupt handler should call SERVEMOUSE to check for a mouse interrupt. If none occurred, return to ProDOS with C=1. If one did occur, note the type of interrupt (if necessary), then call READMOUSE to the new position information, and copy the data elsewhere. Finally, return to ProDOS with C=0. When your program is finished, it should disable the mouse by using SETMOUSE with A=0, and remove the interrupt handler (if necessary). --David Empson __________________________ 013- Where can I find manuals and other resources for the CP/M operating system? These sites are imho the BEST sites for CP/M related downloads: http://www.iso.port.ac.uk/~mike/interests/chistory/documents/cpm-22-manual/ http://www.retroarchive.org/cpm/ . Also, see CP/M materials on Asimov and GS WorldView: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/utility/ http://www.grin.net/~cturley/a2zine/Docs/ I've asked Michael Haardt, author of cpmtools, to incorporate some code changes that would allow his package to work on apple II cpm images (both in dos and prodos order). This package allows one to manipulate cpm disk images - extract, copy, delete, etc, etc from a unix command line. The latest version of cpmtools (1.6) can now handle apple II cpm images. The very latest cpmtools can be downloaded from http://www.moria.de/michael/cpmtools With cpmtools, I've been able to create Apple II images with the generic software obtained from http://deltasoft.fife.wa.us/cpm/ and from the oakdale CP/M archives. These images I've been able to download to an Apple II via ADT without any problems. I feel that they would be of use to Apple II CP/M users. --Bart, Celt, Raoul Golan __________________________ 014- How can I view and enter code using the "monitor"? Every Apple II has a built in "System Monitor", which lets you play around with memory contents. To get into it, start in BASIC and type CALL-151. You then get an * prompt to indicate you are in the monitor. To get back to BASIC at a later point, press Control-C then return (on a line by itself). The monitor has a lot of commands and the syntax is rather cryptic. Everything is entered and displayed in hexadecimal (base 16). The simplest commands are a single letter. For example, the "I" command sets the display to inverse, and "N" sets it to normal. The next level up in complexity are commands which expect a single address parameter. The address must be entered first, followed by the command letter. In some cases, the monitor remembers the last address used, so you can continue where you left off by using the command letter by itself. An example of this is the "L" command (list) which disassembles 20 instructions. The normal usage is to enter the start address followed by an "L". After you've seen one screenful, type "L" by itself and you get another screenful continuing from the next address. e.g. E000L L The first command will list the first page of code for the Applesoft BASIC interpreter, and the second command will list the second page. You can use multiple commands on the same line, as long as you know what you are doing. If you don't mind pausing and resuming the scrolling output (use Ctrl-S to pause, any key to resume), you can do something like: E000LLLLLLL to get several pages of disassembly at once. Moving up another step are commands that accept a range of addresses. The address range is entered, with the start and end address separated by a period (fullstop), and the command letter (if any) goes on the end. The best example of this is a memory dump, which doesn't have a command letter. If you want to display a range of bytes as a hex dump, use something like this: E000.E07F The monitor displays eight bytes per line, with the address at the beginning of each line. If you don't start on a multiple of eight, then the first line will have less than eight bytes and subsequent lines will be aligned on eight byte boundaries. There are variations on the memory dump that can be used for special cases: 1. You can press return on a blank line to display the next eight bytes. 2. If you enter an address and press return, one location is displayed. 3. You can continue from the end of the previous dump to a specified address by entering a dot followed by the end address. You can also display scattered locations by entering them as separate commands. For example: E000 E003 E006 will display the three specified locations, one per line. The third layer of command complexity are the commands which expect a destination address and a source address range. The destination address goes first, then a less-than sign, then the source range (with a dot in the middle), and finally the command letter. The main example of this is a memory move ("M"): 4000<6000.7FFFM This will move 8192 (2000 hex) bytes from locations 6000 through 7FFF down to 4000. If your source and destination ranges overlap, the move will work correctly if you are moving data to a lower memory location, but if moving to a higher location you will get a repeating pattern of the data from the start of the source range. There is one major command that breaks the rules above: the "set memory" command. The general syntax for this is the start address followed by a colon, then a space-separated list of bytes to be entered into memory. If you enter more than two digits for the data bytes, only the low order two digits are used. If you are entering a lot of data, you can continue the command on subsequent lines by starting the command with a colon (no address). The rest of the command line after the colon is regarded as part of the data to be entered, unless the monitor encounters a single letter command first. For example, the following single line command will enter a short machine code program and disassemble it. The "N" command (normal) is used as a dummy command to force the data entry to terminate. 300:20 58 FC A9 C8 20 ED FD A9 E9 20 ED FD 20 8E FD 60 N 300L Having got all that out of the way, here are the major monitor commands, each given in example form. Display next line of hex dump 1000 Hex dump one location 1000.101F Hex dump a range of locations .102F Continue hex dump to specified address 1000:1 2 3 50 Set memory :51 52 53 Continue set memory 300G Go - call subroutine at specified location G Go again - call same address as last time I Inverse 300L List - disassemble 20 lines L List again - continue disassembly 1000<2000.207FM Move - copy range to destination address N Normal 1000<2000.207FV Verify - compare range to destination address There are also several commands that use control characters: Ctrl-B Cold start BASIC (avoid this) Ctrl-C Warm start BASIC Ctrl-E Display the saved CPU registers Ctrl-K Set input to specified slot (preceded by slot number) Ctrl-P Set output to specified slot (preceded by slot number) Ctrl-Y User command The Ctrl-E command also lets you set the saved CPU registers, which will be used on a subsequent G (go) command. Type Ctrl-E then a colon, followed by the data to place into the A, X and Y registers. The Ctrl-K and Ctrl-P commands should be avoided if you are running under DOS 3.3 or ProDOS, because they may cause DOS to be disconnected from the I/O. Use PR#n or IN#n instead. Ctrl-Y is an "escape hatch", which allows third-party code to hook into the monitor for this one command. On the Apple IIgs, IIc (with UniDisk ROM or later), and enhanced IIe there is also a mini-assembler which can be accessed from the monitor by typing an exclamation mark as a monitor command. While in the mini-assembler you enter lines of the form Address:Instruction, or to enter instructions in sequence, type a space then the instruction. (You must specify the address for the first instruction, or you could be writing anywhere.) Press on a blank line to get back to the monitor. e.g. starting in the monitor, type in the following: ! 1000:JSR FC58 LDA #C8 JSR FDED LDA #E9 JSR FDED JSR FD8E RTS 1000L 1000G This is the same program I gave above as an example of the set memory command, loaded at a different location. --David Empson __________________________ 015- What parts of Apple II memory should a user be careful about modifying when using the monitor? It is important to keep in mind that you can do all sorts of nasty things to the computer if you play around in the monitor and don't know where things are located in memory. The safest bet if you want to have a play would be to start the computer with no disk in the drive, then get into the monitor. Don't play around with the following memory areas at all (unless you know exactly what you are doing): 0020-004F Zero page memory area used by the monitor 0100-01FF Stack 0200-02FF Input buffer 03D0-03FF System vectors C000-C0FF I/O space. Don't even read memory in this area unless you know what you are doing. C100-C7FF I/O firmware (usually ROM on cards in slots, or emultated slots). Some I/O cards may have I/O ports in this area (but not for the IIc). C800-CFFF Bank-switched area used by I/O cards. It is safe to read this area in the IIc, but it has to be handled carefully in other machines. The following areas must be handled carefully to avoid problems: 0050-00FF Zero page memory area used by Applesoft BASIC 0400-07FF Text screen and "screen holes", which contain system data D000-FFFF ROM and bank-switched RAM ("language card"). Don't write anything into this area, especially if you are running under ProDOS. Other memory areas that you may need to be aware of: 0800-???? Applesoft BASIC programs normally go here, followed by variables 2000-3FFF Hires graphics buffer for page 1 4000-5FFF Hires graphics buffer for page 2 9600-BFFF Normally used by DOS 3.3 or ProDOS ????-95FF Normally used for strings in Applesoft BASIC The hires graphics buffers are only an issue if you need to use them. Under DOS 3.3 or ProDOS, the upper memory limit (9600) may change depending on the use of the MAXFILES command under DOS or the number of open files under ProDOS. This leaves you with the following areas that you can usually play with to your heart's content. There are _some_ exceptions, but I've covered enough for one article. 0000-001F This isn't entirely free, but is usually OK. 0300-03CF Often used for small machine code programs. 1000(ish)-7FFF(ish) The last area varies wildly depending on the size of any BASIC program and its variables. --David Empson __________________________ 016- Can I do multi-tasking on a IIgs? or What is GNO/ME? GNO/ME is a programming shell (a command line environment) for the Apple IIgs. Designed as a replacement for the ORCA Shell, GNO/ME works in a manner similar to the Unix operating system, providing preemptive multitasking of multiple text programs, as well as many Unix commands and library functions. For more information about GNO/ME, see GNO/ME USENET newsgroup (comp.sys.apple2.gno) and FAQs at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/apple2/GNO-faq Trenco archive http://trenco.myrias.com:80/%7Egno/ --Bryan Ogawa