Mapping the Atari
Encyclopedia
Mapping the Atari, written by Ian Chadwick in 1983, is a location-by-location explanation of the Atari 8-bit family
's memory map. It was one of the "must have" references for programming the platform, although it was published somewhat late in the machine's timeline. An updated version covering changes to the operating system
and newer machines like the 130XE followed in 1985.
The book contained not only the memory map, but often included details of how to use them as well. For instance, location 756 (2F4)
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
's memory map. It was one of the "must have" references for programming the platform, although it was published somewhat late in the machine's timeline. An updated version covering changes to the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and newer machines like the 130XE followed in 1985.
The book contained not only the memory map, but often included details of how to use them as well. For instance, location 756 (2F4)
CHBAS contained the starting memory address that told the ANTIC where to find the character set. The book goes into several pages of detail on how to use this feature to built custom character sets. One "problem" with the book was that the memory locations controlling a particular feature, character sets for instance, would be spread out over many pages of the text, each with their own little snippets of code.