[Coco] What is the next "step" in my education?

[Arthur Flexser]

With PEEKs and POKEs, there's both a "dumb user" and a "smart user"
approach.  The "dumb user" approach is to just find a reference that lists
some of them and use them where needed, without understanding how they
work.  There's a booklet called something like "500 PEEKs, POKEs, and
EXECs" that was published by Microcom and is probably somewhere in the
database associated with this list.

The "smart user" approach involves a lot more work:  you have to both learn
6809 assembly language and also familiarize yourself with what is in the
CoCo ROMs.  There's a complete disassembly of the ROMs available online in
the "Unravelled" series of books from Spectral Associates, but to make much
sense of them, you probably have to know assembler.  Though the books have
a lot of technical information in them besides the disassembly, so it is
possible that they might be somewhat helpful in any case.

Art

On Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 1:50 PM, John Lochey via Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com>
wrote:

> Hi all,
> First off, thanks to everyone that has been a huge help to me so far!
> I have decided to focus on my CoCo2 and I have ordered an SDC (SD card
> reader) and case for it.
>
> Okay, I kind of asked this question awhile ago, but I want to reframe it.
> I'm looking for your suggestions on the next "step" in my education...
> I have read and worked through the Extended Basic Manual that came with my
> CoCo2 and found it very interesting... but I was left wondering what the
> next "step" is?
> Anyway, I have been working through the Rainbow magazines and have been
> learning a lot, but so many questions come up from the examples that I read
> like:
> - how does one learn the memory map of the 6809?
> - I see magazine examples and think, "why/how did the author know
> how/where to POKE/PEEK in that memory location", etc?
>
> - I'd like to POKE/PEEK around and try some stuff, but don't really know
> where to start, or what is where in memory.
>
> - what is the best way to experiment with more advanced BASIC, PEEKS and
> POKES, and ???
> I have been looking that the following books:
> - Color Computer Graphics - William Barden- Ultimate Color Computer
> Reference Guide and Toolkit - CMD Micro
>
> But I'm open to suggestions.
>
> Thanks and sorry if this is too vague!
>
>
>
> John
>
> --
> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>