Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!munnari.oz.au!metro!cluster!ultima!vilkas
From: vilkas@ultima.cs.uts.oz (Iron Wolf)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: More assembly questions
Keywords: Abacus Book
Message-ID: <17861@ultima.cs.uts.oz>
Date: 30 May 90 01:18:36 GMT
References: <1990May17.072036.11335@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <23257@uflorida.cis.uf <265377fd-662.2comp.sys.amiga.tech-1@tronsbox.UUCP> <9074@rouge.usl.edu> <11891@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Organization: Comp Sci, NSWIT, Australia
Lines: 43

jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup) writes:

>In article <9074@rouge.usl.edu> wakres01@pa.usl.edu (1712 Stelly John B) writes:
>	As a personal opinion, I dislike most of the Abacus Amiga books.
>They tend to encourage poor programming practices (like not using symbolic
>constants, not using standard include files, making direct rom references,
>making MAJOR assumptions about how system tasks work (assuming that clearing
>a bit in some system task's structure will stop it from running), etc, etc.)
>Note that is a personal opinion.

>	Just get a good book on general amiga programming.  That (and the
>autodocs in the "Includes and Autodocs" RKM) will do you pretty well.  The
>Autodocs define all the interfaces to the system routines.

>-- 
>Randell Jesup, Keeper of AmigaDos, Commodore Engineering.
>{uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!jesup, jesup@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com  BIX: rjesup  
>Common phrase heard at Amiga Devcon '89: "It's in there!"

Thing to understand about the abacus books, they aren't intended for the 
application programmer. They are for the programmer who wants to know the guts
of the machine and how to get the very best possible performance. An example
if this is the Amiga Systems Programmer's Guide. This book is fabulous if you
want to learn how to program the amiga at a low level. That is at a level which
makes the most of the speed of the machine.

If for instance, you were working on a commercial game, you would want the 
fastest routines and such with which to work. In this case...out goes the OS,
program the hardware! (not a good practice for application programming) 

If you just keep in mind what the book you are looking at is aimed at, then
you will make sure you get the right book to teach you the right thing.

I am not trying to disagree with you. you are right in saying that the
Abacus books teach bad practices (unless you are writing games or other speed
intensive programs) And I would also suggest the RKM's with another good
introductory book with which to learn how to program. The RKM's also 
contain a section explaining what is considered good programming and what isn't.



See Ya
Iron Wolf