Path: utzoo!utdoe!generic!pnet91!ericmcg
From: ericmcg@pnet91.cts.com (Eric Mcgillicuddy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: GS65C816 - Development Info Required
Message-ID: <718@generic.UUCP>
Date: 12 May 91 20:30:03 GMT
Sender: root@generic.UUCP
Organization: People-Net [pnet91], Etobicoke, ON
Lines: 35

You can get a mac and MPWIIGS Asm and do development that way, but you would
still need a real GS to test the stuff. Downloading to a 65816 protoboard
could be possible, but why not just do it directly on a GS?

ORCA/M is a very good Assembler and it has the ability to track opcode timing
which might be neccessary for any real time work you do. The Macro library is
quite good, but you will likely create your own macros anyhow.
 
A big advantage of the 65816 is backwards compatibility with the 6502, this
will make you marketting people happy since you can offer old versions in new
hardware that still function identically (if somewhat faster). This also saves
your programmer from rewriting everything, you can have both 6502 and 65816
code segements active in your applications (it is common for GS games to use
prodos8 to boot 16 bit programs for instance). 

You might want to contact Allan ball in Australia (he does SSG's GS ports), he
could be of more help as far as programming goes.

The 65816 is second sourced to GTE by WDC (Western Design Centre) and I'm sure
there are others (at least one Japanese since Nintendos are using it in
Japan). Availability is good up to 7MHz, poor above that. Pricing fluctuates
too much, but I've seen 4MHz for $12US (about a year ago). 

There is a company working on a clone, the ASIC '816. Theoretically it will
run at 17MHz, but it is not shipping in quantity and testing is not completed
yet, so.....

Depending on what you ar edoing and what you want to do, the '816 makes for a
very base and the GS (primarily a home computer) makes an adequate development
platform. (mainly because of the slots which are identical to the IIe slots)

Hope this convinces you.  :)

UUCP: bkj386!pnet91!ericmcg
INET: ericmcg@pnet91.cts.com