Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!gatech!udel!udccvax1!gdtltr
From: gdtltr@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (Gary D Duzan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: Graphics Environments for 8 bit
Keywords: GOE,Diamond,Turbo-816
Message-ID: <2153@udccvax1.acs.udel.EDU>
Date: 18 Oct 88 19:55:37 GMT
References: <158@dalcsug.UUCP> <30962@bbn.COM>
Reply-To: gdtltr@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (Gary D Duzan)
Organization: University of Delaware
Lines: 28

In article <30962@bbn.COM> slackey@BBN.COM (Stan Lackey) writes:
>In article <158@dalcsug.UUCP> euloth@dalcsug.UUCP (Glenn Euloth) writes:
>>reason I am asking is seeing the stuff in the Zmag #124 about the Turbo-816
>>product from Dataque. This is another product that seems to have escaped
>
>I'll bet you a Coke that this chip is, or is similar to, the chip used
>in the AppleIIGS - 6502 mode, plus a 16-bit mode.  Gee, I might get back
>into programming in assembly language again!
>-Stan

   A week or so ago, I was looking through the computer books in the library
here at the U of D when I came across a book called "65816/65802 Assembly
Language Programming". I imagined that the 65816 is what will be what is
going to be used in the Turbo-816 so I checked it out. It does have a 6502
mode, but its native mode is about the same. In fact, as far I have determined,
the 6502 mode does a couple setup things and then restricts the 16 bit
opcodes from being used. The 65816 has a few ideas taken from the 65C02 (BRA,
PHX,PHY,etc.), the ability to access 16Meg addresses, 8/16 bit selectable
registers, and a movable stack (larger, too). I figure that there will not
be much of a speed advantage unless the native 16-bit codes are used. 
Therefore, existing programs should run about the same speed except for
calls to the OS (floating point should go a lot faster). What I would love
to see is a SpartaDOS X-16 cartridge. Unix (or at least Minix) for the 8-bit
would be nice too.
					Gary Duzan
					Time  Lord
				    Third Regeneration
				 Atari Enthusiast Extreme