I want to learn 6502 assembly

June 28, 2007 12:16 PM

Help me identify tools and resources for learning 6502 assembly language.

My burgeoning interest in 80s-era home computers and video game consoles (along with an existing interest in programming) compels me to learn 6502 assembly language. There are lots of resources on the web for this—too many, in fact, which is the problem. I'm having trouble sorting through them all.

What I'm looking for is a straightforward tutorial (written for someone with a moderate level of programming experience), coupled with a good tool for assembling 6502 code and some kind of visual debugger/emulator/whatever that will help me see what my code is doing.

I know there are lots of emulators out there for systems that use the 6502, but I'm specifically looking for something that can show me registers and memory contents; I want to be able to run simple assembly programs and see what they're doing without writing graphics code or whatever. (Although I'd like to learn how to do that too, eventually.)

Mac OS X tools are preferred, but I have Boot Camp so XP stuff would also be fine.

posted by aparrish to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Oh man, I learned 6502 by hacking around on my Apple ][ back in the day. Find an Apple ][ emulator and then peruse the manuals here. I especially recommend the Technical Reference Manual section on the System Monitor.

Have fun!
posted by ldenneau at 12:36 PM on June 28, 2007

Here's a good 6502 simulator/debugger, which is what you want.

6502.org has good tutorials. I can't seem to find a macosx simulator/debugger, but I've used the one linked above and thought it was great.
posted by Pastabagel at 12:39 PM on June 28, 2007

OP, have you ever programmed in assembly language before? It's a different mindset.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:58 PM on June 28, 2007

This book (full text online!) is a classic, and includes a simple, well-organized introduction to the full instruction set. 6502 is clean & sleek - you'll love it. Have fun.
posted by Wolfdog at 2:18 PM on June 28, 2007

I have no idea how helpful/useful this is, but I saw it a while back: 6502 compatible compiler and emulator in javascript
posted by miniape at 2:18 PM on June 28, 2007

I am pretty sure that this is the book I used decades ago: Programming the 6502, but the one Wolfdog links to is available online, nice.
posted by caddis at 2:58 PM on June 28, 2007

"Programming the 6502" was the bible for 6502 assembly back in the day. I found it very useful and did quite a bit on my Atari 800xl...

(The author, Rodnay Zaks, later founded Sybex Publishing.)
posted by mmoncur at 3:09 AM on June 29, 2007

Buy an old Atari 8-bit off eBay for like $10. Get Chris Crawford's De Re Atari and have fun programming the greatest 8-bit machine ever created. Along the way, Crawford basically invented modern strategy games, and established the Game Developer's Conference (GDC). For tools, anything by OSS or similar.
posted by meehawl at 11:14 AM on June 29, 2007