Articles in the "Books" Category
Understanding how to use TRS-80 ROM routines was very important for any TRS-80 Model I or III programmer, and there were many books written about that subject. TRS-80 ROM Routines Documented by Jack Decker was considered to be one of the best. Jack Decker wrote many articles for The Alternate Source, including a series named “TRS-80 ROM Routines Documented,” which served as the basis for this book.
The bulk of TRS-80 ROM Routines Documented is composed of five chapters detailing various portion of the TRS-80 ROM:
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At one time in the TRS-80 world, the name William Barden was linked to assembly language programming. This book was one of the main reasons why.
TRS-80 Assembly Language Programming, along with
Programming the Z80 by Rodney Zaks, helped introduce a whole generation of TRS-80 programmers to assembly language.
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The history of early microcomputers is a poorly documented subject and the amount of misinformation available is incredible. That’s why it is such a pleasure to read a book by someone knowledgeable about the subject. Collectible Microcomputers_ is just that book, a reference book for classic computers.
Long-time TRS-80 users may remember Michael Nadeau as a frequent contributor to 80 Micro, serving as senior copy editor, executive editor, and later editor-in-chief. He was also editor-in-chief of HOT CoCo magazine and the coordinator of the 80 Micro Anniversary issue.
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TRSDOS 2.3 Decoded and Other Mysteries was written by James Lee Farvour and published by IJG in 1982. It was volume six in the TRS-80 Information Series.
In a way, this book was a companion to James Lee Farvour’s earlier Microsoft Basic Decoded and Other Mysteries. That book analyzed TRS-80 Model I BASIC in great detail, describing how each part of the language worked. At the end of the book, it included the commented portion of a disassembly of the BASIC. It did not include the complete disassembly because Microsoft never gave permission for that to be published.
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Back in 1981, the TRS-80 was the best selling computer and
80 Microcomputing magazine was bursting at the seams. Wayne Green, the publisher of
80 Microcomputing, envisioned a new set of books: the
Encyclopedia for the TRS-80. As the first advertisement for the
Encyclopedia stated:
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Lately, there seems to be an increasing interest in the history of early microcomputers. But for whatever reason, Radio Shack and the TRS-80 are rarely mentioned in histories of microcomputing. When the TRS-80 is mentioned, the details are often incomplete or completely wrong. I don’t know what has caused this collective amnesia, but the TRS-80 deserves to have its important contributions recognized.
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The Programmer’s Guide is my favorite TRS-80 programming book, and in my opinion, the most useful. The chapters include:
- an overview of the operating system
- device input/output, with information about filters and drivers
- disk drive input/output, with information about writing a disk driver
- DOS directory structure
- disk file access and control
- interfacing with supervisory calls (SVCs), including detailed information about parameters
- other useful miscellaneous tables and topics
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Even though
Programming the Z80 was not written for the TRS-80, it was one of the more popular TRS-80 programming books. I suspect that this book and
TRS-80 Assembly Language Programming by William Barden introduced more TRS-80 programmers to assembly language than any others.
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The Source was a three volume set containing the complete source code of TRSDOS 6.2 (which was the same as LS-DOS 6.2). Each individual book cost $99.00, so total cost for a complete set was $297.00. Later on, these prices were heavily discounted.
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