Mail Archives: djgpp/2000/08/16/20:30:26
(Apologies in advance for the off-topic nature of this reply).
>i need it :)
That's what we're here for. <g>
>no, youre right.
>after seeing all that 'strange' code i should try something else.
>Is there a recommendation for a book?
>I learn faster from text.
Hmmm... the basics (these are system specific books that will explain "How
Things Work").
PC Intern (up to the 6th Edition when last I checked), Michael Tischer.
Describes all sorts of internal PC stuff, such as BIOS, DOS, Interrupts,
Memory and more.
Programmers Guide to the EGA, VGA and SuperVGA, Richard Ferraro.
Old, but interesting. Most of the information is outdated by todays video
hardware standards, and the code is useless to DJGPP. But it will give you an
idea of how VGA hardware works.
Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Blackbook, Michael Abrash.
Considered a guru, this book is a great read.
Mastering Turbo Assembler, Tom Swan
Ignore the Turbo Assembler bit. This book is good at teaching you the
insides of the x86, its registers and instructions and all that wonderful
stuff.
Also, if you don't have a good C programming book, I recommend K&R's "The ANSI
C Programming Language", and Peter van der Linden's "Expert C Programming".
The second, IMHO, is a volume that every C programmer should have read.
Bear in mind, however, that programming books are /not/ cheap.
Finally, start small. Begin with the basics ("Hello, World") and move up from
there. Pick a simple problem, such as the ever so common banking type problem
given to every student [1], where you must calculate the interest for a given
balance, and allow deposits and withdrawals. Then move on to storing that
information on disk, and then adding a nice interface. It's a great way to
learn. There are lots of tutorials on the web, too. Focus on the ones that
discuss the language itself, rather than hardware/system specific features,
until later.
> Real mode and protected mode, ok.
>Wonder how that translates into swedish? :)
Hmmm... to bad my Swedish friend isn't online right now, or I'd ask him. :(
[1] To paraphrase - "all generalizations are false, including this one"
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AndrewJ
"This is a wonderful answer. It's off-topic, it's incorrect, and it doesn't
answer the question." - Richard Heathfield.
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