rjung@castor.usc.edu (Robert Jung) (02/25/88)
("Oh God, more bandwidth taken up by THAT idiot...")
Hi there. In the unlikely even that I'll ever get enough money to buy a
C compiler, can anyone recommend what book(s) I should get to learn about
Atari ST programming?
I'd like to know as much as I can about graphics/sound and disk structure
(yeah, another games-oriented screwball...Don't ya love us?); What books
should I get/avoid? Abacus' line of ST books seem interesting, but I've seen
them flamed/praised, and I'm not so sure.
I've also got a copy of Sybex's "Programmer's Guide to Gem". How applicable
is that material to the ST? What (major) discrepencies should I know about?
Please, go ahead and reply, e-mail or netmail...Flame me, heckle me,
something that resembles a reply.
Thanks in advance,
--R.J.
B-)
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Bitnet: rjung@sal124.usc.edu "Who needs an Amiga?" = == =
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Just because it's 8-bits doesn't make it obsolete. ==== == ==== robert@richp1.UUCP (Robert Miller) (03/01/88)
In article <328@nunki.usc.edu> rjung@castor.usc.edu (Robert Jung) writes: >.... can anyone recommend what book(s) I should get to learn about >Atari ST programming? > >What books should I get/avoid? Abacus' line of ST books seem >interesting, but I've seen them flamed/praised, and I'm not so sure. > Please post a summary to the Net!!! I've got Megamax C-compiler and do some C programming, but its all "general" programs. I don't know enough about the ST to incorporate windows, mouse, disk access, graphics, sound, checking for things like the correct screen resolution etc from within my C-programs. Cursor control via escape sequences I know about. Some good reference books might do the trick. -- ....................................... "To open, cut along dotted line." ....:....................................... : : Robert Miller @ ihnp4!richp1!robert .....
pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee) (03/04/88)
In addition to the one I mentione a month or so ago (something like 'Programming in C on the Atari ST' by someone like Compute!) there is the Sybex introduction to GEM programming (which is about GEM generally, and mentions both the ST and PC versions of it). Also, I've just found (and bought -- I'll buy anything that looks like it might have good info) a new book: Atari ST Application Programming by Lawrence J Pollack and Eric J T Webber Datatech Publications Bantam Computer Books, 'The Programming Reference Library' Cost me 22.95 UK pounds sterling. Imprinted 'in US $24.95, in Canada $29.95'. (So much for exchange rates.) ISBN 0-553-34397-1. Published Sep 87. Only got it yesterday, so I'm not positive how good it is, but on the face of it (given the amount of scanning that can be reasonably done in a bookshop) it looks promising. Let you know if I change my mind.
pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee) (03/16/88)
The Abacus book on disk drives is OK, at least the bits about flopsies, ramdisks, and the flopsy controller. Don't have a hard disk, so can't comment on that. The introductions to GEM and to the VDI, and Tricks and Tips, were all riddled with errors (in the first printings, which I wasted money on in my innocence and desperation to get some documentation) and I've heard no claims that they've improved with later printings so I would avoid them. The Sybex book is good, and takes care to point out which bits are specific to ST or PC GEM (for the most part they're the same, bar the missing bit on the ST known as GDOS). I also recommend (as I did a week or so ago) a new-ish book (Sept 87) - 'Atari ST Application Programming', by Pollack and Weber (Datatech Publications), published in the US and Canada by Bantam Computer Books as part of their 'Programming Performance Library'. ISBN 0-553-34397-1, should be about $25 US, $30 Canadian. (Was about 23 pounds sterling in the UK.) I still haven't finished working my way through it, but so far it is OK. That info should be enough to let you get a book shop to order it if you can't find it lying about. Cheers, Paul