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Week 2 - Class I

Introduction to 6502 Assembly​

Video​

Machine Language, Assembly Language​

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  • Although we program computers in a variety of languages, they can really only execute one language: Machine Language, which is encoded in an architecture-specific binary code, sometimes called object code.
  • Machine language is not easy to read. Assembly Language corresponds very closely to machine language, but is (sort of!) human-readable.
  • Assembly language is converted into machine code by a particular type of compiler called an Assembler (sometimes the language itself is also referred to as "Assembler").

6502​

Modern processors are complex - the reference manual for 64-bit ARM processors is over 11000 pages long! - so we're going to look at assembly language on a much simpler processor to get started. This processor is the 6502, a processor used in many early home and personal computers as well as video game systems, including the Commodore PET, VIC-20, C64; the Apple II; the Atari 400 and 800 computers and 2600 video game systems; and many others.