Topic       : The ATARI Compendium
Author      : Scott Sanders / JAY Software
Version     : 1.25 (20/6/2003)
Subject     : Documentation
Nodes       : 1117
Index Size  : 32614
HCP-Version : 6
Compiled on : Atari
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@lang       : en
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                                Foreword


About eight months have passed since The Atari Compendium© was first
released, and I must admit to being amazed with the amount of attention
the book has received from Atari developers worldwide. When I started
writing the first draft of the book I didn't know enough about Atari
computers to write half of the 860 pages it eventually became. The
learning process that I went through to see the book to its completion
was responsible for a great deal of personal growth and a greater
understanding of computer science in general.

It was inevitable, of course, that there would be errors in a book this
big. I didn't want to revise the book simply to correct those errors,
however. I was determined to add some missing topics as well. This first
revision now adds about 60 pages to the original and led me back to the
onthejob learning process and several phone calls and E-mail letters to
Sunnyvale.

The Compendium now covers almost every conceivable topic a software
programmer needs to know about Atari computers. You still won't find
timing diagrams, pinouts, and hardware specifications simply because my
level of competence in those matters is unfortunately minor. The only
other topics you won't find discussed are those covered completely in
separate volumes (referenced in the Bibliography). These include
hardware-direct ACSI/SCSI/IDE programming, SCC programming, DSP
programming, and direct BLiTTER chip usage. In every case except for DSP
programming, almost all functions of these devices may be accessed by the
average programmer through the use of OS calls, which are, of course,
documented. The basics of DSP programming, like assembly or 'C' is left to
the reader to explore in other books dedicated to their teaching.

New to this revision you will find an enhanced style guide and memory map
(the two most popular sections of the book, it seems), information on
programming MiNT device drivers and file systems, and a section
documenting the XBRA protocol. Most importantly, though, almost every
conceivable parameter and return value has been listed with
a corresponding definition name. These names may be used with any language
that supports constant naming, and, when used, improve program readability
dramatically. The TOS.H and TOSDEFS.H include files will be available from
SDS upon the release of this revision. To find out how to obtain them, be
sure to send in your registration card.

I owe thanks to Mike Fulton, Eric Smith, and Jay Patton were very helpful
in ensuring that the new material was correct and old errors were
eliminated. Many independent readers of the book also deserve thanks for
taking the time to report errors and submit their comments.

In addition, my close friends Dennis, Mike, Keith, Cathryn, Shawn, Cathy,
Shaun, and Kristyna provided moral support and dragged me away from
work when I needed a break badly. Also, as always, my mom supported me
tremendously and continues to proudly display a plastic-wrap'd copy of the
book to friends and relatives even though to her its about as useful as
a phone book for some remote city in Alaska.

Thanks to you, especially, the Atari developers and users who made this
book a reality. Enjoy!

-Scott D. Sanders, April 1994