Annotated Bibliography

Richard Mansfield

This is a bibliographic list of all articles by Richard Mansfield currently catalogued by the Commodore 8-Bit Magazine Index and readable on archive.org. There are currently 52 articles in the index; this list is incomplete.

The Screen Squeeze Fix for CBM 8000: Compute!, Issue 8, Volume 3, No. 1, January 1981, p. 92.
Routine to intercept POKEs to a 40-column screen and direct them to appropriate memory locations on an 80-column screen. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: A Hidden World: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 1, Volume 1, No. 1, July 1983, p. 84.
Discussion of speed differences between the BASIC interpreter and pure machine language.
Machine Language for Beginners: The Easy Way: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 2, Volume 1, No. 2, August 1983, p. 77.
RAMtest, a simple machine language program for VIC-20 and 64.
Machine Language for Beginners: Disassembling: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 3, Volume 1, No. 3, September 1983, p. 44.
Includes a disassembler for VIC-20 and 64.
How to Use Tape and Disk Files: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 4, Volume 1, No. 4, October 1983, p. 118.
A tutorial on the BASIC commands OPEN, CLOSE, PRINT#, INPUT#, and GET#.
Machine Language for Beginners: Windows and Pages: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 4, Volume 1, No. 4, October 1983, p. 112.
A look at memory "pages" as seen by the 6502.
Machine Language for Beginners: The Assembler: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 5, Volume 1, No. 5, November 1983, p. 164.
Includes a type-in assembler program.
Machine Language for Beginners: Safe Places: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 6, Volume 1, No. 6, December 1983, p. 154.
Outlines good locations in RAM for machine-language programs.
Machine Language for Beginners: Addressing: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 7, Volume 2, No. 1, January 1984, p. 150.
Addressing modes on the 6502. Includes sample source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Tapping into BASIC: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 8, Volume 2, No. 2, February 1984, p. 129.
Calling BASIC ROM routines from machine language. Includes source code example that calls RND().
Machine Language for Beginners: Double Decker: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 9, Volume 2, No. 3, March 1984, p. 90.
Topics: 16-bit address pointers, reading keyboard and paddles. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Talking to a Disk: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 10, Volume 2, No. 4, April 1984, p. 116.
The example program Slist streams a partial BASIC listing from disk without loading the program. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Mods and Bombs: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 11, Volume 2, No. 5, May 1984, p. 104.
Topics: branching, timing, reading input, and animation. Includes source code for a "fire bomb" game routine.
Machine Language for Beginners: Indirect Addressing: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 12, Volume 2, No. 6, June 1984, p. 114.
Explanation of Indirect Indexed addressing (also called Indirect Y addressing). Includes source code examples.
Machine Language for Beginners: What is Machine Language?: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 13, Volume 2, No. 7, July 1984, p. 94.
A mostly non-technical overview of machine language and assemblers.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 14, Volume 2, No. 8, August 1984, p. 104.
Topics: auto-running programs and data tables in assembly language.
Machine Language for Beginners: First Questions: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 15, Volume 2, No. 9, September 1984, p. 122.
Topics: how a machine-language program is written in assembler, time required to assemble source code, running machine-language programs, and passing numbers from machine-language to BASIC.
Machine Language for Beginners: Loops and Branches: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 16, Volume 2, No. 10, October 1984, p. 120.
Simple assembly-language program to print a string to the screen. Discusses assembler comments, pseudo-ops, and labels. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Getting Started: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 17, Volume 2, No. 11, November 1984, p. 116.
Getting acquainted with assemblers through a short example program for the VIC-20 or 64. A type-in assembler written in BASIC accompanies the article.
Machine Language for Beginners – Customizing: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 18, Volume 2, No. 12, December 1984, p. 108.
Fully-commented source code for a custom disk directory printer in machine language.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 19, Volume 3, No. 1, January 1985, p. 115.
Answers to reader questions. Topics: using the Kernal, source code vs. object code, the LADS assembler, and machine-language equivalents to BASIC's IF, THEN, and GOTO.
Machine Language for Beginners: Self-Modifying Programs: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 20, Volume 3, No. 2, February 1985, p. 98.
A demonstration of self-modifying code in machine language, used to reduce the number of instructions needed to clear the hi-res screen. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Memory: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 21, Volume 3, No. 3, March 1985, p. 103.
Explanation of bits and binary representations of bytes in memory.
Machine Language for Beginners: Customizing BASIC: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 22, Volume 3, No. 4, April 1985, p. 101.
Illustration of the wedge technique of extending BASIC. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Getting and Sending: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 23, Volume 3, No. 5, May 1985, p. 106.
6502 addressing modes. Includes source code examples.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 24, Volume 3, No. 6, June 1985, p. 86.
Topics: safe locations in RAM, generating DATA statements for BASIC loaders, checksums, disassembling memory that does not contain valid code, and using bytes in memory as variables.
Machine Language for Beginners: Welcome to the Nightmare: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 25, Volume 3, No. 7, July 1985, p. 74.
Handling floating-point arithmetic in machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Crossing: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 26, Volume 3, No. 8, August 1985, p. 44.
Making the transition from BASIC programming to machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: From Machine Language to BASIC: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 27, Volume 3, No. 9, September 1985, p. 77.
Machine language utility creates a BASIC DATA-statement loader from a region of memory. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: The Creature in Its Cage: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 28, Volume 3, No. 10, October 1985, p. 116.
Walks through the development of a program that creates BASIC loaders from a machine language in RAM. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 29, Volume 3, No. 11, November 1985, p. 111.
Topics: structure of a BASIC SYS machine-language program launcher, and an explanation of flags.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 30, Volume 3, No. 12, December 1985, p. 129.
An explanation of machine language for novice readers.
Machine Language for Beginners: Blanketing Memory: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 31, Volume 4, No. 1, January 1986, p. 68.
Memory fills in machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Exploring the 128's Monitor: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 32, Volume 4, No. 2, February 1986, p. 65.
Overview of the features of the 128's built-in monitor.
Machine Language for Beginners: Machine Maps: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 33, Volume 4, No. 3, March 1986, p. 70.
On memory maps, finding usable memory, and the development process in machine language.
Machine Language for Beginners: Cracking the Kernal: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 34, Volume 4, No. 4, April 1986, p. 96.
A short machine language program takes advantage of the Kernal jump table to load a program from disk. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: By the Numbers: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 35, Volume 4, No. 5, May 1986, p. 85.
Simple arithmetic in machine language. Includes source code.
Reviews: Algorhythmic Composer: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 35, Volume 4, No. 5, May 1986, p. 58.
Review of Algorhythmic Composer from Dr. T's Music Software.
Machine Language for Beginners: More Math: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 36, Volume 4, No. 6, June 1986, p. 91.
Topics: multiplication, division, and multi-byte arithmetic in machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Writing Games in Machine Language: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 37, Volume 4, No. 7, July 1986, p. 85.
Lays out a simple animation routine in BASIC, to be converted to machine language in a future column.
Machine Language for Beginners: Turning a BASIC Arcade Game into Machine Language: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 38, Volume 4, No. 8, August 1986, p. 61.
A BASIC routine that manages both player and computer movement is converted to its machine-language equivalent. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: An All Machine Language Game: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 39, Volume 4, No. 9, September 1986, p. 79.
Develops a simple game in machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: The First Steps: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 40, Volume 4, No. 10, October 1986, p. 87.
Getting started with machine language. Includes source code.
A Gateway to Machine Language: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 40, Volume 4, No. 10, October 1986, p. 90.
Reference guide of BASIC commands and their approximate machine-language equivalents. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: A Practical Program: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 41, Volume 4, No. 11, November 1986, p. 72.
Explanation of a RAM test program for the 64 and 128. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Customizing: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 42, Volume 4, No. 12, December 1986, p. 76.
Customizing machine-language programs and creating patches. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: A Simple Magic: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 43, Volume 5, No. 1, January 1987, p. 74.
The relationship between BASIC and machine language.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 44, Volume 5, No. 2, February 1987, p. 89.
Answering questions from readers. Topics: a good example program for beginners, and the difference between a full assembler and a monitor. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 45, Volume 5, No. 3, March 1987, p. 93.
Answering questions from readers: how to get started with machine language, and using the processor status flags. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Between BASIC and Machine Language: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 46, Volume 5, No. 4, April 1987, p. 80.
Building programs that are a hybrid of BASIC and machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Building Trampolines: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 47, Volume 5, No. 5, May 1987, p. 82.
Building jump tables in machine language. Includes source code.
Machine Language for Beginners: Tools of the Trade: Compute!'s Gazette, Issue 48, Volume 5, No. 6, June 1987, p. 76.
Tools for machine language programmers: BASIC loaders, assemblers, monitors, and "unassemblers".

Dr. Myles L. Skinner is the “curator” of the CBM 8-Bit Magazine Index.