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     Review of: Commodore 128 Programming Secrets, By William M. Wiese, Jr
                Article by: Larry Rosenman (GE Mail: LEROSENMAN)

I found this book to be one of the best sources of information around
on doing Machine Language (ML) programming on the Commodore 128.  This book
contains 406 pages of well thought out, helpful information on everything
from using the KERNAL to doing floating point mathematics using the BASIC
ROM routines.

The Table of Contents for this book is as follows:
 
Part I - The Commodore 128's C-64 Mode
 Chapter 1 - Inside C-64 Mode
  C-64 Mode Selection
  Initial RAM Bank Selection
  Other Differences in the C-64 System Map
  Disk Compatability Problems: 1541 Versus 1571
  A C-64 Bibliography

Part II - C-128 "Native" Mode
 Chapter 2 - C-128 Archetecture and Memory Management
  What's Where in the C-128
  The Banking Concept
  The C-128 MMU
  The Non-Maskable Interrupt
  The IRQ Interrupt
 Chapter 3 - C-128 Memory Usage
  Zero-Page and Page 1 Memory Usage
  Map of C-128 Zero-Page and Stack Usage
  Page 1 Memory Usage by BASIC 7.0 and BASIC's DOS
       Interface
  Low Memory, Pages 2 and 3
  BASIC 7.0, Kernal, and Screen Editor Page 3 Vector
       Storage
  Page 3 RAM-Resident Indirect-Load Subroutines
  Bank 0 RAM Usage
  Shadow Register Area for VIC-II and 8563 Video Chips
 Chapter 4 - The C-128 BASIC 7.0 Interpreter
  C-128 BASIC 7.0 Variable Storage
  Floating-Point Numbers
  BASIC Program Storage
  BASIC 7.0 Dictionary
  BASIC 7.0 Functions
  BASIC Math Functions and the Jump Table
  BASIC String Handling From Machine Language
 Chapter 5 - The C-128 Video System
  Screen Editor Escape and Control Sequences
  The C-128's 80-Column Video Display System
  The 8563 Independent RAM Block
  The 8563 Registers
  High-Resolution Bit-Mapped Graphics on the 8563
  User-Defined Character Sets for the 80-Column Text
       Screen
  The VIC-II Video Chip
 Chapter 6 - The C-128 Kernal: An Overview
  Vectors
  Kernal Dictionary
  Modified Kernal Routines
  New C-128 Kernal Routines
 Chapter 7 - Disk and I/O Operations on the C-128
  1541 and 1571 Disk Compatibility
  Organization of a 1571 Double-Sided Disk
  The 1571 Drive's CHGUTL Utility Commands
  1541 and 1571 Drive Internals: The Job Queue
  Autobooting Programs With the C-128
  Burst Mode Data Transfer With the 1571 Drive
Part III - The CP/M Operating System
 Chapter 8 - CP/M on the Commodore 128 System
  Booting CP/M Plus
  Memory Usage by the CP/M Plus Operating System
  Disks and C-128 CP/M Plus
  Transferring Files Between CP/M and Other Modes
 Revisions to the CP/M Plus System
Appendix A - DIGIFONT: A new C-128 Character Set
Appendix B - C-128 I/O Pinouts
Appendix C - Conversion Tables: Trigonometric Functions
Appendix D - Character Sets and Graphic Characters
Appendix E - Displaying 80-column Text on a Monochrome Composite
  Monitor
Index

As you can see there is a lot of information buried in these 400+
pages.  I found that the author has used a style that can be 1) read as well
as 2) used later as a reference source while programming in Machine
Language.  For example, the author has included on page 232 a fast Square
Root routine that can be used in place of the one supplied in the BASIC ROM;
he gives extensive comments on the exact format of the floating point
numbers inside the computer's memory.  Mr. Wiese has a real winner in this
book.  It should become part of any Commodore 128 programmer's reference
library.

One of the things that I personally liked about this book is the fact
that Mr. Wiese gives ALL of the BASIC 7.0 tokens and entry point addresses
in the BASIC 7.0 ROM.  This makes a lot of programming by the casual Machine
Language programmer unnecessary.  He also goes into great detail on how to
use and update string variables in Machine Language routines called from
BASIC.  I found this information facinating as well as very useful.  

On the point of String variable processing, Mr. Wiese gives us a
routine on page 234 and 235 on how to have a Function (arithmetic) entered
by the user and then evaluated by the BASIC Interpreter.  This gives us a
very good insight into how BASIC actually interprets our programs.  I find
this type of an example very useful for learning more about what is going on
inside my computer.

I found the book at my local B. Dalton for $15.95.  I think that the
book is well worth it.  The author also offers a Diskette with all the
examples on it as well as some bonus programs.  As of this writing
(December) I have not received it yet.  I will leave a note on the GEnie
Bulletin Board listing its contents when it is received.  The disk was
ordered in all fairness less than 6 weeks ago from the date I am writing
this article.  I will let everyone know as soon as I receive it.  It is NOT
taking an unusually long time, just the normal shipping time.

All in all I found the book very useful as well as interesting from
my perspective as a professional programmer.