The 6502 is an 8-bit CPU used in many classic computers and video game systems.
6502 CPU
General Purpose Registers
The 6502 has three general purpose registers : the accumulator, X, and Y.
Status Register
The status register of the 6502 is a series of flag bits that flag a state of the processor.
6502 ASM
6502's are mainly programmed using an easy to learn assembly language most often referred to as 6502 ASM.
All 6502 instructions are compiled directly into opcodes — a CPU instruction.
Data
The 6502 uses only one kind of data — the byte. This can be stored in any of the 6502's 64k of memory addresses.
Data Types
The 6502 recognizes only one data type at assembly level — the byte that can be stored in a single memory address. Various hardware will interpret the byte depending on the memory address it's put into (for example, putting a byte in a screen memory of a 6502 computer will always be interpreted as an ASCII value or at least a video character that represents a number, letter, or symbol.)
Data Structures
You guessed it, the 6502 has only one native data structure — the byte.
Related Pages
- Assembly Language
- Byte
- CPU
- Machine Language
- Memory Address
- Program Counter
- Some Thoughts on Programming a 6502 Emulator
- Video Game System
6502 Video Game Systems
6502 Computers
Links
- 6502 Wiki - a wiki about mastering 6502 assembly language.
6502 OpCodes & Instructions
| Categories: Computers : Computer History : Hardware : Video Game Systems |