Extra Resources

This page includes pointers to additional resources that you might find useful for this course. Keep checking back here, since we will be constantly updating links.

x86 Assembly Language (Courtesy MIT 6.828)

• PC Assembly Language, Paul A. Carter, November 2003. (local copy)
• Intel 80386 Programmer's Reference Manual, 1987 (HTML). (local copy - PDF) (MIT copy - HTML)
  Much shorter than the full current Intel Architecture manuals below.
• IA-32 Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manuals, Intel, 2007. Local copies:
  • Volume I: Basic Architecture
  • Volume 2A: Instruction Set Reference, A-M
  • Volume 2B: Instruction Set Reference, N-Z
  • Volume 3A: System Programming Guide, Part 1
  • Volume 3B: System Programming Guide, Part 2
• Multiprocessor references:
  • MP specification
  • IO APIC
• AMD64 Architecture Programmer's Manual.
  Covers both the "classic" 32-bit x86 architecture and the new 64-bit extensions supported by the latest AMD and Intel processors.
• Writing inline assembly language with GCC:
  • Brennan's Guide to Inline Assembly, Brennan "Mr. Wacko" Underwood
  • Inline assembly for x86 in Linux, Bharata B. Rao, IBM
  • GCC-Inline-Assembly-HOWTO, Sandeep.S
• Loading x86 executables in the ELF format:
  • Tool Interface Standard (TIS) Executable and Linking Format (ELF).
    The definitive standard for the ELF format.

PC Hardware Programming (Courtesy MIT 6.828)

• General PC architecture information
  • Phil Storrs PC Hardware book, Phil Storrs, December 1998.
  • Bochs technical hardware specifications directory.
• General BIOS and PC bootstrap
  • BIOS Services and Software Interrupts, Roger Morgan, 1997.
  • "El Torito" Bootable CD-ROM Format Specification, Phoenix/IBM, January 1995.
• VGA display - kern/console.c
  • VESA BIOS Extension (VBE) 3.0, Video Electronics Standards Association, September 1998. (MIT copy)
  • VGADOC, Finn Thøgersen, 2000. (local copy - text) (local copy - ZIP)
  • Free VGA Project, J.D. Neal, 1998.
• Keyboard and Mouse - kern/console.c
  • Adam Chapweske's resources.
• 8253/8254 Programmable Interval Timer (PIT) - inc/timerreg.h
  • 82C54 CHMOS Programmable Interval Timer, Intel, October 1994. (MIT copy)
  • Data Solutions 8253/8254 Tutorial, Data Solutions.
• 8259/8259A Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC) - kern/picirq.*
  • 8259A Programmable Interrupt Controller, Intel, December 1988.
• Real-Time Clock (RTC) - kern/kclock.*
  • Phil Storrs PC Hardware book, Phil Storrs, December 1998. In particular:
    • Understanding the CMOS
    • A list of what is in the CMOS
  • CMOS Memory Map, Padgett Peterson, May 1996.
  • M48T86 PC Real-Time Clock, ST Microelectronics, April 2004. (MIT copy)
• 16550 UART Serial Port - kern/console.c
  • PC16550D Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter with FIFOs, National Semiconductor, 1995.
  • Technical Data on 16550, Byterunner Technologies.
  • Interfacing the Serial / RS232 Port, Craig Peacock, August 2001.
• IEEE 1284 Parallel Port - kern/console.c
  • Parallel Port Central, Jan Axelson.
  • Parallel Port Background, Warp Nine Engineering.
  • IEEE 1284 - Updating the PC Parallel Port, National Instruments.
  • Interfacing the Standard Parallel Port, Craig Peacock, August 2001.
• IDE hard drive controller - fs/ide.c
  • AT Attachment with Packet Interface - 6 (working draft), ANSI, December 2001.
  • Programming Interface for Bus Master IDE Controller, Brad Hosler, Intel, May 1994.
  • The Guide to ATA/ATAPI documentation, Constantine Sapuntzakis, January 2002.
• Sound cards:
  • Sound Blaster Series Hardware Programming Guide, Creative Technology, 1996.
  • 8237A High Performance Programmable DMA Controller, Intel, September 1993.
  • Sound Blaster 16 Programming Document, Ethan Brodsky, June 1997.
  • Sound Programming, Inverse Reality.
• E100 Network Interface Card
  • Intel 8255x 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Controller Family Open Source Software Developer Manual
  • 82559ER Fast Ethernet PCI Controller Datasheet
• E1000 Network Interface Card
  • PCI/PCI-X Family of Gigabit Ethernet Controllers Software Developer’s Manual

Ruby Language Reference:

The Ruby Programming Lanugage Authors: David Flanagan, Yukihiro Matsumoto Good Language Reference on the Ruby Language. Recommended for anyone who wants to learn Ruby.

O'Reilly Media, Inc. 1st Edition (January 2008) ISBN-13: 978-0-596-51617-8 Free On-Campus (Safari Books): HERE

Other Ruby Resources:

• Rubular: The Ruby regular expression editor for experimenting with regular expressions: HERE

Materials on Source Control and Project Management:

Version Control with Git 2nd Edition Authors: Jon Loelinger and Matthew McCullough Complete reference on Git. Covers almost anything you want to know about using Git.

O'Reilly Media, Inc. 2nd Edition (August 20, 2012) ISBN-13: 978-1-4493-1638-9 Free On-Campus (Safari Books): HERE

Cucumber Resources:

	The Cucumber Book Authors: Matt Wynne and Aslak Hellesøy	Pragmatic Programmers, LLC 1st Edition (February 7, 2012) ISBN-13: 978-1-937785-01-7 E-book Version: HERE Amazon Print Version: HERE
	Cucumber Recipes Authors: Ian Dees, Matt Wynne, Aslak Hellesøy	Pragmatic Programmers, LLC Beta Version E-book Version: HERE

Other Cucumber Resources:

• Armando Fox's Testing of Apple II Video: HERE
  Cucumber code for this test: HERE. Also the Apple II Simulator and the rb-appscript gem for communication with it.