This practical guide to machine cod programming lets the dedicated BBC user obtain the full power of the microcomputer's hardware and inbuilt assembler and escape the confines of BASIC. The book provides expertise on the 6502 hardware and instruction set as the user learns to combine the separate elements of machine code into the fast and efficient code that was found in commercial programs.

Simple programming leads to methods for creation, manipulation and animation of arcade-action graphics shapes on the screen, as well as the manipulation of the interrupt timers to produce such effects as multicolor MODE 1 screens. The guide provides a set of arithmetic routines for calculation within machine code programs, the maze generator, screen and scroll puzzle programs that tie together all the techniques that show the user how to structure and code complex programs.