The Undocumented PC: A Programmer's Guide to I/O, CPUs, and Fixed Memory Areas (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Frank van Gilluwe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201479508 | ISBN-13: 978-0201479508 | Publication Date: December 23, 1996 | Edition: 2

"The ultimate source for low-level details on the PC." Mike Schmit, author of Pentium Processor Optimization Tools "...a category-killer for PC-hardware junkies...hard-core technical information."Circuit Cellar INK "...a bible for system-level programmers."PC Magazine The best-selling first edition of The Undocumented PC revealed hidden programming features of PC hardware that allowed programmers to solve tricky problems and dramatically speed up the execution time of their programs. Thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition contains even more undocumented and hard-to-find information. The Undocumented PC includes comprehensive coverage of Pentium, Pentium Pro, and MMX functions, AMD's 5K86 processor, 5x86 and 6x86 CPUs from Cyrix, the Windows(R) 95 keyboard functions, and more. You will find each major subsystem of the PC explained in detail, followed by extensive reference sections that show and explain both documented and undocumented BIOS functions.Going into a level of detail available nowhere else, The Undocumented PC covers all the major system architectures and is still the only available reference to input/output ports, undocumented CPU instructions, fixed memory areas, and much more. Frank van Gilluwe is President of V Communications, Inc., developers of DOS and Windows programming tools, including the bestselling Sourcer disassembler. 0201479508B04062001

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The ultimate source for low-level details on the PC."Mike Schmit, author of Pentium Processor Optimization Tools "...a category-killer for PC-hardware junkies...hard-core technical information." Circuit Cellar INK "...a bible for system-level programmers." PC Magazine

From the Back Cover

"The ultimate source for low-level details on the PC."
Mike Schmit, author of Pentium Processor Optimization Tools

"...a category-killer for PC-hardware junkies...hard-core technical information."Circuit Cellar INK

"...a bible for system-level programmers."PC Magazine

The best-selling first edition of The Undocumented PC revealed hidden programming features of PC hardware that allowed programmers to solve tricky problems and dramatically speed up the execution time of their programs. Thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition contains even more undocumented and hard-to-find information. The Undocumented PC includes comprehensive coverage of Pentium, Pentium Pro, and MMX functions, AMD's 5K86 processor, 5x86 and 6x86 CPUs from Cyrix, the Windows® 95 keyboard functions, and more.

You will find each major subsystem of the PC explained in detail, followed by extensive reference sections that show and explain both documented and undocumented BIOS functions. Going into a level of detail available nowhere else, The Undocumented PC covers all the major system architectures and is still the only available reference to input/output ports, undocumented CPU instructions, fixed memory areas, and much more.

Frank van Gilluwe is President of V Communications, Inc., developers of DOS and Windows programming tools, including the bestselling Sourcer disassembler.

0201479508B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 2 edition (December 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201479508
• ISBN-13: 978-0201479508
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mr. van Gilluwe is author of The Undocumented PC and the president of FAQware. He was also the past president and founder of V Communications, Inc. now owned by Avanquest. He has degrees in Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, and has created a number of advanced hardware and software products, ranging from feature phones, utilities, web creation software and professional software development tools.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for low-level programming, July 17, 2000

By 

Rick C Hodgin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Undocumented PC: A Programmer's Guide to I/O, CPUs, and Fixed Memory Areas (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book provides excellent information on hardware ports, CMOS, disk and video systems. It explains the differences between versions, lists known bugs and workarounds and even comes with functioning code examples. Some of the programming leaves a little to be desired, though. :) But if you're a good assembly programmer you'll understand it.

Overall it is an excellent book and a must have for anyone wanting direct hardware-level access (without the save-haven "buffer" provided through an API). This book is for real programmers only. Programmers who want to work at the machine level. It is, quite simply, the most comprehensive book I've found. A one-stop shop for information.

The only problem I found is that this book is slightly dated, originally published in 1996 or 1997. Newer features are not included.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive guide for legacy PC system info, March 16, 2002

By 

koalaroo "koalaroo1964" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Undocumented PC: A Programmer's Guide to I/O, CPUs, and Fixed Memory Areas (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This is the most thorough technical book I've ever read, on a subject only glanced at in other books. You will find every detail about legacy PC hardware and low-level programming for these systems in this book, and it is well organized for low-level system programmers.

PC hardware areas are each given a chapter with an introduction explaining the history and workings of the physical hardware, followed by interrupt and port programming details. There are also chapters devoted solely to the interrupt vector table and BIOS data areas that list all software services, and refer to the other chapters for more details...you can get a good overview of a particular area of PC hardware, or you can just as easily find the particulars of any interrupt service, port usage or BIOS data area entry. Invaluable for low-level programmers!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is invaluable., August 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Undocumented PC: A Programmer's Guide to I/O, CPUs, and Fixed Memory Areas (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book, though having some misprints (minor), is invaluable for those willing to squease every last drop from their PC when writing low-level programs.