Programming the 65816Including the 6502, 65C02, and 65802It is with great excitement that we present this book, which not onlyintroduces the 65816 and the 65802 in complete detail for the first time,but also encompasses the 6502 and 65C02 in what is meant to provide acomplete reference guide to the 65x family.As 6502 enthusiasts, we believe the two new 16-bit microprocessors—the 65802 and the 65816—represent a great leap forward. We think theyhold the potential in days ahead for advances in systems and softwareeven greater than those realized by the 6502 in the early days of themicrocomputer revolution. Because of their unique compatibility withthe 6502 and 65C02, they bridge the past with the future in a way thatno other microprocessor has done.While this collaboration represents our first work of reference propor­tions in the computer science field, both of us have written extensivelyin this field and others, and both of us develop software professionally.It was our unalloyed enthusiasm for the subject that led us to this under­taking. We hope the thrill we experienced when we ran our first 65802programs on beta copies of the processor plugged into our Apples willbe yours to experience, too.Both of us learned to program primarily through books and hands-onexperimentation with personal computers rather than through formaltraining. Because of this, we share a high regard for the value of booksin the learning process and have formed strong opinions about what isuseful and what is not in learning how to use and program a new micro­processor. We hope what worked for us will work for you.