Microsoft KB Archive/11962

The Peter Norton Programmer PSS ID Number: Q11962 Article last modified on 10-13-1986 PSS database name: PRESS

THE PETER NORTON PROGRAMMER’S GUIDE TO THE IBM PC by Peter Norton Price: $19.95 Pages: 448 ISBN: 0-914845-46-2 Pub. Date: June 28, 1985

Microsoft Press Publishes the Ultimate Reference Guide to the Entire Family of IBM Personal Computers

As the creator of the best-selling Norton Utilities and featured columnist for the PC Week and PC magazines, Peter Norton is recognized as the foremost authority on IBM personal computer technology. In addition, Norton is highly regarded for his ability to explain the complexities of technological developments. As USA Today recently said, “What Norton does best is explain and interpret what all the technical talk means.” On June 28, 1985, Microsoft Press will publish this noted expert’s definitive reference volume for the entire IBM PC family, THE PETER NORTON PROGRAMMER’S GUIDE TO THE IBM PC. Microsoft Press will support the book with an extensive advertising and promotional campaign. In addition, Macmillan’s Small Computer Book Club has chosen THE PETER NORTON PROGRAMMER’S GUIDE TO THE IBM PC as its Main Selection for the month of October. THE PETER NORTON PROGRAMMER’S GUIDE TO THE IBM PC is designed to provide intermediate and advanced users with the information they need to develop programs that can be ported from one member of the IBM PC family to another. A unique and valuable reference, the book includes a detailed explanation of the inner workings of the PC, XT, AT, PCjr, and Portable PC. The author begins with an in-depth overview of the specific hardware and software elements - the microprocessors, support chips, buses, and ROM software - that make up the IBM PC family, and notes how each member differs from its relatives. Norton then examines the basics of the machines’ video, disk, and keyboard features, as well as the PC’s sound-generation ability. Next, Norton explains how developers can enhance any program’s performance by directly plugging it into the ROM-BIOS. The book includes a ROM-BIOS service summary, which provides users with a quick reference to some of the most important programming information. THE PETER NORTON PROGRAMMER’S GUIDE TO THE IBM PC also covers the program support services of DOS - the DOS interrupts and DOS functions - and provides a DOS service summary. The last section of the book is devoted to bringing all of this information together to build successful programs. The author focuses on how programmers can free themselves of the constraints of higher-level programming languages by linking programs written in high-level languages to assembly-language routines that access DOS and the ROM-BIOS. Throughout the book, Peter Norton discusses his philosophy of programming. He examines the underlying ideas of the IBM’s design and offers his insight into the skills necessary for creating elegant, fluid programs for this successful family of computers. Peter Norton was raised in Seattle, Washington, and educated at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Before discovering microcomputers, he spent a dozen years working on mainframes and minicomputers for companies including Boeing and the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. After the debut of the IBM PC, Peter was among the first to buy one. In addition to being the author of the classic, Inside the IBM PC. Peter and his wife, Eileen, divide their time between homes in Los Angeles, California, and Seattle Washington. Microsoft Corporation, based in Bellevue, Washington, develops and sells a wide range of operating systems, languages, application programs, and hardware products, as well as books, for the microcomputer marketplace.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1986.