Programmer's Guide to the EGA, VGA, and Super VGA Cards

by Richard F. Ferraro

This revised edition is a reference to the video graphics standard for IBM and compatible personal computers. The book covers the fundamental techniques and concepts of programming graphics hardware and software, and details the features and functions of EGA, VGA and Super VGA. It contains new material on programming the Super VGA standard and provides coverage of new cards from all the major manufacturers. The book also includes a set of extensive,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201624907
• ISBN13: 9780201624908
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Addison Wesley Longman
• Length: 1600 Pages
• Weight: 4.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.4" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

good for old-school

Back in the day, this book was like the gospel of video cards, I got it cause I am old-school, I still enjoy messing around with VGA stuff. The information in it is all legacy and can be found around the net but its nice to have a printed book. I actually expected to pay $1.00 for it simply because all its information is legacy. I was surprised but happy to pay the $20.

An old computer book that still has some value

When this book was written back in 1994, it was more difficult to program fast graphics applications on the PC without resorting to assembly code that manipulated the hardware directly. That aspect of graphics programming has changed drastically, but the fundamentals mentioned in this book really haven't. You CAN still do things the way that they are described in this book, the question is SHOULD you do things this way. That being said, the book is a very good education on how graphics tasks are performed by the hardware in a PC. If you are interested in such things, the low price of a used book might make it worth it for you. Chapters 2 through 5 equip the programmer with a thorough understanding of the EGA/VGA and the relationships these adapters have to other display adapters, the PC, graphics devices, and graphics software. A tutorial supplies a background in C and assembly language for the novice programmer. The graphics algorithms used in the program examples are introduced in the computer graphics tutorial. Chapters 6 through 11 specify the function of the EGA/VGA cards. These chapters offer clear and comprehensive information on the display modes, display memory, graphics processor, downloadable fonts, color processing, control registers, and BIOS calls. This information is translated into programming examples in chapter 12. Seventy program examples are included to illustrate the power and versatility of the EGA/VGA cards. Chapter 15 provides a detailed look at the function specifications for the IBM Applications Interface. This interface is used on the Graphics Accelerator Toolkit that was available from the author at the time this book was published and was supported by the XGA, 8514, and many Super VGAs. I don't even know if it is possible to find this toolkit any longer. Chapter 16 provides an in-depth look at the XGA cards. Included are the relevant register definitions and descriptions of the graphics accelerator. The XGA is treated as if it were another Super VGA, which it actually is. Chapters 13 through 30 provide detailed descriptions of the Super VGA chips as they existed in 1994. The scope and depth of information here allows the programmer to identify which chip is present; control, configure, and fine-tune the chip; invoke the advanced display modes; access up to one megabyte of display memory; and control the start address and cursor. The actual table of contents for the book is as follows: 1. Introduction to the Programmer's Guide 2. The EGA, VGA, and Super VGA Features 3. Graphics Hardware and Software 4. Types of Graphics Systems 5. Principles of Computer Graphics 6. Alphanumeric Processing 7. Graphics Processing 8. Color Palette and Color Registers 9. Reading the State of the EGA and VGA 10. The EGA/VGA Registers 11. The EGA/VGA BIOS 12. Programming Examples 13. The Super VGA 14. Graphics Coprocessors 15. Super VGA Code Basics 16. The Adapter Interface 17. The 8514/A 18. The XGA 19. ATI Technologies 20. Chips a

A great reference for graphics programmers

Loaded with general graphics subsystem information, plenty of graphic theory and a ton of examples, this reference is a must-have for any serious graphics programmer. In the style of Richard Wilton's, "Video Systems for the IBM PC and PS/2 Systems", this huge manual provides a reference to almost every aspect of the graphics processing of the IBM PC. The book contains C and assembler source as well as a lot of sound theory. It is essential to you reference library.