
The Commodore 128 is a home computer/personal computer, also known as the C128. It was Commodore International's last commercially released 8-bit machine. Introduced in January of 1985 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it appeared three years after its predecessor, the bestselling Commodore 64. ==Description== The C128 was a significantly expanded successor to the earlier C64, the new machine featuring 128kilobyte random-access memory (externally expandable to 640KB) and an 80-column RGB monitor output (driven by the MOS Technology 8563 chip with 16KB dedicated video RAM), as well as a redesigned case/keyboard with a numeric keypad. Instead of the 6510 central processing unit of the C64, the C128 incorporated a two-CPU design. The primary CPU, the MOS Technology 8502, was a slightly improved version of the 6510; its main addition was the ability to run at a 2 MHz clock rate (but this required turning off the 40-column video output). The second CPU was the Zilog Z80, which allowed the C128 to run CP/M; the machine came with CP/M 3.0, aka CP/M Plus (backward compatible with CP/M 2.2) and ADM31/3A computer terminal emulation. To make a large application software library instantly available at launch, the Commodore 128 CP/M and accompanying Commodore 1571 floppy disk drive was designed to run almost all Kaypro-specific CP/M software without modification. Unfortunately, the C128 ran CP/M noticeably slower than most dedicated CP/M systems, as the Z80 processor ran at an effective speed of only 2 MHz (instead of the more common 4–6 MHz) and because it used CP/M 3.0, whose complexity made it inherently slower than the earlier, more widespread, CP/M 2.2 system. From the source code of the C128 CP/M implementation, it is clear that the engineers originally planned to make it possible to run CP/M in the "fast" mode as well, with the 40-column output turned off and the Z80 running at an effective 4 MHz; however this did not work on the released C128 hardware. To handle the relatively large amounts of installable RAM, tenfold the 8502's 64KB address space, an on-board Memory management unit chip performed continuous bank switching concurrently with general operation of the machine. While the MMU was designed to handle more than 128K, the chips that were actually produced and used in the C128 cannot do so; thus memory expansions beyond 128K, the so-called RAM Expansion Units (REUs), contained their own memory controller which would move blocks of memory between the main and expansion RAM. The C128 had three modes of operation: ''native mode'', which ran at 1 or 2 MHz with the 8502 and had both 40- and 80-column text modes available; ''CP/M mode'', which used the Z80 and either 40- or 80-column text mode (the former in a rather awkward way); and ''C64 mode'', which was very nearly 100% compatible with the earlier computer. The C128's native mode improved upon the most criticized attributes of the C64, providing an 80-column display, a higher speed, a warm restart, an improved version of the Commodore BASIC programming language with sound, graphics, and disk commands, an improved screen editor, national character sets and keyboard layouts for non-US models, more than three times as much RAM available to BASIC programs as in the C64, and much faster disk operations when used with the matching Commodore 1571 (5¼") or Commodore 1581 (3½") floppy disk drives. The C128's greater hardware capabilities, especially the increased RAM, screen display resolution, and serial bus speed, made it the preferred platform for running the GEOS (8-bit operating system) graphical operating system. A disadvantage to the C128 was the fact that the more complex BASIC was noticeably slower as long as the 2-MHz, 80-column-only mode was not used; this affected especially people who used a TV as their screen, as 80-column mode was not available on the TV-out socket. The computer architecture of the C128, which in case of a C128D with memory expansion included three CPUs, five types of RAM memory, three operating modes, two system speeds, two graphics chips and two completely different low-level floppy disk encoding schemes was positively baroque and not at all orthogonal. This high complexity was probably a factor in the limited success of the C128—but of course also much of the reason for the machine's popularity among long-time CBM users and 'hackers', who enjoyed the capability of full C64 compatibility in a computer which was also fully usable as a BBS terminal and general office application platform in 80-column mode running native or CP/M programs. Another selling point for this group of users was the full-featured business keyboard, which was the first 'real' keyboard of a CBM computer beside the less flexible (and thence, less popular) CBM-II/B series. A possibly unique feature of the C128 among CP/M systems was that some of the low-level BIOS services were executed by the 8502 chip instead of the Z80. The latter transferred control to the 8502 after having placed the pertinent parameter values in designated memory locations. The Z80 then turned itself off, being awoken by the 8502 at completion of the BIOS routine, with status value(s) available in RAM for inspection. ==128D; RGB graphics== The Commodore 128D was released in the summer of 1985; it was an updated version of the C128 with a detached keyboard and a 1571 disk drive in the same box as the main system unit, providing a sleeker, more professional-looking appearance, much like that of a desktop PC. In Europe the first C128Ds came in a plastic case with a side-mounted carrying handle and were technically exactly the same as a C128 with the 1571 disk drive. Additionally these models were equipped with a somewhat noisy cooling fan. Later models of the C128D came in a metal case. These later models had some minor improvements. The internal design was more integrated to save production costs, but also improved the thermal design, so that a fan was not needed anymore. Inside, the C128D ROMs contained several computer bug fixes, and the MOS Technology 8563 chip was equipped with its maximum capacity 64K of video RAM – four times that of the original C128. This permitted the C128D to do higher-resolution graphics with more colors in RGB mode, although very little software took advantage of this. With or without the extra RAM, the VDC's high-resolution graphics modes were inaccessible from the C128's BASIC and could only be utilized through assembly language or via third-party software packages (one such package was Free Spirit Software's "BASIC 8.0" – a VDC graphics command extension of CBM BASIC 7.0. BASIC 8 was available on disk or as a ROM chip for installation in the C128's internal Function ROM socket).
==Market performance== Because the C128 would run virtually all C64 software, and because the next-generation, 16-bit, home computers, primarily the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST, were gaining ground, relatively little software for the C128's native mode appeared (probably on the order of 100–200 titles). While the C128 sold a total number of 4 million units between 1985 and 1989, its popularity paled in comparison to that of its predecessor. This has been blamed on the lack of native software and on Commodore's less-aggressive marketing. An additional explanation may be found in the fact that the C64 sold huge numbers to people primarily interested in computer games, which the more expensive C128 didn't add much value towards improving (with the exception of a few Infocom text adventures) -- the C128 was certainly a better business machine than the C64, but not really a better gaming machine, and people who wanted business machines bought IBM PC Clone (computer science)s almost exclusively by the time the C128 was released. The main reason that the C128 still sold fairly well was probably that it was also a much better machine for hobbyist programming than the C64. Also, when the C128(D) was discontinued in 1989, it was reported to cost nearly as much to manufacture as the 16-bit Amiga 500, even though the C128D had to sell for several hundred dollars less to keep the Amiga's high-value marketing image intact. ==Specifications== * CPUs: ** MOS Technology 8502 @ 1 or 2 megahertz ** Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz (effectively running at 2 MHz due to stopping half the time to allow VIC-II video chip access to system bus) * RAM: 128KB system RAM, 16K or 64K dedicated video RAM (for the VDC), up to 512KB REU expansion RAM * ROM: 72KB (28K Commodore BASIC, 4K machine code monitor, 8K C128 KERNAL, 4K screen editor, 4K Z80 BIOS, ca. 9K C64 BASIC 2.0, ca. 7K C64 KERNAL, 4K C64 PETSCII, 4K C128 character generator) – expandable by 32KB Internal Function ROM (optional; for placement in motherboard socket) * Video: ** MOS Technology VIC-II (NTSC/PAL) for 40-column composite video (a TV set can be used instead of a monitor if desired) *** Direct register access through memory-mapped I/O *** Text mode: 40×25, 16 colors *** Graphics modes: 160×200, 320×200 *** 8 hardware sprites *** 2K dedicated 4-bit color RAM, otherwise uses main memory as video RAM ** MOS Technology 8563 for 80-column digital RGB component video, compatible with PC CGA monitors, monochrome display also possible on composite video monitors, but not with TV sets *** Indirect register access (address register, data register in mapped memory) *** Text mode: 80×25, 16 colors (not the same as those of the VIC-II) *** Graphics modes: 640×200, 640×400 (interlaced) *** No hardware sprites *** 16K dedicated video RAM (64K standard in 128D, 128 was upgradable to 64K), accessible to the CPU only in a doubly indirect method (address register, data register on VDC, which in turn are addressed through address register, data register in mapped memory) * Sound: ** MOS Technology SID synthesizer chip *** 3 voices, synthesizer#basic sound controllable *** White noise channel *** Cost-reduced and noise-reduced version of C64's MOS 6581; some early C128s actually have 6581s * I/O Ports: ** All the ports of C64 (Commodore 64#Specifications) —100% compatible— plus the following: ** Higher speed possible on the serial bus ** Expansion port more flexibly programmable ** RGBI video output (DB9-connector, identical to IBM PC CGA connector, but with an added monochrome composite signal) ==C128 trivia== *An easy way to tell the C128's C64 mode and a real C64 apart was to write a value different from
==References== * Greenley, Larry, et.al. (1986). ''Commodore 128 Programmer's Reference Guide''. Bantam Computer Books/Commodore Publications. ISBN 0-553-34378-5. * Gerits, K.; Schieb, J.; Thrun, F. (1986). ''Commodore 128 Internals''. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Abacus Software, Inc. ISBN 0-9164439-42-9. Original German edition (1985), Düsseldorf, West Germany: Data Becker. Home computers Personal computers CBM hardware
== C128D release dates == I know the 128D was released in 1987 in the United States; I have the back issues of Run Magazine and Compute!'s Gazette that talked about the release. I believe I remember reading that the 128D didn't pass the FCC initially, so it was released earlier in Europe than it was in the United States. Can anyone confirm the date of the 128D's European release? We need to note the discrepancy. I know that 1985 date isn't correct for the United States. In 1985 and 1986, all that existed in the States was the "flat" 128. --User:Dave Farquhar 13:08, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC) :I just checked one of my Gazette issues, and by their report from some winterly trade show the D model was definitely released in Europe in '85. One of my childhood pals actually had one. I'll try to find the months of release for both models -- I guess it's somewhere in the pile of mags. --User:Wernher 22:18, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) == C128 trivia == I wrote the original part of the C128 trivia section (now in parantheses). I couldn't remember the exact memory address so I left it unfilled. The later, more specific addition (which is not in parantheses) seems to be talking about the exact same thing, but I am not fully sure. Could anyone confirm this? --Anonymous :But notice: one example says: ''[Write]
while the other one goes: ''[M]onitor the contents of memory address)'' for a while. A real 64 used this address as the internal hardware register )'', whose contents changed hundreds of times per second.''
:In other words, the two methods given as examples are somewhat opposite of each other. I'll try to find the address you mention in the latter example, as I sit on piles of CBM docs. Some day (or night) I might just bump into it. --User:Wernher 04:25, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
::I am the "Anonymous" who wrote above. Thing is, I didn't remember the exact details about the way to distinguish the two computers, only that it involved writing something to a certain memory address and reading it back after a second or so. On a C64, you didn't get back what you wrote, but on a C128, you did. What you did get back on a C64 and why this was so had only become a blur. So it's entirely possible the second example is wrong. User:85.76.152.179 20:23, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
:::Well, I'd say there's a good chance you're on to something that really exists, as "my" example does not at all call for a long delay between the write and read (more than a couple of instruction cycles, that is). But I'll put "your" example in wkp source comments (thus hiding it from the displayed article text while still keeping it in there) until we or someone else find the pertinent memory address. --User:Wernher 22:18, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
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Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 is a home computer/personal computer, also known as the C128. It was Commodore International's last commercially released 8-bit machine. Introduced in January of 1985 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it appeared three years after its predecessor, the bestselling Commodore 64. ==Description== The C128 was a significantly expanded successor to the earlier C64, the new machine featuring 128kilobyte random-access memory (externally expandable to 640KB) and an 80-column RGB monitor output (driven by the MOS Technology 8563 chip with 16KB dedicated video RAM), as well as a redesigned case/keyboard with a numeric keypad. Instead of the 6510 central processing unit of the C64, the C128 incorporated a two-CPU design. The primary CPU, the MOS Technology 8502, was a slightly improved version of the 6510; its main addition was the ability to run at a 2 MHz clock rate (but this required turning off the 40-column video output). The second CPU was the Zilog Z80, which allowed the C128 to run CP/M; the machine came with CP/M 3.0, aka CP/M Plus (backward compatible with CP/M 2.2) and ADM31/3A computer terminal emulation. To make a large application software library instantly available at launch, the Commodore 128 CP/M and accompanying Commodore 1571 floppy disk drive was designed to run almost all Kaypro-specific CP/M software without modification. Unfortunately, the C128 ran CP/M noticeably slower than most dedicated CP/M systems, as the Z80 processor ran at an effective speed of only 2 MHz (instead of the more common 4–6 MHz) and because it used CP/M 3.0, whose complexity made it inherently slower than the earlier, more widespread, CP/M 2.2 system. From the source code of the C128 CP/M implementation, it is clear that the engineers originally planned to make it possible to run CP/M in the "fast" mode as well, with the 40-column output turned off and the Z80 running at an effective 4 MHz; however this did not work on the released C128 hardware. To handle the relatively large amounts of installable RAM, tenfold the 8502's 64KB address space, an on-board Memory management unit chip performed continuous bank switching concurrently with general operation of the machine. While the MMU was designed to handle more than 128K, the chips that were actually produced and used in the C128 cannot do so; thus memory expansions beyond 128K, the so-called RAM Expansion Units (REUs), contained their own memory controller which would move blocks of memory between the main and expansion RAM. The C128 had three modes of operation: ''native mode'', which ran at 1 or 2 MHz with the 8502 and had both 40- and 80-column text modes available; ''CP/M mode'', which used the Z80 and either 40- or 80-column text mode (the former in a rather awkward way); and ''C64 mode'', which was very nearly 100% compatible with the earlier computer. The C128's native mode improved upon the most criticized attributes of the C64, providing an 80-column display, a higher speed, a warm restart, an improved version of the Commodore BASIC programming language with sound, graphics, and disk commands, an improved screen editor, national character sets and keyboard layouts for non-US models, more than three times as much RAM available to BASIC programs as in the C64, and much faster disk operations when used with the matching Commodore 1571 (5¼") or Commodore 1581 (3½") floppy disk drives. The C128's greater hardware capabilities, especially the increased RAM, screen display resolution, and serial bus speed, made it the preferred platform for running the GEOS (8-bit operating system) graphical operating system. A disadvantage to the C128 was the fact that the more complex BASIC was noticeably slower as long as the 2-MHz, 80-column-only mode was not used; this affected especially people who used a TV as their screen, as 80-column mode was not available on the TV-out socket. The computer architecture of the C128, which in case of a C128D with memory expansion included three CPUs, five types of RAM memory, three operating modes, two system speeds, two graphics chips and two completely different low-level floppy disk encoding schemes was positively baroque and not at all orthogonal. This high complexity was probably a factor in the limited success of the C128—but of course also much of the reason for the machine's popularity among long-time CBM users and 'hackers', who enjoyed the capability of full C64 compatibility in a computer which was also fully usable as a BBS terminal and general office application platform in 80-column mode running native or CP/M programs. Another selling point for this group of users was the full-featured business keyboard, which was the first 'real' keyboard of a CBM computer beside the less flexible (and thence, less popular) CBM-II/B series. A possibly unique feature of the C128 among CP/M systems was that some of the low-level BIOS services were executed by the 8502 chip instead of the Z80. The latter transferred control to the 8502 after having placed the pertinent parameter values in designated memory locations. The Z80 then turned itself off, being awoken by the 8502 at completion of the BIOS routine, with status value(s) available in RAM for inspection. ==128D; RGB graphics== The Commodore 128D was released in the summer of 1985; it was an updated version of the C128 with a detached keyboard and a 1571 disk drive in the same box as the main system unit, providing a sleeker, more professional-looking appearance, much like that of a desktop PC. In Europe the first C128Ds came in a plastic case with a side-mounted carrying handle and were technically exactly the same as a C128 with the 1571 disk drive. Additionally these models were equipped with a somewhat noisy cooling fan. Later models of the C128D came in a metal case. These later models had some minor improvements. The internal design was more integrated to save production costs, but also improved the thermal design, so that a fan was not needed anymore. Inside, the C128D ROMs contained several computer bug fixes, and the MOS Technology 8563 chip was equipped with its maximum capacity 64K of video RAM – four times that of the original C128. This permitted the C128D to do higher-resolution graphics with more colors in RGB mode, although very little software took advantage of this. With or without the extra RAM, the VDC's high-resolution graphics modes were inaccessible from the C128's BASIC and could only be utilized through assembly language or via third-party software packages (one such package was Free Spirit Software's "BASIC 8.0" – a VDC graphics command extension of CBM BASIC 7.0. BASIC 8 was available on disk or as a ROM chip for installation in the C128's internal Function ROM socket).
==Market performance== Because the C128 would run virtually all C64 software, and because the next-generation, 16-bit, home computers, primarily the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST, were gaining ground, relatively little software for the C128's native mode appeared (probably on the order of 100–200 titles). While the C128 sold a total number of 4 million units between 1985 and 1989, its popularity paled in comparison to that of its predecessor. This has been blamed on the lack of native software and on Commodore's less-aggressive marketing. An additional explanation may be found in the fact that the C64 sold huge numbers to people primarily interested in computer games, which the more expensive C128 didn't add much value towards improving (with the exception of a few Infocom text adventures) -- the C128 was certainly a better business machine than the C64, but not really a better gaming machine, and people who wanted business machines bought IBM PC Clone (computer science)s almost exclusively by the time the C128 was released. The main reason that the C128 still sold fairly well was probably that it was also a much better machine for hobbyist programming than the C64. Also, when the C128(D) was discontinued in 1989, it was reported to cost nearly as much to manufacture as the 16-bit Amiga 500, even though the C128D had to sell for several hundred dollars less to keep the Amiga's high-value marketing image intact. ==Specifications== * CPUs: ** MOS Technology 8502 @ 1 or 2 megahertz ** Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz (effectively running at 2 MHz due to stopping half the time to allow VIC-II video chip access to system bus) * RAM: 128KB system RAM, 16K or 64K dedicated video RAM (for the VDC), up to 512KB REU expansion RAM * ROM: 72KB (28K Commodore BASIC, 4K machine code monitor, 8K C128 KERNAL, 4K screen editor, 4K Z80 BIOS, ca. 9K C64 BASIC 2.0, ca. 7K C64 KERNAL, 4K C64 PETSCII, 4K C128 character generator) – expandable by 32KB Internal Function ROM (optional; for placement in motherboard socket) * Video: ** MOS Technology VIC-II (NTSC/PAL) for 40-column composite video (a TV set can be used instead of a monitor if desired) *** Direct register access through memory-mapped I/O *** Text mode: 40×25, 16 colors *** Graphics modes: 160×200, 320×200 *** 8 hardware sprites *** 2K dedicated 4-bit color RAM, otherwise uses main memory as video RAM ** MOS Technology 8563 for 80-column digital RGB component video, compatible with PC CGA monitors, monochrome display also possible on composite video monitors, but not with TV sets *** Indirect register access (address register, data register in mapped memory) *** Text mode: 80×25, 16 colors (not the same as those of the VIC-II) *** Graphics modes: 640×200, 640×400 (interlaced) *** No hardware sprites *** 16K dedicated video RAM (64K standard in 128D, 128 was upgradable to 64K), accessible to the CPU only in a doubly indirect method (address register, data register on VDC, which in turn are addressed through address register, data register in mapped memory) * Sound: ** MOS Technology SID synthesizer chip *** 3 voices, synthesizer#basic sound controllable *** White noise channel *** Cost-reduced and noise-reduced version of C64's MOS 6581; some early C128s actually have 6581s * I/O Ports: ** All the ports of C64 (Commodore 64#Specifications) —100% compatible— plus the following: ** Higher speed possible on the serial bus ** Expansion port more flexibly programmable ** RGBI video output (DB9-connector, identical to IBM PC CGA connector, but with an added monochrome composite signal) ==C128 trivia== *An easy way to tell the C128's C64 mode and a real C64 apart was to write a value different from
hexadecimalFF (255) to memory address 0xD02F (53295), which was used to decode the extra keys of the C128 (the numerical keypad and some other keys). On the 64 this memory location would always contain the value 0xFF no matter what was written to it, but on a C128 in 64 mode, the value of the register could be changed. Thus, checking the location for the latter value after performing the write operation would reveal the actual hardware platform.
*Entering the command "SYS 32800,123,45,6" in native mode would reveal the Easter egg (virtual) shown to the right:
*Another interesting feature on the C128 was the built-in command "SPRDEF" which brought up a rudimentary WYSIWYG-style sprite editor—a great improvement beyond the numerous PEEK and POKE needed for similar sprite definition and editing work on the C64.
==References== * Greenley, Larry, et.al. (1986). ''Commodore 128 Programmer's Reference Guide''. Bantam Computer Books/Commodore Publications. ISBN 0-553-34378-5. * Gerits, K.; Schieb, J.; Thrun, F. (1986). ''Commodore 128 Internals''. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Abacus Software, Inc. ISBN 0-9164439-42-9. Original German edition (1985), Düsseldorf, West Germany: Data Becker. Home computers Personal computers CBM hardware
Commodore 128
== C128D release dates == I know the 128D was released in 1987 in the United States; I have the back issues of Run Magazine and Compute!'s Gazette that talked about the release. I believe I remember reading that the 128D didn't pass the FCC initially, so it was released earlier in Europe than it was in the United States. Can anyone confirm the date of the 128D's European release? We need to note the discrepancy. I know that 1985 date isn't correct for the United States. In 1985 and 1986, all that existed in the States was the "flat" 128. --User:Dave Farquhar 13:08, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC) :I just checked one of my Gazette issues, and by their report from some winterly trade show the D model was definitely released in Europe in '85. One of my childhood pals actually had one. I'll try to find the months of release for both models -- I guess it's somewhere in the pile of mags. --User:Wernher 22:18, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) == C128 trivia == I wrote the original part of the C128 trivia section (now in parantheses). I couldn't remember the exact memory address so I left it unfilled. The later, more specific addition (which is not in parantheses) seems to be talking about the exact same thing, but I am not fully sure. Could anyone confirm this? --Anonymous :But notice: one example says: ''[Write]
hexadecimalFF (255) to memory address 0xD02F (53295)[.] [...] On the 64 this memory location would always contain the value 0xFF no matter what was written to it[.]''while the other one goes: ''[M]onitor the contents of memory address
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