Commodore 128 Programmer's Reference Manual page 120

110 COMMODORE 128
COMMODORE 128 VIDEO FEATURES L
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In C128 Mode, Commodore BASIC 7.0 offers fourteen high-level graphics commands u
that make difficult programming jobs easy. You can now draw circles, boxes, lines,
points and other geometric shapes, with ten high level commands such as DRAW, BOX -~t
and CIRCLE, and with four sprite commands. (The sprite commands are described in f
Chapter 9.) You no longer have to be a machine language programmer, or purchase WJ
additional graphics software packages to display intricate and visually pleasing graphics
displays—the Commodore 128 BASIC graphics capabilities take care of this for you. Of j I
course, if you are a machine language programmer or a software developer, the LJ
exceptional C128 video hardware features offer high price/performance value for any
microcomputer application. ~~»
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The C128 graphics features include:
■ Specialized graphics and sprite commands
■ 16 colors I /
■ 6 display modes, including: ^
Standard character mode
Multi-color character mode j
Extended background color mode J
Standard bit map mode
Multi-color bit map mode j j
Combined bit map and character modes (split-screen) I
■ 8 programmable, movable graphic objects called SPRITES which make anima
tion possible
■ Custom programmable characters ]
■ Vertical and horizontal scrolling i—'
The Commodore 128 is capable of producing two types of video signals: 40- j" j
column composite video, and 80-column RGBI video. The composite video signal, JJ
channeled through a VIC II (Video Interface Controller) chip (8564)—similar to that
used in the Commodore 64—mixes all of the colors of the spectrum in a single signal to
the video monitor. The 8563 separates the colors red, green and blue to drive separate I
cathode ray guns within the video monitor for a cleaner, crisper and sharper image than
composite video.
The VIC II chip supports all of the Commodore BASIC 7.0 graphics commands, \ |
SPRITES, sixteen colors, and the graphic display modes mentioned before. The 80- .Li
column chip, primarily designed for business applications, also supports sixteen colors
(a few of which are different from those of the VIC chip), standard text mode, and bit \"i
map mode. Sprites are not available in 80-column output. Bit map mode is not i I
supported by the Commodore BASIC 7.0 language in 80-column output. The 80-column
screen can be bit mapped through programming the 8563 video chip with machine
language programs. See Chapter 10, Programming the 80-Column (8563) Chip, for • [
information on bit mapping the 80-column screen. 1—'