applepy/cycle_notes.txt

There are two ways we could represent cycle information:

1. just have an array of cycles for each opcode + the adjustment for
   page boundary crossing (which seems opcode-specific, oddly)

2. add cycles in individual methods like those accessing memory and the 
   operations themselves, to model *why* something takes the cycles it does.

I prefer 2 on the grounds of it being more instructive but it assumes that
the way we do things is closely aligned to the way the 6502 is doing them
internally. Even if we end up having to do 1, I'd love to understand and
document some of the "why".

What follows is an attempt to "find the patterns" in the cycle times (as
given on http://www.6502.org/tutorials/6502opcodes.html )

There are 12 classes of instructions when it comes to cycle times:


Class Ia
(followed by ADC, BIT, CMP, CPX, CPY, EOR, LDA, LDX, LDY, SBC, STX, STY)

immediate       2
zero page       3
zero page, x    4
zero page, y    4
absolute        4
absolute, x     4 (+1 if page crossed)
absolute, y     4 (+1 if page crossed)
indirect, x     6
indirect, y     5 (+1 if page crossed)

Note 1: the zero page indexed and x-index indirect don't have the page cross
addition because they wrap.


Class Ib
(followed by STA)

zero page       3
zero page, x    4
zero page, y    4
absolute        4
absolute, x     5
absolute, y     5
indirect, x     6
indirect, y     6

Note 2: just like Class Ia BUT takes the cycles it would take if there's a
page cross even if there isn't.

Question 1: why is this?


Class Ic
(followed by AND, ORA)

immediate       2
zero page       2
zero page, x    3
absolute        4
absolute, x     4 (+1 if page crossed)
absolute, y     4 (+1 if page crossed)
indirect, x     6
indirect, y     5 (+1 if page crossed)

Note 3: just like class Ia except the zero page are a cycle faster

Question 2: why is this? is it a bug on the webpage?


Class II
(followed by ASL, DEC, INC, LSR, ROL, ROR)

implied         2
zero page       5
zero page, x    6
absolute        6
absolute, x     7

Note 4: looks like class Ib + 2 in the non-implied cases

Question 3: why does absolute, x not have a page crossing addition? same
reason as for Ib?


Class IIIa
(followed by CLC, CLD, CLI, CLV, DEX, DEY, INX, INY, NOP, SEC, SED, SEI, TAX,
TAY, TSX, TXA, TXS, TYA)

implied         2


Class IIIb
(followed by PHA, PHP)

implied         3


Class IIIc
(followed by PLA, PLP)

implied         4


Class IIId
(followed by RTI, RTS)

implied         6


Class IIIe
(followed by BRK)

implied         7


Class IV
(followed by BCC, BCS, BEQ, BMI, BNE, BPL, BVC, BVS)

branch not taken    2
branch taken        3 (+1 is page crossed)


Class V
(followed by JMP)

absolute        3
indirect        5


Class VI
(followed by JSR)

absolute        6