Re: How do I dig a memory value out?

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"Ralph" <nt_consulting64@xxxxxxxxx> wrote

> The 800 came with Atari-BASIC, but I bought Microsoft BASIC so my wife's
> programs would be more compatible with her school work - don't really
> remember the differences. The only C compiler I could find at the time was
> "Deep Blue C". The Atari keyboard was missing several characters, so I
> remember using a ton of trigraphs. Did you have the "Monkey Wrench" module?

I vaugely remember the name, but I never used it. For debugging I used the
Black Box which would allow examinination of memory at the push of a button.
(plus many other features)

http://www.myatari.net/issues/oct2001/blackbox.htm

For me the Action! language hit the 'sweet spot' between a higher level language
and complete machine level control. It was a sort of cross between Pascal and C
that would compile to machine code. It had all the basic control structures of a
higher level language (If/Then, For/Next, ect.) plus a few common data types
and pointers, including its own rendition of a user defined type. Unlike the USR
command in BASIC, hand tweeked machine code was entered directly in the
editor and was called just like any other procedure or function.

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Action-programming-language

Thats the language I used to write "the best version of Solitaire on the Atari 8-bit"
http://www.geocities.com/flynnwins/ocgs/issue10/newatari.html
(unsolicited review)


> That's how I learned about compilers and machine code - that stupid little
> compiler and Monkey Wrench. I remember building a little kit from a magazine
> that attached to the Atari's output. It only had a couple of leds on it. But
> I can remember like yesterday - the absolute thrill of turning those little
> lights on and off. <g>

A friend of mine who was working with lasers, (and also had an Atari) decided
he could build a controller for mirrors mounted on motors and interface that with
his Atari for a home built laser light show. He did the hardware, while I did the
the software, and not surprizingly, it worked pretty good! We used the joystick
ports for communication (they are read/write ports). I created an editor and
player and so forth, enough to do some interesting art and animations, but it
lacked music syncronization which is a big part of the commercial shows....

> I tried buying an ST when they came out, but they were scarce. I got tired
> of waiting and ended up getting an AT&T 68000. Still have most of it in
> boxes around here. Just never had the desire to throw it out.

Yeah, I still have a 130XE all wired up and ready to go in case I get hit with
a desire for another round of M.U.L.E or any of those early arcade style games!
While programming and playing the games was fun, I really enjoyed the community
experience that was present wherever I went. User groups were what kept me
in it so long, gathering together with like-minded folk, talking about new hardware
and software, etc... The St. Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (S.P.A.C.E.) group
still meets every month! (http://space.atari.org)

;-)
LFS
.

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