Task: Benchmark Your Atari 8-Bit Computers Using BASIC Needed: Atari BASIC, the benchmark ATR file, one or more 8-bit computers, SIO2PC or FujiNet Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction During the early 1980s, as home computers exploded on the scene, programmers naturally wanted to know which systems
Read morePurchase a SpectraVideo CompuMate to Extend the Functionality of Your Atari 2600 Game Console (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase a SpectraVideo CompuMate to Extend the Functionality of Your Atari 2600 Game Console Needed: CompuMate SpectraVideo, Atari 2600 Time: 10-15 mins Disclosure: Note that as an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. Introduction The Atari 2600 was a pioneer
Read moreRead the Book “Compute’s Second Book of Atari” (2-3 hours)
Task: Read the Book “Compute’s Second Book of Atari” Needed: Web browser or book Time: 2-3 hours Introduction I previously posted about “Compute’s First Book of Atari” that was a must have in the early Atari library. Compute! magazine published several of these books including
Read moreRead the Book “Compute’s First Book of Atari” (2-3 Hours)
Task: Read the Book “Compute’s First Book of Atari” Needed: Web browser or book Time: 2-3 hours Introduction The first three books I owned were “Your Atari Computer“, “Atari BASIC“, and “Compute’s First Book of Atari”. The third book is a compilation of Atari articles
Read moreExplore Mandelbrot Set Fractals on an Atari 8-Bit Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Mandelbrot Set Fractals on an Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Web Browser, Emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I have been a fan of fractals since I discovered them in college. I even wrote some software for exploring the fractal features of DNA sequences when
Read morePlay Gold Rush! from Compute! Magazine on an Atari 8-Bit Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Gold Rush from Compute! Magazine on an Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Web Browser, Emulator, and/or Floppy Disk Time: 10-15 mins Introduction It was common in the early 1980s to get software by typing in program listings from magazines like Antic or Compute!. This
Read moreLearn to Pass Parameters to Procedures in FastBasic (15-30 mins)
Task: Learn to Pass Parameters to Procedures in FastBasic Needed: Web Browser, Altirra Emulator Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I have previously posted and introduction to a modern BASIC for Atari 8-bit computers called FastBasic. One of the nice features of FastBasic is the ability to
Read moreLearn to Implement Horizontal Scrolling in BASIC on Atari 8-Bit Computers (30-60 mins)
Task: Learn to Implement Horizontal Scrolling in BASIC on Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Web browser Time: 30-60 mins Introduction Scrolling games like Defender, Caverns of Mars, and Eastern Front are tons of fun and I always wondered how the cool scrolling effects were programmed. This
Read moreLearn about Vertical Blank Interrupts in BASIC for Atari 8-Bit Computers (30-60 mins)
Task: Learn about Vertical Blank Interrupts in BASIC for Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Altirra emulator Time: 30-60 mins Introduction One of the frustrating aspects of programming in BASIC on Atari 8-bit computers is its speed. This particularly true for moving players through memory as part
Read moreLearn to Implement Vertical Scrolling in BASIC on Atari 8-Bit Computers (30-60 mins)
Task: Learn to Implement Vertical Scrolling in BASIC on Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Turbo BASIC XL Time: 30-60 mins Introduction I never learned how to program scrolling playfields in BASIC back in the day, but have decided to take the plunge. Over the last few
Read moreTry Programming in FastBasic on an Atari 8-Bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Try Programming in FastBasic on an Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Altirra emulator Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I have previously posted about the diversity of different BASIC programming languages for the Atari 8-bit computers. Among these is FastBasic which is a modern BASIC for the
Read moreExplore Error Codes for Atari 8-Bit Computers (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Atari Error Codes Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 mins Introduction If you have spent any time programming for the Atari 8-bit computers then you have experienced error codes generated from typos or bad code. There is a nice page on the Atari Wiki
Read moreExplore Bugs in Atari BASIC (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Bugs in Atari BASIC Needed: Revision A of Atari BASIC Time: 15-30 mins Introduction The first version of Atari BASIC (revision A) for the Atari 400 and 800 computers had a number of bugs which could be quite annoying for serious programmers. I
Read moreRead Assembly Language from Floppy Disk for Execution in BASIC (15-30 mins)
Task: Read Assembly Language from Floppy Disk for Execution in BASIC Needed: Altirra emulator or Atari 8-bit computer, BASIC Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I have previously written posts about calling assembly language commands from BASIC. The general idea is to convert assembly language mnemonics (e.g.
Read moreExplore BASIC Programming Languages for the Atari 8-Bit Computers (30-60 mins)
Task: Explore BASIC Programming Languages for the Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Web browser Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction Nearly all of us who grew up with Atari 8-bit home computers learned to program in BASIC. This was especially true in the early days given software was
Read moreLearn About Checksum Programs for Checking Type-In Programs (15-30 mins)
Task: Learn About Checksum Programs for Checking Type-In Programs Needed: Web browser, Altirra Time: 15-30 mins Introduction It was common in the early 1980s to get software by typing in program listings from magazines like Antic or Compute!. This was partly because new Atari home
Read moreTips for Speeding up Atari BASIC Programs (15-30 mins)
Task: Tips for Speeding up Atari BASIC Programs Needed: BASIC Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Atari BASIC is notoriously slow which is why many game developers worked with assembly language to do anything serious. However, if you want to develop in BASIC there are a number
Read moreCalculate Digits of Pi in Atari BASIC (10-15 mins)
Task: Calculate Digits of Pi in Atari BASIC Needed: BASIC Time: 10-15 mins Introduction The number pi (~ 3.14159265359) is a constant defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It has fascinated mathematicians for ages given the pattern of decimal values
Read moreExplore Chatbots on the Atari 8-bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Chatbots on the Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: Altirra emulator or original hardware with disk drive Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Chatbots have grown in popularity as natural language processing (NLP) has improved. An example is the Woebot developed by psychologists to assist people who
Read moreExplore Atari XL BASIC Listings (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Atari XL BASIC Listings Needed: A web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I recall several friends remembering when they got their first Atari 8-bit computer. They brought it home, took it out of the box, and quickly discovered they had no software to
Read moreInteract with Atari’s 6502 Processor in BASIC XL (10-15 mins)
Task: Interact with Atari’s 6502 Processor in BASIC XL Needed: A BASIC XL cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction The 6502 processor developed by Chuck Peddle and his team at MOS Technology was the first inexpensive CPU available in the 1970s. This CPU
Read moreUse Strings to Store Assembly Language Code in Memory for Execution from BASIC (10-15 mins)
Task: Use Strings to Store Assembly Language Code in Memory for Execution from BASIC Needed: A BASIC cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction I previously demonstrated how to POKE assembly language code into page 6 of memory for execution by BASIC using the
Read moreCall Assembly Language Code from Your BASIC Program (10-15 mins)
Task: Call Assembly Language Code from Your BASIC Program Needed: A BASIC cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction In my previous post on writing, compiling, saving, debugging, and running assembly language programs with the MAC/65 assembler, I referred the reader to Chapter 5
Read moreTry BASIC Programming on the Atari 2600 (15-30 mins)
Task: Try BASIC Programming on the Atari 2600 Needed: BASIC Programming cartridge, keyboard controllers, Atari 2600 Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Programming in BASIC on the Atari 2600 is one of the most interesting things I have done with that machine. The BASIC Programming cartridge was
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