Two Stop Bits | spc476's comments

spc476 66 days ago | parent | on: CP/M forty years on -- what it was, and why it sti...
Starting with MS-DOS 2.0, a program has five open files available to it [1], stdin, stdout, stderr, stdaux and stdprn. By default, the first three point to the CON: device, stdaux to the AUX: device (usually the serial port) and stdprn to PRN:. I suppose a paper tape punch could be either AUX: or PRN:, but the reference I'm using (_The MS-DOS Encyclopedia_) doesn't have a reference for a paper tape at all.
[1] Much like Unix programs have three open files.
spc476 217 days ago | parent | on: Researchers still don't know why this Atari 2600 g...
Here is a much better link about the maze: https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/01/the-endless-maze-alg.../
- ddingus 215 days ago
  Thanks! I will be watching this.
- bmonkey325 216 days ago
  The video is in the category of "oddly satisfying". I think I sat through it 4 or 5 times
spc476 333 days ago | parent | on: The 8-bit Guy's restoration videos
Adrian's Digital Basement (https://www.youtube.com/user/craig1black/videos) also does a lot of restoration---it's primarily his focus.
- Retronomicon 332 days ago
  TBH I find them both far less enjoyable than Noel's Retro Lab (https://www.youtube.com/@NoelsRetroLab), who is probably the last hold out on youtube against the 'it's all about me!' style that every other channel seems to have adopted.
  - djr 329 days ago
    the RetroChannel is very lo-key as well, I enjoy both these channels: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroChannel
spc476 345 days ago | parent | on: Doom Is 30, but Hasn’t Aged the Way Games Are Supp...
Doom has probably been ported to more diverse hardware than any other game I can think of.
spc476 357 days ago | parent | on: Unit testing on an 8-bit CPU
Or a mechanism to run unit tests inside the assembler.[1][2]
[1] https://mos.datatra.sh/guide/unit-testing.html
[2] Some thoughts on the assembler running unit tests: https://boston.conman.org/2023/11/29.2
- bmonkey325 357 days ago
  If your assembler supports it - very cool.
spc476 389 days ago | parent | on: Forth: The programming language that writes itself
The only significant program I know of written in Forth is the 80s game Starflight. You fly around the galaxy, exploring planets (each procedurally generated) and eventually solving a mystery. And ... I can't think of any other program.