14 replies to this topic

[Atariman]

Hey

I was wondering where a person would start if they wanted to learn to program for the 7800. Where would I find all of the necessary documentation and such? My programming skills are pretty limited, but I'm willing to learn...

[Thelen]

If you want to program for the 7800, you need to know the 6502 assembler programming language. do a search for '6502 programming' and you wil found some tutorial about it.

then you need some knowledge of the atari 7800 hardware.

http://www.atari-history.com/7800.html

http://atarihq.com/danb/a7800.shtml

http://home.arcor.de/estolberg/

http://www.s-direktn...nadj/a7800.html

Thelen

[Atariman]

Thanks!

[Atariman]

so I will have to code stuff the hard way for the 7800? I mean, I was looking at source code and it looks pretty intimidating.

I haven't had a chance to run the tools on the links you sent because I am running XP. I'm going to set up a computer with just DOS or Windows 95 so that I can use these more effectively. Can anyone help me out here on what the programming should look like? Just wondering if I have to program it like the source code looks or if there is an easier way to do it (like a language like C that can be compiled or something)

[DanBoris]

The tools should run fine under XP. You will just have to run them from a command prompt.

Yes, you will probably have to write your software in assembly code like the source files. There are C compilers for the 6502 but there are currently no 7800 libraries and C compilers generally don't produce very efficient 6502 code.

Not to discourage you, but this is going to be a difficult undertaking if you don't already have pretty good programming skills. One of the biggest problems you will run into is that there are not many people doing 7800 development and the system is not well understood at this point. You are going to be on your own for a lot of things.

Dan

[Allan]

It's much easier to start with the 5200 since there is a TON of documentation and a TON of example code from the 8-bit computers which are almost the same thing. Plus there are a bunch of people on Atariage who could help you much more than if you were programming on the 7800.

Allan

[Atariman]

hmm.... ok. I'll give the 5200 a shot (I'll try to comprehend the code at least. ) But ultimately I'd like to be programming for the 7800. So where would I start if I were to program for the 5200?

[Allan]

atariman said:

hmm.... ok.  I'll give the 5200 a shot (I'll try to comprehend the code at least.  )  But ultimately I'd like to be programming for the 7800.    So where would I start if I were to program for the 5200?

I'm glad you asked!

http://www.atariarchives.org/

http://www.atarimagazines.com/

This two sites alone should keep you busy for the next two years.

Allan

[Atariman]

lol. Quick response! Thanks! Unfortunately, I have lots of other stuff to get done over the next two years, but I will definately be making some time for these sites.

[Thelen]

yes, starting with the 5200 is a much better idea. But I suggest to start with programming for the atari 8 bit computer line (xl/xe) there is plenty of documentation about, and once you understand how the system works, you can program also for the 5200. The 5200 is a stripped down version of an atari 8 bit.

All things should work with win XP, but you can't see everything....I would recommend win 98 or 95.....or dos, but i think working in windows is easier.

i have learned almost everything from the book 'atari graphics and arcade game design' and a LOT of trying things......
it's easier if you know before you start what LDA/STA/CMP etc. does....

that book and other intresting books are online at the

www.atariarchives.org


I think it's strange, there is no real tutorial or some examples about programming the 7800....a display list list, a example with some text etc..Even the 2600 is better documented, but programming the 7800 wouldn't be so difficult as the 2600..

Thelen

[Atariman]

Another question I have is this: when programming for the XL/XE, you use basic. I was reading through a tutorial that talked all about how peeks and pokes work, but this is completely different from what I saw for the 7800 (since you can't just program the 7800 with Atari Basic...) So I guess my question is, do you mean that I should learn how to program the 5200/XE/XL "the hard way" or with basic?

[Allan]

atariman said:

Another question I have is this:  when programming for the XL/XE, you use basic.  I was reading through a tutorial that talked all about how peeks and pokes work, but this is completely different from what I saw for the 7800 (since you can't just program the 7800 with Atari Basic...)  So I guess my question is, do you mean that I should learn how to program the 5200/XE/XL "the hard way" or with basic?

Depends on what you want to do. With both the 5200 and XE/XL computers you can program in 6502 assembly language or BASIC. With the XE/XL's there are many basics with the Atari Basic that is bulit into them being the most popular (and the slowest.) The only basic for the 5200 is 5200BAS by Calamari which is a compiled basic used with Dasm/Tasm cross-assemblers. There are also compilable basics for the XE/XL's. In some ways programming for the XE/XL is easier but you'll get more fame if you write a game for the 5200.

http://lilly.csoft.n...as/5200bas.html

A rather interesting language for the XE/XL's is Action which is easier than assembler but a little harder than Basic. It's a compilable language that has a lot of features of more modern languages. It's really fast to compared to basic.

Allan

[JaySeaver]

Atari BASIC is nice - you can do some really powerful things with its fixed strings - but it isn't the fastest thing in the world, and if you're looking to program games, there's a good chance you'll want something faster. And, on the XL/XE, that basically meant machine language (although I was always very curious about ACTION!).

Eventually, you're going to have to learn 6502 assembler. It's just a matter of how soon.

Quote

I think it's strange, there is no real tutorial or some examples about programming the 7800....a display list list, a example with some text etc..Even the 2600 is better documented, but programming the 7800 wouldn't be so difficult as the 2600..

Well, when "Okie Dokie" first appeared, there wasn't a whole lot about programming the 2600 to be found, either. I think once the first 7800 homebrews come out, and people start showing their source code, it'll start to snowball.

But for now, boy, do I wish there was a De Re 7800.

[Atariman]

*whew* I can see that I've got some work to do over the summer and over spring break, that's for sure. Thanks for the link! Hmm... I'm sure I can eventually learn to do that stuff.

Allan said:

... but you'll get more fame if you write a game for the 5200.  

yup. That's the idea. To tell you the truth, my main goal is to *somehow* make a decent RPG for the 7800, but.. well, I'm getting just a tad bit ahead of myself, aren't I? (coming from somebody who doesn' t know how to program for the 5200 or 7800 yet... ) But making games for the consoles is what I have in mind.

[Mitch]

Thelen said:

I think it's strange, there is no real tutorial or some examples about programming the 7800....a display list list, a example with some text etc..Even the 2600 is better documented, but programming the 7800 wouldn't be so difficult as the 2600..

Thelen

Dan Boris does have some sample 7800 code on his site though. I'm not a programmer so I don't know if that is what you are looking for or not.

Mitch