The "35-cent" Commodore 64 softmodem

 (oldvcr.blogspot.com)

62 points | by todsacerdoti6 hours ago

3 comments

  • rbanffy2 hours ago
    If it’s one-way, it’s just a “mo”. The “dem” part will only be on the other side.
  • johnklos6 hours ago
    This is brilliant and elegant. It's quite satisfying to have ways to have older computers communicate with the rest of the world. Thanks, Cameron, for preserving and extending this work from and history of John Iannetta.
    • classichasclass5 hours ago
      Thanks, John! It was one of my favourite posts he made. It deserved a second life, and usefully, too.
  • rzzzt3 hours ago
    Wow, the "POKE i,." notation does work. Are there any advantages to doing so instead of typing zero for the value?
    • the-rc1 hour ago
      The BASIC interpreter parses numerical values from text each time a token gets executed. It converts that into a float and, in the case of POKE, then into an integer. Using the dot without the implicit leading zero, there's no need to convert a "0” (48 in decimal) into a zero and, possibly, a multiplication by 10 of previously parsed digits, in this case the starting zero value.
    • weinzierl2 hours ago
      For a moment I saw

      POKE 1,.

      and thought "Oh, Noooo";-)

      • rbanffy2 hours ago
        This is why Edsger Dijkstra hated BASIC so much…
        • weinzierl1 hour ago
          Maybe, but it is not known that he did for that particular reason. The sales assistants in department stores on the other hand... different story.

          In the 80s stores often had home computers for display and for customers to try them out. Much like they have tablets and phones on display now. Kids being kids used to play pranks with these machines and one way to hang a Commodore 64 was POKE 1,0 (or POKE 1,.). The store employees hated it because they had to come and reset the machines all the time.

          For me POKE 1,0 will always be burned into my mind as a dangerous frightening command, hence the " Oh, nooo". I do not have any information if Edsger Dijstra held similar feelings and whether they contributed to his hate for BASIC.

          • rbanffy6 minutes ago
            Sorry. I was joking. Dijkstra’s criticism wasn’t as much for the syntax.

            I would, however, prefer “POKE X” as a shorthand for “POKE X, 0”, but this might as well be a bug of the parser rather than an intended feature. Code had to be very compact back then.