+Gemintronic Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 A few years back I saw someone make "Robot Loves Kitten" for the 7800. I've heard cc65 has some support but my impression is that it was incomplete and or unstable? Does anybody know anything about C dev for the 7800 and what the best setup is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaynz Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 GroovyBee was working on a C complier for the 7800 some time ago, but I think it's been a couple of years since there was any news on it. I suppose, sadly, we could call it 'deadware' now. As far as I know, that was the only C development library made for the 7800 - which saddens me immensely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) I don't know, today I'm in the mood where words in quotes such as 'deadware' make me mad. I'm pretty sure cc65 was the compiler 'GroovyBee was working on'. Ok, so Ullrich von Bassewitz has stopped maintaining it, but it's still available. That's all you need, as far as the toolchain is concerned. The rfk7800 source is here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/rfk7800/files/rfk7800/. It can get you nicely started. It's using cc65 and gives you startup code and a linker script that produce Atari 7800 ROMs with cc65. I can't remember, but I can't believe GroovyBee didn't make his stuff available. And then there's the technical information made available by people such as Dan Boris, and the official programmer's manual has been available for quite some time as well. As far as I know, that was the only C development library made for the 7800 - which saddens me immensely. Sorry, but that's just the usual whining. Documentation, tools and example sources are available, people just have to make use of them. Instead of crying. Besides, I have no idea what you expect from a 'C development library made for the 7800'. Atari 7800 programming is all about putting together display lists and display list lists. This is all explained in the programmer's manual, which you simply have to read until you understand it. There's no way around this. And then your display management code is highly specific to your game and probably you'll end up writing it in assembly anyway. Edited February 11, 2014 by Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Wow - get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 We'll soon have an Atari 7800 version of batari Basic, so crying is no longer necessary. Rejoice! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 It sounds like you're familiar with the toolchain Tom. If I run into problems with the build process could I hit you up for advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 What build process? Do you want to build cc65 yourself or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 What build process? Do you want to build cc65 yourself or what? Actually, I'm just getting started in C. I do have familiarity with batch files and whatnot. I was going to try and get a simple "hello world" compiled with cc65 and your library. Just wondered if you were OK with me asking you some questions if I get stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I never made a library. I can't remember in all details what I did years ago. Either I downloaded cc65 binaries or compiled my own. Then I read ist documents and figured out how to build startup code and a linker script. Lazy how I am I figured it wasn't necessary to build a special C standard library for the 7800. rfk7800 links to the c64 library and I simply paid attention not to use any function that actually does C64 specific stuff. That's usually the IO related functions. Also, I didn't set up a heap, so malloc/free won't work either. I don't consider this much of a problem. You just don't want to use a heap on something with as little RAM as the 7800. If you have questions, ask them on the forum. There are People hanging around here who know a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 I never expected this much information! This pretty much sums up the current state of things. I especially appreciate Toms input. I've admired robot finds kitten 7800 for a long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1k1 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Its really hard to write a good compiler for 6502, and even if you find one, you would have to be so careful that it is easier and quicker (honestly to write in assembler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybearg Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 But now we don't have to, because 7800basic! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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