Atari Programming

[vanman]

Sorry if you read this in the "Homebrew" forum, I posted it there by accident.

 

Ok, I have 4 things.

 

1. What is the difference between the programming languages of the 2600, the 5200 and the 7800?

 

 

2. Which one is easiest and best to use?

 

3. Do I need any programming expierence?

 

4. Where can I get tutorials for the programming languages? Please give me the easiest ones (and the most thorough I would like to be able to do anything the programming language is capable of) because I dont have any experience in programming. Period.

[Nukey Shay]

1. Not very much AFAIK...they all use 65xx chipsets, which means that working knowledge of 6502 machine language is really the only requirement.

 

2. Due to almost direct compatability with the Atari 8-bit computers, the 5200 is probably the easiest one to design programs for (since you can take advantage of a vast library of routines). Basically, the operating system addresses need to be updated and Ram usage needs to be watched for conflicts.

 

3. See #1

 

4. Begin with tutorials that already exist for 8-bit computers in general. There are copies of the excellent manuals Machine Language For Beginners on the net...as well as the entire run of Antic magazine. You can use the Atari 8-bit computers or emulators to design source code, which then can be ported to the 5200 by swapping the "equate" table (the addresses of the operating system registers and it's routines).

[Heaven/TQA]

you may join

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atari8bitdev/

 

where some coders exchange views like the stella list...

 

hve