[Coco] CoCo Fest Seminars

[Andrew]

> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:07:36 -0600
> From: Brian Goers <briang0671 at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: [Coco] CoCo Fest Seminars
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Message-ID: <47C0DF78.5070209 at sbcglobal.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
> 
> To everyone
> The Fest is fast approaching.
> If you are in attendance would you like to do a Seminar?
> Some topics might be.
> Programming in Basic09. How a beginner would start, tips & tricks. 
> Programming ideas.
> Linux install. How to setup a emulator in Linux? Is Basic programming 
> possible in Linux? What is available?

As far as Linux and an emulator is concerned, there really isn't much to 
say - grab a flavor of ubuntu (kubuntu is my fave, mainly because I 
enjoy KDE), go to the software installer and select MESS (then just 
install the ROM kit as usual). I had no problem doing this even with my 
old install of Mandrake. Another option would be to set up FreeDOS or 
DOSBox and run one of the DOS emus under that.

Many options are available under Linux - people tend to stay with 'doze 
because that is all they ever know, or it is all they ever want, or they 
need a particular piece of software to work and they don't want to go 
through the hassle of trying to set up WINE (which isn't as easy as one 
would like).

As far as BASIC under Linux - several possibilities exist:
	
	XBASIC - http://www.xbasic.org/
	Blassic - http://blassic.org/
         Gambas - http://gambas.sourceforge.net/

These are only the three that I remember off the top of my head, I know 
there are others (there is also the Mono Project - 
http://www.mono-project.com/Main_Page - if you want something akin to 
VB.net).

Of the three I listed, Blassic is the closest to "old school" PC BASIC 
out there - it feels exactly like GWBASIC mixed with QBASIC/QuickBASIC. 
There are also a few "small BASIC" interpretors out there (I think one 
is called TinyBASIC), as well as commercial compilers (PowerBASIC is 
one, there are others as well).

Plenty of offerrings on that front...

> Hardware and Interfacing to to Color Computer, sensors (Home made and 
> purchased).

I don't have it handy, but at one point there was a series of articles 
on something called the CoCo ROS - Robot Operating System - around 
1986/87 or so? It was both a hardware and software system for 
interfacing via the cartridge bus port.

-- Andrew L. Ayers
    Glendale, Arizona