[Coco] 1980 CoCoCoding contest? (4K Color BASIC 1.0)

Allen Huffman alsplace at pobox.com
Mon Dec 15 12:40:16 EST 2014


I have added more notes about this challenge/project. I see three main ways programs could be developed:

1. NATIVE - actually programmed on a 4K CoCo 1, using nothing but that hardware.
2. EXPANDED - programmed on an expanded CoCo (16/32K, so it could use EDTASM).
3. CROSS HOSTED - programmed using PC/Mac/Linux cross-hosted tools.

In 1980, writing assembly on a 4K CoCo was only possible by hand-coding it. EDTASM did not exist yet. Bonus points for anyone who actually does this. If we are using things from 1982, it's not truly a 1980's program.

Likewise:

1. REAL - actually programmed on a real CoCo.
2. EMULATED - programmed on a virtual/emulated CoCo.

I expect we could use bonus points based on how close to the top of each chart the program is. Something done NATIVELY on a REAL 4K CoCo is a true "1980s experience". Using EDTASM from 1982 is still cool, but couldn't have been done in 1980. The final level would be whatever amazing thing could be done with modern tools, just to run on a 4K machine.

I am still thinking about what I would write, but I have some ideas.

		-- Allen




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