Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 5 – Modularization and Distributing your program

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 5 – Modularization and Distributing your program

Except for early dialects of BASIC found in the 8-bit computers, the programmer can split an application source code into multiple files in almost all languages. Doing so helps organize the code and allows the programmer to reuse a generic code (library) in different programs. One could create a specialized

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 4 – Using VSCode and Action! with syntax highlighting

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 4 – Using VSCode and Action! with syntax highlighting

I am a bit late in this 4th part of the Going into Action! series, where I write about Action! while I am still learning about it. It is almost like some of my teachers in college back in the day! It’s been a slow process, although I am

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 3 – More Variables, Memory and Pointers (ugh!)

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 3 – More Variables, Memory and Pointers (ugh!)

Yes, no sugarcoating! In this third part we will be talking about pointers! Hello?….. Hello? Usually, when people start to learn a language like C, the first topic that sends chills down their spine, but in a very bad way is “pointers”. However, rest assured, the concept is very simple

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 2 – Graphics

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 2 – Graphics

If you are following this series of articles, you could be thinking right now: “What a jump! From a Hello World to Graphics in one article!?”. Yes, you are right. After fiddling a bit with more Action! and reading some of the user’s guides talking about programming structures, variables,

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 1 – Hello World!

Going into Action! with Atari XL/XE – Part 1 – Hello World!

Welcome to the first part of this programming series where we will learn (or die trying!) to learn Action!, a high-performance and easy-to-learn programming language for Atari 8-bit computers. The initial article(s) will be strongly based on the two articles posted on Atariage by the user hloberg who told

Get started with C cross-development for the TRS-80 Model 1 and 3!

Get started with C cross-development for the TRS-80 Model 1 and 3!

My first computer ever was a TRS-80 clone called JR Sysdata which I, like many of us, regrettably sold when I wanted to upgrade to something else. Today this Brazilian clone is rarer than flying cows and worth a good amount of money. Of course, we are here not to

Brief, the Visual Studio Code from the 80’s

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Brief, the Visual Studio Code from the 80’s

One of my favourite past times is flicking through old computer magazines, mainly from the 80s. I am currently looking at BYTE magazine circa 1985. Other than the articles and news from that time, I also like to pay attention to the adverts. I believe this gives me a fascinating

SwissMicros – Keeping the iconic HP RPN calculators alive

SwissMicros – Keeping the iconic HP RPN calculators alive

(Originally published in April, 2023) If you have been an engineer (or similar) since the 80s or 90s, it is almost certain you owned a scientific programmable calculator. Funny as it is, I am not among them. However, I remember a friend who had an HP-41CV, and one day he

Welcome to 8-bit Relics

Welcome to 8-bit Relics

I guess I couldn't say away! I am Paulo Garcia, one of the people behind Vintage is The New Old for 10 years. Last year, I decided to close the site as move on to other projects, professionally and also in the retro computing community. After more than