10 REM"_(C2SLFF4

Post by alfiedotwtf » Wed, Jul 22, 2026, 2:45 PM UTC

Post by alfiedotwtf » Wed, Jul 22, 2026, 2:51 PM UTC

rwmj wrote: post #7

ErroneousBosh wrote: post #3

This is exactly how we used to do machine code on the Sinclair ZX81, too, where there was no way to declare a block of memory as "off limits" to BASIC, and no DATA statements like in the later (and much bigger) ZX Spectrum BASIC. Then you'd do "RANDOMISE USR 16514" to start it. Actually USR was interesting because it would pass back the contents of BC when your machine code routine returned to BASIC.

I managed to get that easter egg into libvirt - it listens on ports 16509 and 16514 ( https://libvirt.org/remote.html ).

Post by NetMageSCW » Wed, Jul 22, 2026, 2:57 PM UTC

reaperducer wrote: post #8

summa_tech wrote: post #6

It always feels a bit like lost magic. But at the same time, it's also something that was only enabled by the very high determinism of these old home systems. The design relies on having fixed RAM locations, no multiprocessing, etc. Incredible to find out that typing the paper program would not have worked, though. And in such a disappointing way no less.

It always feels a bit like lost magic. I sometimes wonder if there is still a lot of that magic in the tech world, but were so used to having everything abstracted away from us in multiple layers that we've lost the ability to look for it. I think about the TLA hackers who do seemingly impossible things. Surely they must operate on this level.

Post by nneonneo » Wed, Jul 22, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC

nneonneo wrote: post #16

Hmm, based on the (handwritten!) notes on Table F-2 in http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/exidy/DP500... , it looks like pressing Graphic+key would allow you to enter BASIC tokens from 0x80 to 0xBF, while pressing Graphic+Shift+key would allow you to access 0xC0 to 0xC6. By inference, it seems like Graphic+Shift+key should allow access to the entire 0xC0 to 0xFF space, but most of those keys are undocum…

  128 0x80 b'END'
  129 0x81 b'FOR'
  130 0x82 b'NEXT'
  131 0x83 b'DATA'
  132 0x84 b'BYE'
  133 0x85 b'INPUT'
  134 0x86 b'DIM'
  135 0x87 b'READ'
  136 0x88 b'LET'
  137 0x89 b'GOTO'
  138 0x8a b'RUN'
  139 0x8b b'IF'
  140 0x8c b'RESTORE'
  141 0x8d b'GOSUB'
  142 0x8e b'RETURN'
  143 0x8f b'REM'
  144 0x90 b'STOP'
  145 0x91 b'OUT'
  146 0x92 b'ON'
  147 0x93 b'NULL'
  148 0x94 b'WAIT'
  149 0x95 b'DEF'
  150 0x96 b'POKE'
  151 0x97 b'PRINT'
  152 0x98 b'CONT'
  153 0x99 b'LIST'
  154 0x9a b'CLEAR'
  155 0x9b b'CLOAD'
  156 0x9c b'CSAVE'
  157 0x9d b'NEW'
  158 0x9e b'TAB('
  159 0x9f b'TO'
  160 0xa0 b'FN'
  161 0xa1 b'SPC('
  162 0xa2 b'THEN'
  163 0xa3 b'NOT'
  164 0xa4 b'STEP'
  165 0xa5 b'+'
  166 0xa6 b'-'
  167 0xa7 b'*'
  168 0xa8 b'/'
  169 0xa9 b'^'
  170 0xaa b'AND'
  171 0xab b'OR'
  172 0xac b'>'
  173 0xad b'='
  174 0xae b'