Atari basic is an interpreter for the basic programming language that shipped with the atari 8bit family of 6502based home computers. Fun projects for the atari, 6502 anwendungen, 6502 applications, 6502 applications book, 6502 assembly language programming, 6502. Designed primarily as a computer for children, the atari 400 has an advanced childproof design featuring pressuresensitive, wipeclean keyboard. My father bought this machine in 1980 or 1981, and my older brother learned to program basic on it when he was very young. Obviously, it wont be the latest version, because i need one for power pc and mac os x 3. The atari 400 was one of the few computers of its day not to use a basic written by microsoft, instead it used a version written in house, this made converting programs written in basic for other machines a. In 1979, the atari 400 and atari 800 were born to fulfill this promise. A, was written for atari 400800 computer s by optimized systems software oss. Since they were atari products, they were supremely strong graphical performers. Whats special about this book is that its programs take advantage of all the sophistication of atari basic. I have several atari cartridges and most of the original manuals for the machine as well. The emulator is autoconfigurable and will compile on a variety of systems linux, solaris, irix. If you are interested in learning more about the atari 400800xl65xe 8bit computer then please subscribe and i. The basic programs i wrote for the trs80 would run only on a trs80.
Nov 07, 2015 just what the world needs, right, another book of simple atari basic programs. Saving basic programs from emulators atari 8bit computers. This new version comes, among other things, with autodetection functionality that automatically selects the right settings based on the atari program you load. Optimized systems software was the first independent company to write software for atari personal computers. Dec 20, 2019 atari basic is an interpreter for the basic programming language that shipped with the atari 8bit family of 6502based home computers. The atari 400 was connected to the enlarger with relays. Users of these earlier computers still have basic xl available from oss. Aug 25, 2012 atari mac 65 assembly graphics programming. Also if you buy a the 410 tape recorder or 810 floppy disk drive you can write your own games. Occasionally, the computer would lock while editing a program. Unfortunately, there was a fairly nasty bug in rev.
View and download atari 400 basic reference manual online. When i get more time, i will add to this section explaining a little more about them. Like atari basic, atari microsoft basic included a number of new commands and features to take advantage of the atari platform. It featured a membrane keyboard similar to that of the philips g7000, internal slots for memory that were not user upgradeable, one game cartridge slot and 4 controller ports for joysticks. Thunderdome the atari site the family tree c 1983 harry koons version 1. The atari 400 was a fairly basic system that was aimed at a younger audience and purely as a games machine. With home computers taking off, atari decided to add a keyboard to the new device, resulting in the atari 400 and 800 home computers complete with game cartridge slots. It runs atari 400, 800, 600 xl, 800 xl, xe and 5200 games, supports xe compatible memory expansions, has cycleexact 6502 emulation, nmi interrupts, scanlinebased pokey interrupts, and antic and gita emulation, has exact pokey registers, is able to load atari executable and basic programs directly, has support for the cassette recorder. It was one of the most powerful 8k basics ever produced. The atari 800 in my collection is a 48k unit with a tape drive and an 810 disk drive pictured below. Atari has gone through three versions or revisions of basic.
It likely wasnt popular since the world was not yet used to programming, especially trying to. In this videos i provide code examples, game play, and other interesting tutorials. Saving basic programs from emulators page 2 atari 8bit. Like, pacman, space invaders, rescue on fractalus if you can find one 400 version is awesome, and pitfall 2. Listed below i have included some code sample from some simple atari basic programs i have written. These were released in november 1979 and built around the same 6502 processor used in the atari vcs, the apple ii, and commodores early personal computers. Atari basic is a basic interpreter for the atari 8bit family of 6502based home computers. A history of ataris 8bit personal computers low end mac. Xformer runs atari 400 800, atari 800xl, and atari xe software on windows pcs. Apr 17, 2012 btw, ive also got a power mac g4, so i think ill try to run an atari emulator for mac on that. All are based on the mos technology 6502 cpu running at 1. Craig also rigged up an apartment security system using his atari 400, which he wrote about in an article on his web site. Thirtytwo basic programs for the atari computer tom rugg, phil feldman, tim ba. The programmer comes with an atari basic computer language cartridge, the atari basic reference manual and the atari basic selfteaching guide that teaches you how to.
After that, the possibilities are limitlessyou can solve busi ness or scientific problems, invent your own games or even compose music. In addition to the free games offered by the dog daze home page, hundreds of other 1980sera atari computer games are available for free at the following web sites. A, was written for atari 400 800 computer s by optimized systems software oss. Meet the atari 800my familys original atari 800, in fact. This is the home page of the macintosh os x port of david firths fantastic atari 800 emulator. Atari computer the atari 8bit family is a series of 8bit home computers introduced by atari, inc. All of the machines in the family are technically similar and differ primarily in packaging. Be sure to read more about this on the history of atari page. In my opinion, there are two things such a book can do for you. Leave a comment in learning 6502 assembly, before doing much with how to do things, i thought it might be helpful to at least have a basic understanding of the 56 opcodes in the 6502s instruction set. Atari basic programming has progressed so much further from the earliest days when it was introduced on an atari 2600 game program for the vcs machine. Nov 04, 2009 meet the atari 800my familys original atari 800, in fact. Unlike most basics of the home computer era, atari basic is not a derivative of microsoft basic, and differs in significant ways. Xformer runs atari 400800, atari 800xl, and atari xe software on windows pcs.
It has a single cartridge port under the front cover. An atari would be a nice investment emulators are great but theres nothing like the feeling of a real mccoy, the real slow part of an atari system is the io, but thanks to many atari enthousiasts and hobbiests there is now a plethora of higher speed options, one of them is sio2pc which allows you to connect your atari to a pc windowsunix. Fifty years of basic, the language that made computers. Optional 4k ram between 0xc000 and 0xcfff in 400800 mode. Also, they can play the same atari video game cartridges. Its 6502 motorola main processor talks to a separate graphics chip which offers great graphics for games, a feature that was unavailable on other home computers of the time. The 400 and the 800 can use the same type of atari joystick, atari paddle controller, av plus sound cable and ac adapter. Just what the world needs, right, another book of simple atari basic programs. View and download atari 400 technical reference manual online. One is give you useful programs nearly all fail at this. They are still a great way to get familiar with the atari 400 and 800 if. Xformer runs your atari 400800, atari 800xl, and atari xe software on your pc the original xformer project began in 1986 as an effort to run atari 800 basic on the atari st desktop computer using emulation to translate the 6502 machine code of the atari 800 to the 68000 machine code of the atari st. Apr 17, 2012 an atari would be a nice investment emulators are great but theres nothing like the feeling of a real mccoy, the real slow part of an atari system is the io, but thanks to many atari enthousiasts and hobbiests there is now a plethora of higher speed options, one of them is sio2pc which allows you to connect your atari to a pc windowsunix.
Btw, ive also got a power mac g4, so i think ill try to run an atari emulator for mac on that. I have ported the sdl version of the atrari800 emulator to mac os x, and added a full native cocoa interface, including preferences, menus, file associations, help and more. Emulation of atari 400, 800, 600 xl, 800xl, xe, 5200 games system. Bill wilkinson and his programmers created the disk file management system of dos 1. Altirra is the best atari 8bit emulator we have seen so far, for playing atari 8bit games on a windows pc. I had access to a number of 8bit computers in my childhood, but my most favorite was the atari 800, a 1. The interpreter originally shipped on an 8 kb cartridge.
They are based on the mos technology 6502 cpu running at 1. The atari 400 and 800 were both announced in december 1978, though they didnt actually start shipping until late in 1979. Basic programming cartridge, keyboard controllers, atari 2600 time. Xformer runs your atari 400 800, atari 800xl, and atari xe software on your pc the original xformer project began in 1986 as an effort to run atari 800 basic on the atari st desktop computer using emulation to translate the 6502 machine code of the atari 800 to the 68000 machine code of the atari st. The atari 8bit family is a series of 8bit home computers introduced by atari, inc.
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