RE: [stella] VCS C programming

Subject: RE: [stella] VCS C programming
From: Ben Larson <benjamin_e_larson@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 18:11:21 -0400
--- Frank Palazzolo <palazzol@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The other extreme might be more interesting, from a
> computer science point
> of view.  In theory, you could define your own
> special-purpose, high-level
> language, specific to Stella.  Then you could
> directly express high-level
> concepts like scanlines, cpu-cycles, TIA resources,
> etc.  Ideally, the
> compiler could figure out the best way to implement
> it on the 2600 - given
> enough information about what you are trying to do. 

Hmm...I agree, that's almost an even more interesting
idea to explore, a sort of 'functional language' for
kernel generation.  I mean, I suppose creating a
kernel is ultimately a scheduling problem when you
think about it, right? - certain things need to occur
at certain times, and the trick is to juggle things
until it all 'fits'.  If a specialized scheduling
program had enough information about all the
programming techniques and timing constraints, as well
as detailed information about all the objects you
wanted on screen at once, i.e. object height,
horizontal resolution, vertical resolution, colors,
min-max X-Y movement bounds, etc., it could
theoretically try to find a solution that worked for
the given parameters.  Theoretically being the key
word there... :)

Ben


		
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