Actually I'm not sure how it could be done with a
pre-existing C compiler. I mean, the compiler itself
has to have knowledge of the basic framework a 2600
program would need to take so it can generate the
appropriate skeleton code which would include the
display kernel and basically everything except the
game calculation logic, RAM variable declarations, and
ROM bitmap and color information. The display kernel,
like I said earlier, would have to be pre-developed
beforehand and basically hardcoded into the compiler
to be able to handle a certain number of sprites, say
8, using an 'intelligent flicker' algorithm.
Then, the user's actual program would comprise the
code generated in the game logic section (obviously
the code to handle the flicker algorithm would be here
too), as well as the RAM and ROM declarations.
Ben
--- "B. Watson" <atari@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Fri, 7 Sep 2001, Ben Larson wrote:
>
> > Yea, I realize that functionality would be really
> > limited. The reason I want to do it, though, is
> just
> > to see if it's possible to abstract any of the
> > hardware restrictions of the system itself.
> >
> > What I was thinking would be cool was more of a
> 'test
> > compiler' at first - one that maybe would let the
> user
> > declare an arbitrary number of 8x8 'sprites' and
> > nothing else - ok maybe a symmetrical background
> too.
> > The fact that you can really only have two of
> these
> > 'sprites' (player objects) on a line would be
> > completely abstracted from the user. Of course,
> in a
> > finished program, it would be painfully obvious
> (due
> > to the flicker) what happens when you do put, say,
> 8
> > sprites on a line at once. :) But the point is
> that
> > the higher-level language would abstract that from
> the
> > user. That, I think, would be a milestone
> in-and-of
> > itself.
>
> I don't think it's going to work... that being said,
> if you want to go ahead
> and prove me wrong, you might consider using C
> macros/functions as your test
> language, using CC65 to compile it all
> (www.cc65.org)... CC65 is a (mostly)
> ANSI-compliant C compiler (and assembler backend)
> for 6502-series CPUs. You
> could write a graphics library for the 2600...
>
> I think that this would be a *major* undertaking,
> and not worth the trouble,
> but if you can make it work, I'd be glad to admit I
> was wrong
>
> Brian
>
> ---
>
> If a trainstation is the place where trains stop,
> what is a workstation?
>
>
>
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