As plans go, I actually have a few programs teed up to share. Many are smaller programs that I could work on here and there. Occasionally, I run across an idea that upends those plans and I end up going another direction. So, here we are in September with a math program for the Collatz Conjecture.
Sometimes, you do things out of necessity. I spent an inordinate amount of time working on adding automatic scrolling to a PRINT command. In fact, I haver another version of my print scroll routine I’ll talk about later. But this is about a utility program. A way to print out BASIC code in hex. And this article is about what I did and why.
Finding inspiration again from my programming groups, the idea of an infinitely scrolling screen of text came up. There were a couple of different solutions posted, some quite ingenious. I had done something similar in the past, but this time I used a bit of machine code magic to create a more flexible solution. The result is Print Scroll.
We took a road trip early in the spring to Twin Falls to see Shoshone Falls. Known as the Niagara of the West, Shoshone Falls is quite a show and definitely worth the trip. We picked a time of year when we knew the falls would be at their fullest. We were drenched with mist getting out of our cars. Although not the best photo I took of the waterfalls, it captures the power of the water rushing over the ledge. A spectacular sight that I felt made a great top image for my blog.
My ZX81 programming has taken a back seat of late as I focused on other activities. Whether family, work, or the latest video game update, I haven’t put as much effort into finishing projects. For this month, I decided to focus on tackling an interesting problem, emulating the PRINT USING command.
Soon after sharing my Maze Generator for the ZX81, it was obvious that something didn’t quite click. I got a few comments about the maze didn’t work or that didn’t look right. It was clear the '70s style teletype display wouldn’t cut it. Fortunately, I could fix that.
Something I’d been itching to do is write a maze generator. Even though they seem simple enough, for some reason, I struggled to code one. With so many different algorithms out there, the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming. It wasn't until I took a vacation that my mind settled down enough for me to finally tackle the task.
I had forgotten about this Black Hole program until I ran across it while cleaning up some directories. It is a conversion, not an original, program that was shared on one of my BASIC forums. It doesn’t look quite as good as the original, but it was interesting to see what the ZX81 could do with its simplistic graphics.
While on vacation, I spent some relaxing time converting my Kimmie Fish BASIC program into something a bit more interesting. In addition to the normal speed improvements, I wanted to give it an aquarium like feeling with bubbles and depth. No color here, this is all stock ZX81 graphics. Only thing needed is the requisite 16K memory pack.
Reading posts in the BASIC group I follow, I was I was inspired to write my own version of the kimmie fish animation for the ZX81 computer. It was such a cute animation that I had to see if I could replicate it. Although not quite the same as the original, the spirt is there.