[atari7800] Re: If you had never programmed anything ...?

> OK - here's a dilemma that I have. I imagine there are some other
> lurkers on the list that feel the same way, so I'll speak up.
>
> I've never programmed ANYTHING except in BASIC on some computers (Co
> Co, Atari 8-bit, PC, Mac). I'd love to learn more about HOW to do
> things on the 7800, especially now that the Cuttle Cart exists, but
> have no idea where to begin. All this talk about cycles and DMA's and
> the like are a bit odd for a novice who's curious.
>
> Here's a question for the people who learned how to do this by fiddling
> ... where did you begin?

I began around '81, programming in AppleSoft Basic on a friend's Apple ][+.
I still use Basic (MicroSoft QuickBASIC, not VB!) for quick & dirty code.
I've also done some Pascal & C (my other main language).  For assembly I
started on the 6809, tried the 6502 and didn't like it, then 8086, 68000,
8051, and 56000, then came back to the 6502 on the 2600.

Do some searching around the 'Net and you will find some 6502 tutorials,
articles & other info.  6502.org is a good place to start.  Start by
learning the opcodes (e.g. LDA = load accumulator) and addressing modes.
Grab one of the 6502 simulators and start playing with the opcodes.  Don't
try to do any kind of UI, keep it to data movement & mathmatics.  Once you
have a grasp of that read and re-read the 7800 Software Guide, which
describes how MARIA works.

Good luck!

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