All Questions
5,787
questions
3
votes
1
answer
203
views
45GS02 (65CE02) stack high register
I was looking through some source for a 6502 cross-assembler and noticed that the extensions for the 45GS02/65CE02 (C65) have an oddity - while most of the new registers are set through the acc using ...
- 19.5k
26
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Where/when did the sentence "a good developer is lazy" first appear?
The title says it all. Where/When was "a good developer is a lazy developer" (or its equivalent) first said, in which context and for what purpose?
- 363
23
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Using Clang to compile MS-DOS executables
I have a simple C program, and I would like to compile it targeting MS-DOS. Can this be achieved with Clang?
I would like to produce the following formats:
COM executable
16-bit MZ executable
32-bit ...
- 331
10
votes
1
answer
823
views
MC68000: address error in initial PC
After an MC68000 processor is released from reset, it fetches the initial stack pointer and initial program counter from the vector table at addresses 0-3 (for the SP) and addresses 4-7 (for the PC).
...
- 895
-3
votes
1
answer
370
views
Why was there never added C/C++ (native) support to HTML web pages? [closed]
I wonder why they never added an interface to run native code (for example assembly/C/C++/Rust...) to HTML web pages? Because without it CPU intense games will never run in the browser.
Some people ...
- 391
7
votes
2
answers
480
views
Is it possible to detect Vertical Blanking on an Apple III
The Apple IIe, IIc, IIc plus, and IIgs had ways to detect when the video signal was in the vertical blanking period. These were:
Setting a soft-switch in the mouse interface that triggers an ...
- 491
7
votes
1
answer
545
views
What is the likely function of these circuit boards?
(I've edited this question to include a second board - the seller told me he had two of the same, but having received the photo of the second board it's clear to me that they're different).
I am in ...
- 2,903
5
votes
1
answer
334
views
What were the release dates for the NEC V series CPUs?
I am trying to determine when the NEC V series CPUs became available. So far I have:
1982 µPD8088
1984 V20
???? V40
???? V41
1981 µPD8086
1984 V30
1988 V33
???? V50
???? V51
???? V53
1986 V60
1987 ...
- 15.1k
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Assembly delay function for C64
I've written a delay function that simply counts the times the screen raster line reaches a particular value.
// zero page addresses
.const delayFrames = $00fa
.const delayCounter = $00fb
// =...
- 255
5
votes
1
answer
386
views
How do I change the cassette tape data (baud) rate on MSX machines?
The MSX Resource Center Wiki mentions that MSX machines can save and load at either 1200 or 2400 bps or baud. But it doesn't mention how to change this setting.
So how do I change that rate? Is it ...
- 24.6k
12
votes
0
answers
525
views
Original instruction set for the first ARM processor
I'm studying ISAs and would really like to see the very first ISA that Sophie Wilson chose/put together when designing the very first ARM CPU while at Acorn Computers around 1983 or so.
From what I ...
- 331
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Did the rm project remove itself during early development?
Is it true that Brian Kernighan while developing rm accidentally tested the project so that it removed itself? Then, according to story, he had to start over from the beginning because there was no ...
- 1,181
9
votes
2
answers
396
views
Was there an equivalent to TELNET in the IPX/SPX protocol suite?
It seems logically like there would be, but I can't find much information.
I found an IBM AS/400 manual from 1997, OS/400 Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) Support V4R1, which briefly mentions using ...
- 1,881
8
votes
2
answers
225
views
Did any system ever use the Privacy Message (PM) C1 control?
ECMA-48 (Fifth Edition, 1991) section 8.3.94 (page 53, PDF page 67) defines "PM - PRIVACY MESSAGE" as:
PM is used as the opening delimiter of a control string for privacy message use. The ...
- 1,881
3
votes
0
answers
134
views
Who designed and manufactured the SA1 (RF5A123)?
The SA1 (also labelled RF5A123) is an enhancement chip for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo.
It is based on the 65C816, which the Super Famicom's main CPU (the Ricoh 5A22) is also based on. It seems ...
- 15.1k
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What was the release date of the MOS 8502?
I have been unable to find when the MOS 8502 was first released to customers. The process it was made on was available from 1979, but MOS don't appear to have used it for their own parts at that time.
...
- 15.1k
2
votes
1
answer
247
views
Which version of Fortran was the first to print backtraces?
I went through the first Fortran manual and didn't see anything about a backtrace being printed on abnormal termination.
Did that exist in the first version, or was it implemented later?
- 221
0
votes
3
answers
497
views
Help identifying an 80's Vertical Shoot em up
I remember playing this on an arcade machine in the late 80s. You started as a ship but by collecting power ups you slowly began adding robot parts until finally you were piloting a full size robot. ...
16
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Did the original Macintosh not have any MIDI or similar music capabilities?
The original version of Shadowgate for the Macintosh is an eerie experience after you have played the NES version, with its amazing soundtrack. The Mac version is entirely mute, save for some random ...
- 161
21
votes
5
answers
8k
views
The Cray 1 used 115 kW of power. How was that much grid power physically delivered to the unit?
We are talking power plant levels of current to power the the thing. Did it just have 2 inch lugs?
- 327
5
votes
5
answers
765
views
Are there any statistics or data showing how much more productive the C programming language is compared to x86 assembly language?
I found out today that a large project like Microsoft Windows 1.0 took 80 man-years to develop. And this one was written in x86 assembly language.
Is there a form or rule of thumb that states how much ...
- 831
0
votes
1
answer
439
views
Does the old bitmapped version of the Tahoma font exist anywhere?
Microsoft initially shipped Tahoma with Office 97, but by that time the guy who designed it, Matthew Carter, had already started adding vector based outlines to the production version.
I'm wondering ...
- 103
16
votes
8
answers
8k
views
Why did they create PC games relying on a fixed CPU frequency instead of a clock function?
I know there have been computer games which rely on a fixed CPU frequency. Instead of a clock function they rely on the fact that the CPU needs some time to execute the code.
But why did they do it? ...
- 391
16
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is it possible to detect a CGA card on an IBM PC 5150 by write/reading the Motorola 6845?
I am trying to programatically detect the CGA card on old IBM 5150-ish PCs.
The Paku Paku game source code doesn't directly detect it. The strategy is to detect VGA, EGA, Tandy, PCJr, etc etc, then if ...
- 465
13
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Did x86 CPU vendors like Intel, NEC, AMD, and Cyrix provide their own debugger for DOS with better CPU support and was it free?
MS-DOS's debugger DEBUG.EXE did only support the assembly/disassembly of 8086 opcodes.
DR-DOS's debugger SID86.EXE, SID.EXE and Novel's debugger DEBUG.EXE did support 80286 opcodes and more, but no ...
- 831
5
votes
3
answers
460
views
Examples of floating-point numbers that don’t round-trip losslessly through text conversion in Microsoft BASIC
For a long time I thought it was kind of crazy that 8-bit Microsoft BASIC stores numeric constants in ASCII and has to parse them into its 32- or 40-bit floating point format at runtime. Why not parse ...
- 710
0
votes
0
answers
116
views
Was HP's IMAGE database available on the 2100/2000 line?
I'm reading about the history of the HP 21xx series in this interview, and one thing has me confused. I never used these machines, so I can't be sure I have the context correct...
On page 5 he's ...
- 19.5k
12
votes
1
answer
334
views
What is the difference between the different versions of the SID or SID86 debugger for the x86 PC that was shipped with the different DR-DOS versions?
I did a little research about Digital Research's 8086 Symbolic Instruction Debugger. Short name SID86.EXE and SID.EXE in later versions. But I couldn't find some sort of version history?
I would ...
- 831
4
votes
0
answers
156
views
IDE interface board design review [closed]
Hope this is ok here. This seems to be the place with the real hardware experts. As some of you may recall, I've been trying to get a 44 pin IDE SSD module working on a retro IDE interface. The SSD ...
- 331
33
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Why did DOS-based Windows require HIMEM.SYS to boot?
My understanding is that all versions of Microsoft Windows that ran on top of DOS — that is, the lineage from Windows 1.0 up to Windows ME, even though the reliance on DOS diminished over time — ...
- 679
1
vote
0
answers
392
views
Connecting Windows 3.1 to the Internet [closed]
I have a modern laptop running Windows 3.1 (with FreeDOS on the hard drive) which I want to connect to the Internet and use Internet Explorer 3, which I heard works with Windows 3.1.
I want to connect ...
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How do I stop flickering in mode 13h?
I'm making a small graphics library for MS-DOS 6.22, using mode 13h with Turbo C on VirtualBox.
Recently, I was able to code a small snippet to move a sprite on the screen, using double buffering and ...
- 133
24
votes
16
answers
5k
views
What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? [closed]
Since versions 1-5 of MS-DOS only came with the Edlin line-based editor, but were released on the IBM PC and compatibles, which had screen-based user I/O, my feeling is that most users wouldn't have ...
- 1,012
6
votes
3
answers
637
views
Recently acquired a Macintosh Plus M0001A, and it won't boot
I recently got a Mac Plus model M0001A. It came with an Ultra Drive 20 external hard drive, a keyboard and a mouse.
Both the Mac and the external drive seem to work fine other than it won't boot up, I ...
4
votes
0
answers
359
views
Snack shipped with computer products [closed]
I remember that there was a company in the US that packed candy or snacks as a bonus in the shipping box with their products. They were well-known for this practice. I'm pretty sure the snack was ...
22
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How was the order of Unicode block-quadrant characters chosen?
Unicode codepoints 0x2596–0x259f can help you draw primitive graphics by offering all the combinations of on or off for the four quadrants of a glyph. They're available in this order:
▖ ▗ ▘ ▙ ▚ ▛ ...
- 323
1
vote
1
answer
183
views
Why does my Mikrolab randomly freeze and unfreeze, and what can I do about it?
I've started using my Soviet Mikrolab KR580IK80 (a clone of the Hewlett Packard 5036A) again, and I've noticed some behaviour which it used to exhibit but now it seems more frequent. Basically after ...
- 2,903
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Help porting nasm code down from 386 to 8088 (shifts by more than 1 bit)
I have been writing some small asm COM program using Netwide Assembler (nasm), but am having trouble getting it to run on 8088 emulators like PCjs. I could use some help translating the assembly "...
- 465
5
votes
1
answer
282
views
DOA 40 “chip” on a voice synth
I was at the Ontario Science Center with the kid today and came across one of the few bits of tech from when I was a kid, a machine that speaks the word “coffee”. It consists of six seemingly ...
- 19.5k
1
vote
0
answers
226
views
Install Windows NT 4.0 with floppy disks [duplicate]
Not that long ago, I got this 3.5 inch floppy disk drive, and I would like to install Windows NT 4.0 on a computer with the floppy disks.
So, how can I get all 3 floppy .img files, onto the floppy ...
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
On an ISA bus, is data read on the falling or rising edge of /IORD?
This should be an easy one but stick with me here. I think that page 46 of the ISA Bus Specification by Intel shows it's read on the rising edge. Intro to the ISA bus by Mark Sokos seems to agree on ...
- 331
28
votes
8
answers
13k
views
Why was desktop CPU frequency so low in the late 1990s?
I think even in the 1990s it wouldn't have been a problem to build a 4GHz clock generator.
Increase a transistor here and a resistor there and the clock rate will go up.
(I know there was DECT in the ...
- 4,670
10
votes
2
answers
752
views
How can I avoid overflowing R_SPARC_13 relocations when writing SPARC assembly?
For fun I'm trying to create an assembly program for Sun Solaris on SPARC. I'm emulating the system with QEMU.
My test assembles fine, yet linking fails with "relocation error: R_SPARC_13". ...
17
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Document format for a DOS word processor where control commands begin with a dot
I successfully achieved the reading of several 5.25″ old floppies. They contain old documents from a retired lawyer.
For the memories, we want to read them correctly, nevertheless, I don't find which ...
- 173
4
votes
1
answer
227
views
10 pin --> 26 pin VGA controller pinout and Card compatibility with American Megatrends Super Voyager VLB-III
I'm trying to test an old PC which controls a ABB Bomem FTIR Spectrometer (DA&). The internal PC for this instrument is an American Megatrends, Inc. Super Voyager VLB-III ISA Motherboard
https://...
- 43
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Original purpose of the Rich Header in PE files
The Rich Header was presumably introduced by Microsoft in a previous version of Visual Studio. What was its original purpose and how does it achieve this? Is DanS the designer, similar to MZ?
- 1,829
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
IDE SSD pulling down data bus
I obtained a quantity of these IDE 44 pin SSDs for use in my retro computers. At first I simply used an adapter to connect to the 40 pin IDE port, but it caused all sorts of weird problems e.g. the ...
- 331
18
votes
0
answers
406
views
Is an X Window System older than release 10 available online?
I'm looking for any copy of the X Window System older than release 10.
The oldest on x.org is X10R3.
Bob Scheifler doesn't have anything.
Jim Gettys may have something, but has yet to retrieve it ...
- 3,101
14
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Storing configuration directly in the executable, with no external config files
Back in the days when dinos talked fluently English, Arabic, Spanish and a bunch of other languages, when one could change tapes of a PDP-11 on the fly there was a programming language Turbo Pascal.
I ...
- 383
9
votes
3
answers
497
views
How did exception handling work in the Plankalkül language?
I saw mentioned in a number of places that the Plankalkül programming language had exception handling features. However, I am unable to find a description of what that looked like. It seems that most ...
- 221