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metalux
Registered: Aug 2011
Posts: 16 |
Old university C64 programming courses?
I'm learning C64 assembler the hard way: reading tutorials, demo sources and forum posts, relatively non-academic in other words. While I do have access to some reference documentation, like the Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide, a big C64 assembler bible would have been helpful. So, have anyone ever heard if there were any university c64 programming courses in the 80's? Have you heard of anything like that? Imagine writing an old C64 assembler exam! That would be fun.
It shouldn't be an impossible scenario. I myself have taken some funny university courses in programming languages like Haskell and MIPS assembly back in the days, but I've never heard of the Commodore 64 in the academic world. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11136 |
here 8051/8085 was very popular (still is)... see http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikrocomputer_für_Ausbildung |
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Conrad
Registered: Nov 2006
Posts: 833 |
I wasn't at school in the 80s, but in the UK I doubt there were such thing as Commodore 64-based programming courses... I'm certain there were 6502 assembly courses at school, but were targeted more on British-made computers like the BBC Micro, which had a 6502 CPU.
These days, they don't even teach assembly language! It's all Java/C# now. I know because they scrapped 8086 material at my campus 3 years ago, thanks to the "Student Unions" who are basically incapable of getting their head down and study important material. Then again, not everyone out there thinks logically. I learnt 6502 the hard-way... hacking demos/games with Action Replay. |
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Style
Registered: Jun 2004
Posts: 498 |
It was 6800 on those heathkit things here too MV |
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E$G
Registered: Dec 2007
Posts: 790 |
In 1982 at school, computer science, we learned to program z80 and 6502 processors. We handled the machine code on Apple II ... then for amusemnt I used it later on my ViC20 and C64 :)
But after more than 20 years of inactivity my c64 memory map it's gone and most of commands gone too ...
Some of my oldskoolers friends have forgotten too .. how to crack & code ... we got to re-start studying!
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Krill
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2852 |
As far as i know, C-64 was never used or taught at universities. What was and still is used and taught are multi-user Unix (and these days Linux, of course) machines and everything that comes with them.
Which is quite understandable, given that in those days, C-64 might have been a revolution in the home segment, but the technology was pretty much outdated by university standards already, given that they've had pre-emptive multi-tasking, memory protection, networking, advanced shells and toolchains and all that since like the 60s, not to mention vastly superior computing resources in terms of memory and processing speed. And they never cared much for sprites or 8-bit sound synthesis, either.
Conrad: assembly language is still taught at universities. Not in-depth, for obvious reasons, but it is required to a certain degree. |
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Exile
Registered: Dec 2002
Posts: 54 |
We used the BBC microcomputers, english and german models at highschool in 1987. Mostly basic coding, assembly was a bridge to far.
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T.M.R
Account closed
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 749 |
Quoting ConradI wasn't at school in the 80s, but in the UK I doubt there were such thing as Commodore 64-based programming courses... I'm certain there were 6502 assembly courses at school, but were targeted more on British-made computers like the BBC Micro, which had a 6502 CPU.
i did "computing" at GCSE which was BASIC programming on Z80-based Link 480Z machines and started an A level in the subject which was Pascal on BBC Masters from what i saw. i'd already taught myself 6502 by that point using a book called VIC 20 Machine Code, the C64 Programmer's Reference Guide and lots of experimentation. |
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Wile Coyote
Registered: Mar 2004
Posts: 643 |
On the subject of computers and school - I never forget, the time computers came out. School being school, set up a room called, imaginatively *The Computer Room*. It was serious business. Access to the room was granted to a select few. You had to be in top for Maths, and be top of the top. This narrowed things down to about 6 people in the entire school. Thats maths teachers for you.
There was a small window in the door to The Room. Through it 4x BBC Micros 2x Acorn Electrons and 1x unknown large black computer with black and white monitor could be observed. One lunch time I managed to sneak into The Room, where a programmer was playing a basic looking horizontal scroll shootem up.
I along with others opted to buy ZX Spectrums, and turned to a life of piracy ;D |
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Style
Registered: Jun 2004
Posts: 498 |
At my highschool we had a room full of Microbees, but in year 9 the school splurged and after a review period (where several machines were loaned and tested) we got a couple of classrooms full of Amiga 1000s.
Them being the future and all, over PCs and Macs :)
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Achim
Registered: Jan 2010
Posts: 28 |
Last year the University of Bielefeld offered a c64 course for game coding: http://ekvv.uni-bielefeld.de/kvv_publ/publ/vd;jsessionid=8FFD07..
I doubt that there were any c64 courses in german schools in the 80's. My school had a bunch of Apple II computers. There were two courses: LOGO for the masses (seriously) and Pascal for the advanced (like me, ehm...). I taught myself 6502 ML on my c64. I still remember sitting in class and thinking on how to write a packer. |
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