Debug and conversion tool for 1980s magazine type-in programs
Project description
retro-typein-tools
Tools for typing-in, debugging, and converting 1980s magazine type-in games and programs for use with Commodore emulators and original hardware.
Installation (requires Python 3.6 or later)
pip3 install retro-typein-tools
Tool: debug_tokenize
The debug_tokenize
tool is a debugger and converter for Commodore BASIC
programs focused on tokenizing magazine type-in programs popular in the 1980s.
Given an input text file containing BASIC source code in magazine type-in
format, it checks the typed line entries against line checksums that were
printed in the magazines to insure program is bug-free. It then outputs an
executable .prg file for direct use with an emulator or original hardware.
Usage
After installation, use debug_tokenize
directly from the command line -
consult the help for the latest usage:
Note: Currently the only implemented options are for Ahoy C64 programs.
debug_tokenize [-l load_address] [-s source_format] input_file
positional arguments:
input_file Specify the input file name including path
Note: Output files will use input file basename
with extensions '.bas' for petcat-ready file and
'.prg' for Commodore run file format.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-l load_address, --loadaddr load_address
Specifies the target BASIC memory address when loading:
- 0x0801 - C64 (default)
- 0x1001 - VIC20 Unexpanded
- 0x0401 - VIC20 +3K
- 0x1201 - VIC20 +8K
- 0x1201 - VIC20 +16
- 0x1201 - VIC20 +24K
-s source_format, --source source_format
Specifies the magazine source for conversion and checksum:
ahoy1 - Ahoy magazine (Apr-May 1984)
ahoy2 - Ahoy magazine (Jun 1984-Apr 1987) (default)
ahoy3 - Ahoy magazine (May 1987-)
As an example for an Ahoy! magazine file:
Input: basename.ahoy
Output: basename.prg (tokenized file that can be run on a Commodore
computer or on an emulator like VICE)
Notes for entering programs from Ahoy issues prior to November 1984:
In addition to the special character codes contained in braces in the magazine, Ahoy also used a shorthand convention for specifying a key entry preceeded by either the Shift key or the Commodore key as follows:
Underlined characters - preceed entry with Shift key
Overlined characters - preceed entry with Commodore key
Standard keyboard letters should be typed as follows for these two cases.
{s A}, {s B}, {s *} etc.
{c A}, {c B}, {c *}, etc.
There are a few instances where the old hardware has keys not available on a modern keyboard or are otherwise ambiguous. Those should be entered as follows:
{EP} - British Pound symbol
{UP_ARROW} - up arrow symbol
{LEFT_ARROW} - left arrow symbol
{PI} - Pi symbol
{s RETURN} - shifted return
{s SPACE} - shifted space
{c EP} - Commodore-Bristish Pound symbol
{s UP_ARROW} - shifted up arrow symbol
After the October 1984 issue, the over/under score representation was discontinued as was the use of braces as delineators. After October 1984, the braces were replaced by brackets, however, either can be used while typing in the programs for any issue. The special characters can be typed as listed in the magazines after that issue.
Using the output files
You can run the .prg file generated by the debug_tokenizer
program by
running it with the VICE emulator with the following command (must have VICE
installed):
x64sc -basicload program.prg &
Of course, you can also run the .prg file on original hardware.
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