Exploring BASIC Programming for the Atari 2600 - Part 1

This video is the first of a two-part series where we take a look at "BASIC Programming" for the Atari 2600 and discuss its usage, features, and limitations. I give an overview of how the cartridge presents its programming environment, how the keyboard controllers are used to input data, and demonstrate the limited memory available for authoring programs. We also take a brief look at some artwork from a 1981 Atari game catalog!

In "Part 2", we'll examine the music, keypad input, and graphics features of the language. We'll also do some real-world code optimizations to work within the memory limitations discussed in this video.

Please use the following time-code index to jump to relevant sections in the video.

0:00 Introduction and Atari Game Catalog
1:36 My burning questions about BASIC Programming for the Atari 2600
2:58 Internet lore on the cartridge's purpose
4:14 Overview of Keyboard Controllers
7:04 Screen overview: Text quality
8:18 Screen overview: Data/Program Sections
10:40 Limitations: what to expect before writing a program
11:49 Overview of memory limitations
12:42 Program #1 - Output Memory Consumption
17:10 Program #2 - Internal Memory Consumption
24:52 Conclusion about memory use

Github for documents referenced in this video:
https://git.io/JL5kF

"BASIC Programming: Atari Archive Episode 34"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txzSxyQ3PnU

"Exploring BASIC Programming for the Atari 2600 - Part 2"
https://youtu.be/CU8stYVtjVM

"Building a Universal Atari 2600 12-button "Star Raiders" Controller"
https://youtu.be/FICpISoyDAA

Program in closing comments: "Balloon Catcher" by Dave Britten
https://www2.gvsu.edu/brittedg/BasicProgramming.txt

Видео Exploring BASIC Programming for the Atari 2600 - Part 1 канала Steve Guidi