I have a project that requires something beyond the default BASIC that’s available on the Commodore 8-bit computers. Actually, it’s several things.

• 16-bit AND for unsigned integers
• XOR
• Decimal to Hex
• Hex to Decimal

I can get two of these by utilizing Simon’s BASIC Cart: XOR and Hex to Decimal.

Today, we’re going to implement a 16-bit unsigned AND .

In Commodore 64 BASIC V2, the AND operator works with 16-bit signed integers (-32768 to +32767).

I recently snagged a copy of what might just be the most gloriously absurd book cover ever created, and I’m here to share the joy. Behold FORTH on the Atari, a guide to the Forth programming language for the Atari 8-bit computers—a system I adore, even if Forth itself feels like a language I’m supposed to admire but secretly can’t stand.

Let’s take a moment to bask in the sheer chaos of this cover.

It’s time to explore the PAL-II, a modern clone of the classic KIM-1 6502 microcomputer from the mid-1970s. Original KIM-1 units are now rare and costly, making a clone like the PAL-II ideal for hands-on use without risking damage to a vintage system.

As one of the first single-board computers, the KIM-1 remains popular among retro computing enthusiasts. Its distinctive 7-segment display enables creative visual effects, and it serves as an excellent platform for learning assembly language and low-level programming.

There’s a new fun device in my lab today. The Clockwork Pi PicoCalc, a retro-inspired handheld that blends nostalgia with modern DIY flair. Powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, it’s perfect for tinkering.

Out of the box is boots directly to a version of BASIC called PicoMite. It’s a version of MMBasic that’s been optimized for the PicoCalc. It’s a great way to get started with programming on the PicoCalc. Other languages like Python/C/C++ are also supported, but I will primarily be using BASIC on it.

Introduction

We’ve done 10PRINT on a lot of machines.

But we haven’t done a comparison between Rust and C.

For no particular reason, I thought it would be fun to compare the two languages side by side.

A race? Yes, please.

10 PRINT Quick review

10 PRINT is a one-liner program that generates a maze-like pattern using the characters / and \.

The program is based on a one-liner BASIC program from the late 70s and 80s. There’s even been a book written about it called: “10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10”.

Wax

Over the years, I’ve looked for an Assembler for the VIC-20. Sure, there are great cross-assemblers like Kick Assembler, but I wanted something that would run on the VIC-20 itself.

Is the VIC-20 a good machine on which to write assembly? Maybe not ON the machine. The 22-column screen is a bit limiting, but after spending so much time in Turbo Macro Pro on the C64, I wanted to see what I could do on the VIC-20 natively.

Over the years, I’ve been on a silly quest to do 10PRINT on as many things as I can. They end up on X, here, or sometimes both.

I hadn’t considered it before because I just figured I couldn’t print the "/" and "\" characters on the HP-42s.

I was wrong. It’s pretty easy. After a few minutes in the manual, I figured it out.

00 { 45-Byte Prgm }
01▸LBL "TEN"
02 RAN
03 RAN
04 X>Y?
05 GTO "\"
06▸LBL "/"
07 ├"/"
08 AVIEW
09 PSE
10 GTO "TEN"
11▸LBL "\"
12 ├"\"
13 AVIEW
14 PSE
15 GTO "TEN"
16 END

The program is pretty simple. It generates two random numbers and compares them. If the first is greater than the second, it prints a "/" and goes to the next iteration. If the second is greater than the first, it prints a "\" and goes to the next iteration.

My son, now 25, was a McNuggets fan. Can you blame him? They’re delicious. He’s always been into numbers and puzzles, so I introduced him to the McNuggets problem when he was about 10.

This classic puzzle was a fun way to keep him occupied and teach him programming. The problem is simple: McDonald’s used to sell Chicken McNuggets in 6, 9, and 20 packs. What is the largest number of McNuggets you cannot buy using these package sizes?

Back to the basics with basic

Let’s say for a moment that we’ve got an ordered list of numbers.

1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21,23,25

There are 13 values here and we want to check if the number 25 is in this list.

One way to do this would be to loop over each element in the list and check to see if it matches what we’re looking for.

In BASIC, we’d do something like